Conservation of Urban and Architectural Heritage

#### **Chapter 5**

## A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt: A Goals-and-Applications Approach

*Marwa Elkady*

#### **Abstract**

In Graeco-Roman Egypt, rulers shared the tradition of rebuilding structures. A great deal of attention was paid to conservation to preserve the characteristics associated with these buildings as perceived by the Egyptians. Conservation programming was implemented to achieve different political, economic, and cultural objectives. In this chapter, we examine the concept of conserving architectural heritage at that time by employing historical methods to study the historical environment of that era. We also use descriptive methods to study the conservation program applied by the rulers then. This is followed by an analytical study of the historical and archaeological specifics, and finally, a deductive method is used to indicate the outcomes and key findings. Moreover, the chapter outlines a theory for reviving the past through architectural heritage conservation in an analogous way to Graeco-Roman Egypt. Finally, the chapter ends with the main finding that reconstruction as a means of architectural conservation was a strategy perused in Graeco-Roman Egypt to serve political rather than cultural or religious goals. In addition, compared with contemporary reconstruction projects, the concepts are totally different. Architectural conservation today is primarily linked to cultural purposes and the desire to preserve the past rather than achieve political goals.

**Keywords:** Graeco-Roman, reconstruction, Egypt, conservation, heritage

#### **1. Introduction**

It has become increasingly important to conserve heritage not only for tangible legacy but also for intangible legacy in our modern world. Conservation is defined according to UNESCO as "the operations which together are intended to prolong the life of an object by forestalling damage or remedying deterioration [1]". The principal aim of conserving architectural heritage accordingly is "to maintain the physical and cultural characteristics of the object to ensure that its value is not diminished and that it will outlive our limited time span [2]". Thus, conservation operations are primarily concerned with preventing the loss or damage of architectural heritage through

preventative and remedial actions [3]. Heritage conservation emphasizes that the context or setting of an early building is part of its significance. This significance of a building may be diminished if its early context is taken away [4].

In this chapter, we will travel to ancient times to explore another perspective on architectural heritage conservation, specifically Graeco-Roman Egypt, where the primary aim was to preserve the ancient setting and traditional significance of the buildings. It was different in terms of goals and applications. The goals were not focused on preserving cultural heritage or traditions, nor were the standards and criteria for conservation the same as today. These practices had more to do with maintaining the authority of the kings and rulers over the people. Thus, in Egypt, conserving cultural heritage had political and perhaps economic implications rather than cultural ones. What are the reasons beyond these goals? How did they achieve these goals through cultural heritage conservation? Further, it is also crucial to investigate the possibility of a modern version of the same concept. There are two more questions that may arise in this context: Can the same concepts of conserving cultural heritage be applied today? Are the goals the same? Do they follow the same standards and procedures as Graeco-Roman Egypt? As we discuss these conditions in Graeco-Roman Egypt and measure their impact on our modern lives, the next few paragraphs of this chapter will attempt to answer these questions.

#### **2. Methodology**

To find proper answers to the above-mentioned questions, we must sail back to ancient Egypt and study its history using the historical methods in order to get a complete picture of all the circumstances of the Ptolemaic and Roman rulers. As we sail deeper into the past using the historical methods, exploring the political and cultural concepts of the rulers, understanding why they pursued the policy of architectural conservation of the ancient Egyptian temples. To be able to fulfill this goal, it was important to look further back in the past to Pharaonic Egypt, when Egypt was ruled by ancient Egyptian pharaohs and not foreigners. This step is so important for this type of study to point out the true significance of the Egyptian temples and that they did not only play a religious role, but social and political roles as well. Then the study moves forward to explore the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt, distinguishing between the nature of the two eras and their rulers: the Ptolemaic and Roman. At this point, the chapter indicates in brief the history of Ptolemaic how religion was of a great priority to the population and thus conserving temples was in a way or another an essential medium for the foreign Ptolemaic ruler to gain the hearts of his Egyptian people. Then, we move forward using the same historical methods to see how the Roman emperors (as rulers of Egypt in the Roman period) used the same way the Ptolemies had. This is done by explaining how they used the same administrative and religious policy as their predecessors and thus followed their footsteps regarding architectural conservation of the Egyptian temples, whether by restoration, preservation, or reconstruction.

