• Duurzaamheid
• Sociaal en Maatschappelijk

New connections will be established, involving a delicate and adaptive balance, so that they maintain both their cultural and historical heritage and character, and encourage each of the groups residing or working within them to retain their own social and cultural characteristics. (…) Sustainability – integrating the economic, ecological and social dimensions of change, based on participation and involvement – will be a pivotal objective for making this possible. (…) Maintenance and cultivation of a high level of aesthetic excellence in all parts of the urban networks.

• Duurzaamheid
• Sociaal en Maatschappelijk

Historical places, objects and manifestations of cultural, scientific, symbolic, spiritual and religious value are important expressions of the culture. (...) Conservation, rehabilitation and culturally sensitive adaptive reuse of urban, rural and architectural heritage are also in accordance with the sustainable use of natural and human-made resources. (...) Recognize that the historical and cultural heritage is an important asset, and strive to maintain the social, cultural and economic viability

• Duurzaamheid

In fact, when a building is found highly rated by no other cultural values than the ecological ones; it clearly means that this building is presently considered of no interest for society. But, independent from any interpretative considerations, this same building still encloses an undeniable amount of man-made resources in high condition, discriminated by the high assessment of ecological values, which have once been extracted from the natural environment and should no longer be wasted with unsustained demolitions.

• Economie
• Gebied en Ruimte
• Ontwerp en Gebouw

One year before, had Fielden (1982) defined rehabilitation as “the best way of preserving buildings as opposed to objects is to keep them in use”, and that the “the adaptive use of buildings (…) is often the only way that historic and aesthetical values can be saved economically and historic buildings brought up to contemporary standards.”

• Duurzaamheid
• Ontwerp en Gebouw

However, it was clear to verify in such evolution of taxonomies that the ecological values still do have a long path towards the regency of the cultural values, seriously undertaken by the historic values. For centuries, they have determined which building is significant and which not and are so influential that objects of cult are still called historic monument and/or historic city. This constancy does not block the ecological values from reaching the regency, but clearly denounces that currently, buildings still do require more than their pure existence and intrinsic resources to be considered significant, as an object of cult.

• Duurzaamheid
• Sociaal en Maatschappelijk

Conservation, rehabilitation and culturally sensitive adaptive reuse of urban, rural and architectural heritage are also in accordance with the sustainable use of natural and human-made resources. Access to culture and the cultural dimension of development is of the utmost importance and all people should be able to benefit from such access.

• Duurzaamheid

(...) there was the urgent need "to develop a strategy for the use and promotion of environmentally friendly construction materials, energy efficiency in buildings and construction and demolition waste management in order to contribute to sustainability" (...) Consequently, this action would not only progressively change the lifestyles, but also the patterns of consumption and production.

• Duurzaamheid

Sustainability can embrace much more. Minor attention is still given to the built environment and to the irreversible impact of unconscious interventions on the construction and demolition waste management. How sustainable is a country that stimulates the demolitions of entire neighbourhoods, while still in good condition, as it happens in many “sustainable countries”, hidden behind higher rates of reused and recycled materials.

• Duurzaamheid
• Sociaal en Maatschappelijk

Sustainable development is a matter of satisfying the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to fulfil their own needs.

• Gebied en Ruimte
• Ontwerp en Gebouw
• Sociaal en Maatschappelijk

The dialectic of contradiction between the hidden and visible thoughts is a dynamic requiring active maintenance, a dynamic which takes up energy that might otherwise be available for transforming and making history. This hypothesis is an application of Freud’s early theory of memory, to which I then bring the concepts of narcissism, cathexis, and thoughts on the relationship between ideas and emotions, public and private representation, urban and suburban memory.

• Beleid
• Sociaal en Maatschappelijk

Herbestemming blijkt op termijn niet altijd een garantie voor duurzaam behoud te zijn: tal van waardevolle bedrijfsgebouwen zijn na een periode van herbestemming alsnog gesloopt. Meestal op initiatief en aandrang van de gemeente; waar tegengas van de lokale bevolking uitblijft volgt steevast sloop.

• Beleid
• Economie
• Sociaal en Maatschappelijk

Over optredens in leegstaande gebouwen: deze hebben sloop niet altijd kunnen voorkomen maar dergelijke druk bezochte voorstellingen krijgen steevast veel aandacht van de media en bevorderen zo argeloos de publieke belangstelling voor industriële monumenten.