Heritage valuation as a project strategy in urban environments. Methodologies in dialogue applied to the case of Portugal.

Abstract

In the current economic and environmental scenario in which we find ourselves, where global strategies for the preservation of resources are being promoted, the field of architecture is advocating to join its efforts in the search for existing buildings that can be reused instead of new constructions. In order to account for the relevance of rehabilitation as a sustainable strategy, this research focuses on contemporary architectural interventions on heritage assets in urban environments in Portugal, proposing as its main objective the review of the Portuguese landscape of contemporary heritage intervention based on a working hypothesis that aims to show, quantitatively and qualitatively, whether the identification of cultural values is the working instrument used to define intervention criteria. A methodology based on the analysis of the Portuguese panorama is used to make a diagnosis of the current situation of heritage intervention on urban environments in this context.