The following step used in the methodology of this chapter is the descriptive methods. It is so important after declaring the main historical points of the era which this chapter talks about (the Graeco-Roman) to utilize the descriptive methods to describe and designate the different monuments and ancient temples which are the actual evidence and tangible proof of the care and attention paid by the rulers

#### *A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

of Graeco-Roman to have a program of architectural conservation. In this part of the study, we go through the description in detail of the reconstruction of the main Egyptian temples during the Graeco-Roman period, including the temples of Dendera, Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Philae (**Figure 1**). Further, the descriptive methods are also used to indicate other restoration works done to Egyptian temples during the same period in different parts of Egypt in prominent cult centers like Memphis and Heliopolis.

The next step is to use the analytical methods. It is a crucial point in this study as it is the method that will be used to reach the answers already asked at the beginning of the chapter. The analytical methods are applied here through analyzing two parts: first, the historical background of Egypt during the Graeco-Roman period, politically, socially, and religiously. Second, the archeological evidence which is well indicated by the great monuments and temples remaining from the Graeco-Roman Period. Following the analytical methods in this study is particularly pertinent to comprehend how and why architectural conservation was of a high priority for the rulers of Egypt at that time, their real targets, and the types of conservation they favored.

Finally comes the deductive methods as the last methodology used in this chapter by which the answers to the questions in the introduction and the key findings can be reached.

#### **Figure 1.**

*Map of ancient Egypt. Armur R. gods and myths of ancient Egypt. 2nd ed. Cairo & new York: The American University in Cairo press; 2001.*

#### **3. Egypt under the Ptolemaic and Roman rules**

The Graeco-Roman period in Egypt is divided into two eras: the Ptolemaic and the Roman. The first starts with the invasion of Alexander the Great to Egypt in 332 B.C. The Egyptians looked at Alexander not as a conqueror, but as a savior. This is due to the fact that the Egyptians had long considered the Greeks their ally, who had aided them long in their struggle against the Persians who were ruling Egypt then. Alexander was keen to prove to the Egyptians that he was not a conqueror to assure their loyalty and accept him as their ruler. He adopted the traditional Egyptian protocol of the Egyptian pharaohs. He started this protocol by visiting the city of Heliopolis, the cult center of the great Egyptian god Re, the god of the sun. He then moved to the city of Memphis, the capital of Egypt at that time where he had himself crowned as an Egyptian pharaoh along the same ancient Egyptian traditions. Moreover, Alexander paid a great attention to show his respect to the Egyptian divinities. He made offerings to the Egyptian gods, especially the god Apis in the temple of Ptah at Memphis. As a result, Alexander the Great was cheerfully accepted by the Egyptians as their pharaoh who saved them from the unmerciful Persians. Alexander decided to visit the temple of Amun (that was also known as Zeus-Amun) at Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt in order to inspire the famous oracle of this god. He had certain aims when he decided to do that: First, to assure his rule in Egypt by proving that he was a descendant of the Egyptian gods following the Egyptian traditions of the pharaohs. Second, to prove to the world that the great god Zeus-Amun was supporting him in his ambition to control the world under his rule. Third, to pursue the same policy of the Greek heroes like Hercules and Perseus, who were said to have had inspired the oracle of Zeus-Amun in Siwa before setting out for their labors. It was on his journey to visit the temple via the coastal way did Alexander decide to found the new city of Alexandria [5].

