U6. Architecture as Heritage

We refer architecture to heritage when acting on an existing building that presents problems. We are used to think in heritage as the set of assets acquired by a title, but it is also related with the cultural stuff and identification. So, eventually that means we can classify those cultural assets in three as seen in class: monuments, sets and places (architecture and sculpture; groups of constructions and architecture+ landscape; works of man and nature) in this order of subdivisions as well.


Heritage is controlled by some laws as the one in Spain which is: the law of “Patrimonio Histórico Español” (1985). To sum up this part, cultural assets are monuments, works… + habits, gastronomy, economy…

In terms of giving support to the matter is needed to preserve, which means to protects not just the physical heritage but its values as well, as we looked at “la Huerta” in the field practise.


Sometimes is the building itself who transmits all those values, and we have to rescate them and bring them as universals, so every heritage has its own value properly taken into account.

There exist some ways of preserving as legislative instruments and actions of intervention. First ones refer to rules and laws but second one refers to preservation, maintenance, consolidation, repristinating, renovation, anastylosis and adaptation among others. Those preserving methods are applied following a specific criterion which takes into account different topics of valuation.

Altamira cave’s preservation
preservation of heritage (1)
preservation of heritage (2)