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Architectural programming, as a critical phase in construction projects, has been widely recognized for its importance and advantages throughout the construction process. With the rapid development of the socioeconomic landscape, architectural programming has garnered increasing attention from various other disciplines, becoming a key trend in interdisciplinary collaboration. This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current status and future directions of architectural programming from an interdisciplinary perspective through scientometric analysis and systematic review.

This study first collected English journal articles on architectural programming published between 1975 and 2024 from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. After an initial screening of titles and abstracts, 515 articles were selected for scientometric analysis to reveal the current state and advantages of architectural programming research in multidisciplinary fields. Subsequently, a second screening of full-text articles identified 75 journal articles for systematic review, focusing on research topics and challenges in interdisciplinary applications.

The study reveals an exponential increase in the number of papers related to architectural programming between 1975 and 2024, particularly in the last decade. Six key research topics of architectural programming in multidisciplinary fields were identified: (1) performance optimization and evaluation, (2) digitalization and automation development, (3) project management and decision support, (4) improvement of human and social welfare, (5) sustainable resources and environment and (6) educational practices of architectural programming. Additionally, the study identified the main challenges in the interdisciplinary application of architectural programming, including (1) incompatibility among disciplines, (2) limitations of data and methodologies and (3) insufficient social engagement. To address these challenges, three potential future directions were proposed: (1) establishing interdisciplinary teams and platforms, (2) enhancing multi-source data integration and digital transformation and (3) improving governance mechanisms and educational training.

By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, this study provides a comprehensive review of architectural programming research and applications in multidisciplinary fields, offering theoretical foundations and practical references for the future development of architectural programming. This review not only aids in understanding the overall status of current architectural programming research but also offers valuable insights and recommendations for future research directions and practical applications.

Attributes conveying cultural significance play a key role in heritage management, as well as in differentiating interventions in built heritage. However, seldom the relation between interventions and attributes, either tangible or intangible, has been researched systematically. How do both tangible and intangible attributes and interventions relate? What attributes make interventions on built heritage differ?

This paper conducts a systematic content analysis of forty-one international doctrinal documents—mainly adopted by the Council of Europe, UNESCO and ICOMOS, between 1877 and 2021. The main aim is to reveal and compare the selected eight intervention concepts, namely—restoration (C1), preservation (C2), conservation (C3), adaptation (C4), rehabilitation (C5), relocation (C6), reconstruction (C7) and renewal (C8)—and their definitions, in relation to attributes, both tangible and intangible. The intensity of the relationship between intervention concepts and attributes is determined based on the frequency of the mentioned attributes per intervention.

There were three key findings. First, although the attention to intangible attributes has increased in the last decades, the relationship between interventions and tangible attributes remains stronger. The highest frequency of referencing the tangible attributes was identified in “relocation” and “preservation,” while the lowest was in “rehabilitation.” Second, certain attributes play contradictory roles, e.g. “material,” “use” and “process,” which creates inconsistent definitions between documents. Third, as attributes often include one another in building layers, they trigger the intervention concepts in hierarchical patterns.

This paper explores and discusses the results of a novel comparative analysis between different intervention concepts and definitions, with a particular focus on the attributes. The results can support further research and practice, clarifying the identified differences and similarities.

The ancient settlements of the M'zab Valley in Algeria, called ksour, are still being used by local inhabitants a thousand years after their construction. The main objective of this study was to discover why, despite the formation of new residential areas, these settlements have been able to survive and maintain their original functions.

The authors used the concept of living heritage sites as an analytical framework. The field data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through qualitative content analysis.

This study revealed that the reasons for the survival of these settlements were cultural and social rather than physical. Four main factors play a role in the survival of these settlements: (1) solidarity and unity among the inhabitants, (2) built environment as an ancestral heritage and a symbol of identity, (3) comfort and convenience in ksour and (4) social control and adherence to tradition. However, some concerns have arisen in recent decades that may endanger the viability of these settlements in the future, requiring more attention from the government.

While previous studies on urban heritage and World Heritage Sites (WHSs) have mainly focused on tourism development and conservation issues, this paper emphasized a less-studied aspect of these sites, i.e. continuity and sustainability. All previous studies on the WHSs of the M'zab Valley have addressed the traditional architecture and the climatic design of houses without sufficiently addressing other factors that have contributed to the sustainability and resilience of these settlements.

This paper has aimed to systematically review the existing literature regarding the role of fantasy in heritage conservation, establishing a research gap and investigating the different facets of fantasy that contribute to a conservation undertaking.