With the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C, a new age called the "Hellenistic Age" started which synchronized the rule of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. After Alexander's death, his generals decided to divide the empire into satrapies (states) under the highest-ranking generals and the royal guards of Alexander. Ptolemy, son of Lagos, was allotted the satrapy of Egypt. He is Ptolemy I Soter, the "savior", and the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt. To assume the title of "king" in 306 B.C, he decided to follow the example of Alexander and had himself crowned as a pharaoh in the temple of Ptah in Memphis. The following year 305 B.C [5] was counted in Egyptian Demotic documents as the first year of Ptolemy's kingship. Ptolemy at first kept Memphis as a capital during his satrapy. In 311 B.C., he moved his residence to Alexandria, the new capital of Egypt [6]. Ptolemy I was succeeded by fourteen Ptolemies whose rule ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and her son Ptolemy XV Caesarion in 30 BC [7].

There must have been certain impacts on the Egyptian population from different perspectives because of the transition from the Pharaonic to the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Different Egyptian cities, particularly in Upper Egypt, where most ancient Egyptian pharaohs originated, regarded the Ptolemaic kings as foreigners. The Ptolemaic kings succeeding the throne were symbols of Egyptian-Greek society, and they represented it in great harmony. They adopted the traditional Egyptian customs and titles and were represented as Pharaohs on the walls of Egyptian temples in order to legitimize their rule [6]. Hence, the Ptolemies to obtain political control over Egypt perused this policy, being depicted as pharaohs

#### *A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

in sculpture and temple decorations and were represented as pharaohs, which is a tradition that Alexander the Great himself had started. Good examples of the typical Pharaonic Egyptian scenes adopted by the Ptolemies are: "the king smiting enemies" (**Figure 2**), "purification of the crowned king" (**Figure 3**), and "foundation of the temple [8]", besides the common offering scenes (**Figure 4**). At the same time, they kept to have their Greek image, so they were also portrayed on coins as Greek kings wearing a Greek diadem [9].

The second era of the Graeco-Roman period is the Roman which starts in 30 B.C. after the death of Cleopatra VII when the Roman Command Octavian (who later became a Roman emperor and assumed the title of August) took control over Egypt and annexed it as a province to the Roman empire. Octavian on entering Alexandria gave a speech to the Alexandrians in Greek, in which he assured his respect to Alexander the Great and presented himself as the successor of the pharaohs. He also paid homage to the body of Alexander and placed a golden crown on his head [10]. For the Egyptians, Augustus was the pharaoh [11]. They granted him the traditional titles and sacredness of their pharaohs. He appointed a Praefectus Aegypti the

**Figure 2.**

*The Ptolemaic king is smiting the enemy in front of the god Horus, Temple of Edfu.*

#### **Figure 3.** *The Ptolemaic king purified by the Egyptian gods thot and Horus. Temple of Kom Ombo.*

**Figure 4.** *Offering scene from the temple of Edfu.*

"Roman ruler of Egypt" and deputy of the emperor who held the military authority to command the Roman legions in Egypt [12]. Augustus beside the Annona (annual tribute paid to Rome) also imposed a poll tax known as Laographia obligatory on all the Egyptians [13]. This situation lasted till the division of the Roman Empire into two, when Egypt became subjected to the eastern empire, the Byzantine and ruled by Byzantine emperors [14].

Most of the administration system remained in the Roman period the same as it had been in the Ptolemaic period, except some a few modifications [15]. Like the Ptolemies, the Roman emperors were regarded as pharaohs and were represented on the walls of the temples wearing the traditional Egyptian royal costumes and crowns and holding the same Egyptian royal emblems and insignia with their names inscribed inside cartouches like Egyptian pharaohs [16]. The Romans came at the top of the society, followed by the Greeks and then the Jews. The last class of the society was the Egyptian peasants and artisans, who could not join the army and paid the full poll tax. Despite that, the Egyptians during the Roman period retained their traditions. They spoke their language and worshiped the Egyptian gods [17]. The Alexandrian triad (consisting of Serapis, Isis, and Harpocrates), however, had a great influence in the Roman period. Besides the national cults, there were imperial cults for the emperors who were deified by special priests in Alexandria, and statues were made in their honor in the temples [18].

