No. 6 (2015): The Built Heritage Debate

Guest Editors: Jorge Figueira, Rui Lobo, Adelino Gonçalves, Gonçalo Canto Moniz

PHI Network – Ibero-American Historic+Cultural Heritage, formed in 2010, is an international network that proposes strategic action, diagnosis, reflection and proposals on this common legacy, from the digital dissemination of research by students and professors. In 2015 the Department of Architecture of FCTUC organized the annual International Meeting of PHI Network, which took place in Coimbra from November 18th to the 20th. The event integrated an internal meeting of the Network and a public seminar that focused on the cultural diversity of perspectives related with heritage intervention, with the presence of teachers from the mentioned international and national universities. In this context, we decided to launch a call for papers dedicated to “The Question of Built Heritage” the results of which we publish now. Heritage rehabilitation / preservation / destruction, has become a central issue of our time. But what do we mean when we talk about heritage?

The present issue of JOELHO publishes papers that address this matter in its many ramifications, from the identification of case studies, research methods and intervention practices, establishing forward-readings to this problem. The built heritage debate has no easy or obvious answers. This issue of JOELHO leaves the question open, through various contributions, where history and Latin American culture are the protagonists. The photo of José Maçãs de Carvalho, that makes the cover, represents this reflexive ability to look back at ourselves halfway through the leap.