Speculative heritage: Evaluating how emergent technology can be used to assess our understanding of heritage
Publicerad
Författare
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Master's Thesis
Master's Thesis
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
In this thesis I explore what I perceive to be one of the main difficulties involved in
architectural heritage practice. Our current approach towards preservation prioritises
qualities in an inequitable manner and this results from a misconception about the
singular correct interpretation of a building’s essential character. In conventional
historical procedure there is a prevalent concept that the best action is to preserve
structures in stasis. This interpretation posits the idea that an architectural construct
occupies a single state of correct intelligibility. I believe that a historical edifice is never
one thing, it always embodies multiple readings simultaneously.
Using emergent technology, I highlight the subjective differences that proliferate in the
individual comprehensions of a building’s form. By contrasting subjective
interpretations of the monuments against objective recordings I will highlight what lies at
the centre of proclamations about their correct conservation. The reason for this
investigation is to critically consider how we understand and engage with the physical
manifestations of our past. It is important to re-evaluate how we work with this
information given the accelerated rate of change caused by both climatic and social
conditions which are resulting in the irreparable loss of countless artifacts.
Acknowledging the delicate finite quality of historical edifices, we should contemplate and
simulate potential scenarios for legacy structures whilst reflecting on our own
phenomenological attachments. It is my conjecture that emergent technology allows for a
new and exciting means of exploring and questioning our actions while hypothesizing
possibilities which traditionally would be considered contentious. What qualities do we
aim to preserve and how might this be done in the most suitable manner?
If all understanding of heritage is a personalised filter can technology allow for the
sharing of this perspective. I propose a speculative approach that asks what is embedded
in built heritage and our interpretation of it.
I want to see how possible it is to manifest subjectivity through emergent technology to
allow for a more representative and inclusive demonstration of our historical narrative and
how it relates to heritage.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
Speculative heritage, Heritage practice, Preservation, Emergent technology, Simulations, Legacy structures, Phenomenological attachments, entanglement, Replicas, Authenticity and Composition of memory identity, subjectivity, objectivity