#### **4. Program of architectural conservation of Egyptian temples**

The king according to the ancient Egyptians was the living god on earth who played the role of a mediator between the common people and the divine power of the gods in the heavens. Therefore, the Egyptian king, the pharaoh was divine, regarded as the living image of the god Horus ruling on earth. Horus was the falcon-headed god that represented kingship in heaven. The pharaoh had to hold a Horus name as one of his four

#### *A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

principal royal titles. This concept of kingship was basic throughout the ancient history from prehistoric times up to the Roman period. When the Ptolemies rose to the throne of Egypt, they retained the same royal traditions and adopted many aspects of Egyptian political structures and social order to legitimize their rule as a key to strengthening their control over the country and the Egyptian population. Observing and accepting the Egyptian gods and divinities was the shortest way to the hearts of the Egyptians, confirming their rule as successors of the Egyptian pharaohs and not as foreign rulers.

Temples remained the focal point of social, economic, and cultural life, in the traditional Egyptian style. The Ptolemaic rule, therefore, is characterized by a rigorous program of temple construction and conservation, including the completion of projects left over from previous times, restoration of many older or neglected structures, and reconstruction of others. Additionally, the Ptolemaic kings generally aimed at conserving the Egyptian temples by adhering to the Egyptian traditional architectural styles and motives to preserve the traditional meanings inherited from the Pharaonic period. The Ptolemaic rulers to emphasize the same concept of being sons of gods, they created the Mammisi or the birth-houses (**Figure 5**), which were so common in temples complexes in Graeco-Roman Egypt in order to associate a local child divinity with that of the Ptolemaic king [9].

The Roman emperors were not far from the same concept the Ptolemaic kings had adopted. Their commitment to protecting Egyptian traditions and cultural heritage was reflected in their preservation of Egyptian temples, which embodied the architectural heritage. They followed the same guiding steps of the Ptolemies and were keen to complete their architectural works in the Egyptian temples. Like the Ptolemaic rulers, the Roman emperors used the conservation of the architectural heritage program in temples to gain legitimization in the eyes of the Egyptians in order to be able to rise to the Egyptian throne, emphasizing the same concept of being successors of the Egyptian pharaohs rather than being foreign rulers.

Throughout the Graeco-Roman period, based on the previously declared political and cultural concepts, many temple sites all over Egypt witnessed a large program of architectural conservation. The conservation works were done mainly through restoration and reconstruction. Among the conserved sites that still stand today as a witness of the great conservation works undertaken during the Graeco-Roman period are the great temples of Dendera, Esna, Edfu, Kom-Ombo, and Philae (**Figures 1, 6**–**11**), where the Ptolemaic kings and Roman emperors are

**Figure 5.** *Mammisi (birth house) of Dendera.*

depicted on the walls as Egyptian pharaohs performing the traditional Egyptian rituals in front of traditional Egyptian divinities and accompanied by Egyptian hieroglyphic signs along with the cartouches enclosing their names transcribed into a hieroglyph. They all reconstructed over much older temples on the same sites following the previous traditional Egyptian plans. Clearly, the ancient Egyptian priests did not give much thought to the origins of the new rulers on the throne; they were more concerned about preserving their religious and cultural traditions, divinities, and rituals [8].

#### **4.1 Temple of Dendera**

The city of Dendera lies on the western bank of the Nile, about 74 km north of the city of Luxor. It was the capital of the sixth nome of Upper Egypt. The cow goddess Hathor who was identified with the Greek goddess Aphrodite was the principal divinity of the temple of Dendera (**Figure 6**). The existing building of the temple dates back to the Graeco-Roman period [19]. However, the temple had Pharaonic roots dating back to the Old Kingdom [20]. The first temple was built by king Khufu (ca. 2551–2528 B.C.) of the fourth dynasty and restored later by the king Pepi I (ca. 2289– 2255 B.C.) of the sixth dynasty, whose name is inscribed in one of the underground crypts. The temple was reconstructed later by Thutmose III (ca. 1479–1425 B.C.) in the eighteenth dynasty [21].