This systematic literature review adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) model with literature from the SCOPUS-indexing database.

This review has indicated a lack of input from Eastern scholarship, the absence of quantitative research, the lack of discussion concerning fantasy within the architecture discipline and the lack of attention towards fantasy's role in architectural heritage conservation.

A better understanding of the role of fantasy within architectural heritage studies would improve conservation practice, specifically the existing cultural significance value evaluation framework and the management of stakeholders' expectations.

The present paper serves as a preliminary insight into the value of fantasy within the architecture discipline, allowing for more empirical-based research and knowledge to be added in this domain in the future.

This article sets out to show how principles and questions about method that underlie a way of interpreting the discipline of conservation and restoration can find results in research and studies, aiming at achieving even conscious reuse process. The occasion is the very recent research performed on the former Church of Saints Gerolamo and Francesco Saverio in Genoa, Italy, the Jesuit church annexed to the 17th-century College of the order. It is a small Baroque jewel in the heart of the ancient city, former University Library and actually abandoned, forgotten for years, inaccessible and awaiting a new use.

The two-year work carried out on the monumental building was conducted according to a study and research methodology developed and refined over the years within the activities of the School of Specialisation in Architectural Heritage and Landscape of the University of Genoa. It is a multidisciplinary and rigorous approach, which aims to train high-level professionals, up-to-date and aware of the multiple problems that interventions on existing buildings, especially of a monumental nature, involve.

The biennal study has been carried out within the activities of the Post-Graduate Programme in Architectural Heritage and Landscape of the University of Genoa. The work methodology faces the challenges of the contemporary complexity, raised by the progressive broadening of the concept of cultural “heritage” and by the problems of its conservation, its active safeguard and its reuse: safety in respect of seismic risk, fire and hydro geological instability, universal accessibility – cognitive, physical and alternative – resource efficiency, comfort and savings in energy consumption, sustainability, communication and involvement of local communities and stakeholders.

The goals of the work were the following: understanding of the architectural heritage, through the correlated study of its geometries, elements and construction materials, surfaces, structures, spaces and functions; understanding of the transformations that the building has undergone over time, relating the results of historical reconstructions from indirect sources and those of direct archaeological analysis; assessment of the state of conservation of the building recognising phenomena of deterioration, damage, faults and deficits that affect materials, construction elements, systems and structures; identification of the causes and extent of damage, faults and deficits, assessing the vulnerability and level of exposure of the asset to the aggression of environmental factors and related risks; evaluation of the compatibility between the characteristics of the available spaces, the primary needs of conservation, the instance of regeneration and possible new uses; the definition of criteria and guidelines for establishing the planning of conservation, restoration and redevelopment interventions.

Places of worship have historically been maintained using traditional building management techniques, including regular monitoring, upkeep and maintenance provided by their religious communities. This paper examines the conservation issues arising after the forced displacement of the traditional custodians, which is a significant concern in conflict-ridden environments.

As a unique example of a long-term conflict, the divided Cyprus provides this research with illustrative cases to derive the data. The research employs content analysis of official documents, physical observations and interviews with conservation professionals.

This research demonstrates the human and environmental factors impacting the conservation of the material fabric and the use-related challenges stemming from the intangible significance of the religious legacy belonging to displaced communities. It highlights the urgency to formulate more effective mechanisms and regulatory frameworks to address vulnerability issues promptly.

Preservation problems on religious heritage buildings arising from the loss of traditional custodians after conflicts are an under-researched area in conservation literature. Drawing on research that was conducted several decades after the displacement of Cypriot communities, this paper reveals new insights into the magnitude of the conservation problems and the use-related complexities that need to be addressed to formulate mutually acceptable solutions for a sustainable future.

Adaptive reuse processes aim to preserve heritage values while creating new values through the architectural interventions that have become necessary. This claim provokes a discussion about the meaning of values, how we can preserve them in practice and how we can translate them into architectural qualities that users experience. Riegl's understanding of the different perspectives of heritage values in the past and present opens up the possibility of identifying present values as a reflection of current social, material and political conditions in the architectural discourse.

This qualitative and practical study compares two Belgian projects to trace the use of values in adaptive reuse projects from an architectural design perspective. The Predikherenklooster, a 17th-century monastery in Mechelen that now houses the public library, and the C-Mine cultural centre in Genk, a former 20th-century coal mine, are compared. The starting point is Flemish legislation, which defines significance through values, distinguishing between 13 heritage values.

The study demonstrates the opportunities that axiological questions offer during the design process of an adaptive reuse project. They provide an overarching framework for tangible and intangible aspects that need to be discussed, particularly in terms of the link between what exists, the design strategy and their effect.

