Cultural Heritage

   

Over the last decades the sustainable conservation of cultural heritage has developed into a key challenge around the world. In this context the urbanization megatrend raises the question how new things can come into existence that respect and uphold the values and qualities handed down in what had been previously built, particularly in urban areas. The Faculty of Architecture at RWTH Aachen University has long distinguished itself with particular expertise in these matters, including the former UNESCO Chair in World Heritage Cultural and Urban Landscape and the newly established UNESCO Chair for Cultural Heritage and Urbanism since January 2023. In order to extend this expertise and address it internationally, several departments cooperate within a collaborative research field Cultural Heritage.

We carry out research into how cultural and historical identity form and which overall concepts, actors and institutions play a part in this formation. In order to take into account the dynamics of social and economic change, we explore a broader, performative notion of monument– starting with implications of a general culture of knowledge and collecting through to the planning options to depict the added value of cultural heritage in the urban and regional context.

Our goal is to establish theories and methods that comprehend and develop cultural heritage as a social, economical and political resource.

 

Contact Institute of Landscape Architecture
Jakobstraße 2
52056 Aachen
 +49 (0)241 80 95049 
junker@la.rwth-aachen.de

Contact Unesco Chair for Cultural Heritage and Urban Design
Chair of Urban Planning and Design
Institute of Urban Planning and European Urban Studies
Wüllnerstraße 5b, D - 52062 Aachen
+49 (0) 241 80 95033
office@staedtebau.rwth-aachen.de