It was under Ptolemaic rule and particularly from the time of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (170–116 B.C.) that the temple gained more attention and witnessed great conservation and reconstruction works. The standing body of the great temple of Hathor itself is dated to the 16th of July 54 B.C., in the time of Ptolemy XII Auletes (80–54 B.C.). Cleopatra VII (51–30 B.C.), the last ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, who completed the reconstruction of the temple also has a marvelous scene in basrelief with her son Caesarion on the outer rear wall of the temple represented in pure Egyptian style (**Figure 7**). The reconstruction works and decoration of the temple were completed in the Roman period, specifically in the reign of the emperor Tiberius (14–37 A.D.). This is proved by a Greek inscription of dedication on the upper edge of the cornice of the great hypostyle hall. In other words, the renovation of the existing temple structure was finished in the year 34 A.D. The decoration of the temple continued by the successive Roman emperors Caligula (37–41 A.D.), Claudius (41– 54 A.D.), and Nero (54–68 A.D.). The northern gateway shows scenes of the Roman emperors Domitian (81–96 A.D.), Nerva (96–98 A.D.), and Trajan (98–117 A.D.) [22]. As is evident, the whole temple was designed and decorated in Egyptian style

**Figure 6.** *The temple of Dendera.*

*A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

as the goal was to preserve cultural heritage (in this case the religion and rituals) through architectural conservation.

#### **4.2 Temple of Esna**

The city of Esna lies on the western bank of the Nile, about 50 km to the south of the city of Luxor. Today only the great hypostyle hall of the temple still stands (**Figure 8**). The temple was mainly dedicated to the ram-headed god Khnum, the creator ram god, who created beings on his potter's wheel, along with other divinities, especially Neith represented as a lady, Tefnut and Menhit as lioness goddesses [23]. The structure of the standing part of the temple is dated to the Ptolemaic period and its decoration to the Roman. However, the original temple dates back at least to the eighteenth Pharaonic dynasty, specifically the reign of Thutmose II (ca. 1492–1479 B.C) as the jamb of the gateway shows. This means that like that of Dendera the temple of Esna was reconstructed in the Graeco-Roman period. The oldest Ptolemy's name found on the walls of this temple is that of Ptolemy III Euergetes I (246–221 B.C.), who is represented on the rear side wall of the temple accompanied by a pet lion while he is smiting his enemies. Ptolemy VI Philometor (180–145 B.C.),

**Figure 8.** *Remaining part of the temple of Esna.*

whose name is inscribed on the rear wall of the hypostyle hall along with the names of Ptolemy VIII, Eurgetes II, and his wife Cleopatra II. The work was resumed in the Roman times when the temple was completed and decorated [24]. Therefore, the scenes and titles on the walls bear the names of Roman emperors; mainly Claudius (41–54 A.D.), Nero (56–68 AD) Vespasian (69–79 A.D.), Domitian (81–96 A.D.), Trajan (98–117 A.D.), Hadrian (117–138 A.D.), Antoninus Pius (138–161 A.D.), Commodus (161–180 A.D.), Severus (193–211 A.D.), Caracalla (211–217 A.D.), and Decius (249–251 AD). It is obvious that the largest portion of the existing temple is dated from the Roman period. However, the style is totally Egyptian to strengthen the Egyptian tradition and preserve the Egyptian cultural heritage by reconstructing the temple along the Egyptian style [25].

