Learning Methods on Heritage for Architects: Creative Design Process for a Sustainable Built Environment

Abstract

Culture and heritage constitute the driven force to sustainability of the built environment, situated at the heart of urban renewal and innovation, becoming a key issue for training future architects. The fact that a substantial part of our built environment is already built, the population exponentially growing, and concentrated in the small areas of the cities, has brought forward the need to work with our preexistences. We cannot freeze the dynamics of human occupation; we can however learn how to assess the values it cherishes, and incorporate them to the design process, not as a limitation but as treasure design material for our proposals.