Adaptive reuse can draw on approaches from both heritage conservation and contemporary architecture and explore values as a tool for “re-designing” built heritage.

Only recently have historic concrete buildings received attention and the need for their protection has been understood. Their listing as architectural heritage in most countries is ruled by legislations. The research carried out within the framework of the CONSECH20 JPI project on the conservation of historic concrete buildings in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Italy and the Netherlands has allowed to study the legislations in the four aforementioned countries and how these are brought to practice. This paper aims at the evaluation of these legislations and of their function in practice.

The legislations have been examined focussing on the protection of historic buildings and the guidelines to achieve a correct technical conservation. These were assessed in practical situations. The situations of the four countries were studied and the parameters used allowed comparisons.

Concrete buildings are at risk and the guidelines should be further developed to meet actual conservation needs, including historical and aesthetical compatibility. The re-use of listed concrete buildings often means transforming and adapting these to a variety of modern needs and norms: the complexity of this assignment asks for a multidisciplinary teamwork. The bottom-up Dutch programme for quality in conservation, striving to bring ethical and technological principles to practice, could be a sound basis for developing respectful conservation strategies of heritage concrete buildings.

The research concerns the four countries involved in the CONSECH30 project and could be extended to include more countries.

More stakeholders have to be involved in the process of conservation and transformation of heritage concrete buildings. This should be directed by the legislation.

No direct social implications are foreseen from the outcome of the research. However, the suggestion is made that social involvement is essential in planning concrete building transformations.

The study focussed on the application of theory (the legislation) to practice (thus showing the limits of the legislation), which is an innovative way of contributing to the conservation of historic concrete buildings.

The general attitude of the ancient theatre conservation strategies and policies is still concerned primarily with their architectural physical appearance without considering their authentic scientific acoustical qualities. The paper attempts to illustrate and discuss how to enhance their acoustic heritage to arouse the audience's interest and needs. Thus, supporting their reconstruction based on recent acoustical research and community needs-related concerns and opportunities for ancient theatre's modern use.

It is based on reviewing the main issues related to reconstruction in the international charters and conventions and how to infuse ancient theatres with their full role. It discusses the dilemma and debates regarding the theatre stage wall, colonnade (portico) restoration and anastylosis. Is it sufficient enough to recover the theatre sound volume? Or to rethink for full physical reconstructions of these missing related acoustical theatre architectural elements to their original level and layout as in ancient times in parallel to their virtual reconstruction?

The cultural significance of the authentic theatre's acoustical qualities needs to reform the conservation strategies and policies for a more flexible and resilient approach. It should be postulated, re-examined and advocated parallel to their 3D virtual reconstruction in the related international charters and conventions.

The paper's implications are not immediate; it is far-reaching. It suggests the importance of acoustics in analysing historic theatre performance venues and reforming conservation strategies and approaches. This issue is especially critical for architects, conservators, the heritage community and the public audience.

Recommendations are made for potential bold reconstruction actions that may be taken to achieve further sustainability, comfort, and permeability in modern theatre-use performances. Their physical reconstruction for improving the performance of contemporary theatre use regarding retaining the acoustic cultural significance should be more flexible and resilient in the charters.

This paper aims to identify and evaluate the industrial heritage of the Safawi region, which has suffered from neglect and government dispossession. It proposes strategies for documenting and repurposing the Al-Safawi cinema, advocating for its transformation into a historical museum. Repurposing culturally significant structures as museums offers opportunities to address challenges, preserve heritage, promote sustainable urban development, improve local quality of life, and attract tourists.

Employing an inductive approach, this research uses qualitative methods, including detailed descriptive analysis, along with contemporary digital documentation tools such as RTC360 Laser Scanning, Digi Cad 3D, Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD, and Photoshop.

The study demonstrates that converting heritage buildings into museums requires minimal alterations to maintain authenticity and historical integrity. These findings provide valuable insights into architectural considerations that inform decision-making processes for museum projects, contributing to discussions on museum standards, practices, and adaptive reuse within the Jordanian context.

This study stands out for its use of advanced digital tools within the Jordanian context, representing a significant advancement in digital documentation practices. Few studies have explored the Safawi area and its heritage, making this research particularly innovative. By advocating for minimal alterations to preserve authenticity, it sets a valuable precedent for museum projects in the country, enhancing efforts in heritage conservation and cultural enrichment. This initiative highlights the evolving landscape of digital engagement in Jordan and its potential implications for cultural heritage management.