#### **4.3 Temple of Edfu**

Edfu is a city that lies between the two cities of Esna and Aswan, about 100 km to the south of the city of Luxor. In the Græco-Roman period, it was the capital of the second nome of Upper Egypt. The temple of Edfu was dedicated to the chief falcon god Horus Behedety (meaning Horus of Edfu), who was identified with the Greek god Apollo [26] (**Figure 9**). The temple of Edfu is the best-preserved Egyptian temple. In addition, it reflects with its artistic and architectural features the styles of art and architecture in Ptolemaic Egypt. The texts on the outer face of the girdle wall indicate that this building was raised in the Ptolemaic period on the plan of the original Pharaonic temple that had been designed by Imhotep, the vizier and architect of the king Djoser from the third dynasty (ca. 2630–2611 B.C.) [27]. In addition, the base of a pylon which dates to the Ramesside period, specifically of Ramsses III (ca. 1184–1153 B.C.) from the twentieth dynasty, was revealed east of the temple. The oldest crypts of the temple date back to the eighteenth dynasty [28]. This indicates that parts of the original Pharaonic temple were restored during Ptolemaic time, while others were reconstructed thoroughly during the same period.

The existing body of the temple was a reconstruction that started in the time of Ptolemy III, Euergetes I in 237 B.C as the foundation text on one of the outer walls indicates [25]. The building was completed in 212 B.C. under the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator (222–205 B.C). The first hypostyle hall was constructed in the time

**Figure 9.** *Temple of Edfu.*

*A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

of Ptolemy VIII, Euregetes II, while the pylon, the forecourt, and the enclosure wall were built during the time of Ptolemy IX Soter II (116–80 B.C.) and Ptolemy X Alexander I (107–88 B.C.), but the decoration was finished in 57 B.C. under Ptolemy XII Auletes, father of Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic ruler. This means that the temple took about 180 years to be completed. This is due to the several interruptions caused by the troubles of revolutions that rose against the Ptolemies from time to time [29]. Like the previously mentioned two temples, the whole temple of Edfu was reconstructed in the Ptolemaic period, but on the same Egyptian traditional style and architecture to claim the inheritance of the Egyptian throne by conserving Egyptian architectural traditions.

#### **4.4 Temple of Kom-Ombo**

The ancient town of Kom Ombo lies on a small mount, which rises to about 18 m above the level of the plain. It is located on the eastern bank of the Nile at about 42 km north of the city of Aswan and 165 km south of the city of Luxor. It was only in the Græco-roman period that this town gained its importance when it became the capital of a separate nome called Orembite. The temple of Kom Ombo is unique in the fact that it is a double temple dedicated to the cults of two principal opponent deities, namely Horus the falcon god and Sobek the crocodile god (**Figure 10**). Various fragments on the site indicate that the existing temple was constructed on another one dated to the Pharaonic times of the Middle and New Kingdoms. The site of the temple also contains traces of additions that had been made to the temple in the New Kingdom from the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties. The temple was reconstructed in the Ptolemaic period under Ptolemy VI Philometer in 181 B.C. However, most of the reconstruction works were made during the reign of Ptolemy VIII Euregetes II. The work was then suspended and continued later under Ptolemy XII. However, other additions and decorations were undertaken later under the Roman emperor Tiberius. The scenes and inscriptions on the walls of the temple also bear the names of other Roman emperors, who must have had works in the temple like that of Domitian [23], Geta, Caracalla, and Macrinus. This means that the reconstruction and decoration of the temple took about 400 years to be completed. Despite the special characteristic of this temple as a double temple and the long time it took to be

**Figure 10.** *Temple of Kom Ombo.*

reconstructed, it witnessed different ears and political changes. It retained the same Egyptian traditional style in all its parts in such great harmony.

#### **4.5 Temples of Philae**

Philae is a tiny island in the Nile lying at the first cataract, about 5 km from north to south and 1.50 km from east to west. On the island of Philae rise a number of Egyptian temples and constructions dating from different periods. The oldest known monument on this island is an altar built by king Taharqa (ca. 690–664 B.C.) of the twenty-fifth dynasty. However, the earliest still standing building on the island was erected by king Nectanebo II (610–595 B.C.), of the thirtieth dynasty. The importance of the island of Philae grew when it became the cult center of the goddess Isis at least from the twenty-sixth dynasty. It was during the Græco-Roman period that the island witnessed its greatest glory as the goddess Isis that resided on Philae at that time received one of the greatest cults, not only in Egypt but in the Graeco-Roman as well. The cult of Isis remained on this island till the sixth century A.D. when the temple was officially closed, long after announcing Christianity as the official religion in the Roman Empire. Under the command of Theodorous in 577 A.D. parts of the temples of Philae were converted into churches. Due to the construction of the High Dam in 1960, the island and the temples were threatened by the complete disappearance under the Nile waters. To solve this, the Egyptian government made an appeal to the organization of UNESCO to save the monuments. The temples were dismantled and rebuilt on another nearby island called Agilika. The new island of Philae was officially opened to the public in 1980 [19].

The island of Philae is famous for the great temple of Isis (**Figure 11**), which was started by Ptolemy II Philadelphos (285–246 B.C.) and finished by Ptolemy III Euergetes I (246–221 B.C.), while the decoration was resumed in later periods. Preceding the pylon are two red granite statues representing two lions dating from the Roman period [30] (**Figure 12**). Behind these two lions once stood two red granite

**Figure 11.** *Temple of Isis on Philae Island.*

*A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

#### **Figure 12.**

*Two Roman lion statues preceding the temple of Isis on Philae Island. \*pictures were taken by the author.*

obelisks erected by Ptolemy VIII Euregetes II and his wife Cleopatra III. The decoration of the pylon continued during the reigns of Ptolemy VI and XII. Columns in the hypostyle hall of the Isis temple built under Ptolemy VI [23]. A lot of restoration, additional and decorative works were undertaken under the Roman emperors from the time of Tiberius through to the reign of Diocletian at the end of the third century A.D [31]. Like the previous temples, these of Phila were also constructed by Ptolemaic kings and decorated by Roman emperors along the same traditional lines and style, to preserve Egyptian architectural tradition as evidence of being descendants of Egyptian pharaohs.

#### **4.6 Other conservation and reconstruction works in Graeco-Roman Egypt**

Temples played a major role in royal success throughout ancient Egyptian history. They were rich and powerful institutions that owned areas of land, exempted from taxes, and given privileges [25]. The Egyptian traditions greatly influenced society during the Graeco-Roman period. The Greeks and later the Romans who lived in Egypt worshiped Egyptian deities as manifestations of Greek and Roman divinities. Thus, Greek gods and goddesses were identified with Egyptian counterparts. For example, at Edfu the Greeks worshiped Horus as Apollo and at Akhmim, and they worshiped the Egyptian god of fertility Min as the Greek god of woods Pan [9]. Nevertheless, following the role model of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies adopted Egyptian traditions and culture. They were great conservators and restorers and undertook great projects to retain the cultural and religious heritage of the pharaohs. This strategy of the rulers in the Ptolemaic period was adopted during the Roman period as well. The Roman emperors paid great attention to conserve the Egyptian religious heritage on the previously mentioned important temples and others by completing buildings and decorating temples that had been reconstructed during the Ptolemaic Period. Like the Ptolemaic kings, the Roman emperors were represented in the traditional Egyptian kings wearing the same costumes and doing the same rituals before the Egyptian divinities.

The restoration and reconstruction programs were not limited to the five mentioned sites, but also included other important religious sites and cult centers that had received great prestige in Pharaonic Egypt. Memphis, which once had been the capital of Egypt before Alexandria, the cult center of the god Ptah, kept on having great religious influence. In Graeco-Roman period, it was the second capital. The Ptolemaic rulers were crowned in the Memphite Ptah temple as a tradition like the Egyptian pharaohs had before [31] and gained great priestly prestige as they gave in return privileges to the temples and priest. [9] Heromopolis Magna (modern Ashmunein) (**Figure 1**) was a cult center of Thoth, the god of wisdom. A Hellenistic-style temple was reconstructed during the Graeco-Roman period there to be dedicated to Thoth on the remains of the Pharaonic temple, where a few evidence indicate the existence of parts from the time of Amenhotep III in the eighteenth dynasty [32]. Thebes remained the cult center of the great god Amun-Re. His temples at Karnak, Madinet Habu, and Luxor witnessed important restoration, reconstruction, and additions as parts of the conservation program of the great Egyptian temples process in the Graeco-Roman period [33]. Other religious regions all over Egypt witnessed the same strategy of conserving Egyptian temples either by restoration or by reconstruction including the temples dedicated to local gods of the oases (Siwa, Bahariya, Dakhla, and Kharga) in the Western Desert [34] and in Upper Egypt in the cities of Fayum, Armant, Coptos, Medamud, Tod, and Akhmim, and Nubia (**Figure 1**).

#### **5. Reconstruction as a mean of architectural heritage conservation**

The term conservation refers to all the activities carried out to ensure the preservation of a place's historical, architectural, esthetic, and/or cultural significance. This can include maintenance, restoration, reconstruction, or combining more than one process together [35]. Reconstruction, as the word implies, refers to the process of rebuilding or reproduction. It is simply "evocation, restoration or replication of a previous form" and "the purpose of reconstruction is to maintain and reveal the significance of cultural heritage" [36]. Reconstruction is generally understood in architecture to be a process by which architects reproduce past buildings visually. In this context, it can refer to work executed either with modern or old materials, or a mix of both. In this work, dismembered or destroyed elements, or parts thereof, are rebuilt. Hence, reconstruction mainly aims to restore a place as close as possible to its earlier state, including the former appearance of the historical structure, architectural monuments, or parts of structures that have been severely damaged, demolished, or greatly altered, and brings them back to life.

The history of mankind is filled with examples of reconstruction as a method of conservation. Up to the middle of the nineteenth century, restoration involved repairing buildings and structures [37]. It was during World War I that the idea of undertaking a conservation operation to completely rebuild a destroyed architectural work came to light. People bitterly felt their losses when historic urban areas were destroyed, especially when it came to the sense of cultural identity that was associated with familiar surroundings. Following the World War II, when dozens of historic towns were destroyed, much rebuilding was required [38].

During the Second International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments in Venice in 1964, the Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites was adopted. Later, the ICOMOS Charter was adopted as the founding ethical document at its establishment in Poland the following year (1965). The Venice Charter was also used as a reference point for cultural World Heritage Sites when the World Heritage Committee met for its first session in 1977. As a matter of principle, the Charter favored the conservation and restoration of

#### *A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

monuments and sites and strongly opposed reconstruction work then. Accordingly, Anastylosis, or the reassembling of existing but broken parts, was the only procedure permitted. A broader perspective was provided in 1983 by the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. In light of that, a certain number of requirements had to be met before any reconstruction could take place, such as cultural properties must meet a standard of authenticity in design, materials, workmanship, and setting. The Committee stressed that reconstruction should only take place on the basis of detailed and complete documentation about the original and not based on conjecture [39]. Reconstruction of buildings is also addressed in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention in 1983 as follows: "In relation to authenticity, the reconstruction of archaeological remains or historic buildings or districts is justifiable only in exceptional circumstances. Reconstruction is acceptable only on the basis of complete and detailed documentation and to no extent on conjecture". The revised version (1999) of the Burra Charter of Australia ICOMOS, states Article 1.8. Reconstruction means returning a place to a known earlier state and is distinguished from restoration by the introduction of new material into the fabric. Article 20.1. Reconstruction is appropriate only where a place is incomplete through damage or alteration, and only where there is sufficient evidence to reproduce an earlier state of the fabric. In rare cases, reconstruction may also be appropriate as part of a use or practice that retains the cultural significance of the place. 20.2. Reconstruction should be identifiable on close inspection or through additional interpretation [39].

In spite of the fact that reconstruction may prove to be an appropriate strategy of conserving architectural heritage, its effectiveness is doubtful when it is used to improve the appearance of heritage sites, unless it is based on accurate archeological and architectural documentation or evidence. It might be justified under certain circumstances, such as to protect the monument from floods or pollution threats, or any catastrophe [40]. Reconstructions of ancient buildings that are in a ruinous state or have been lost to time typically involve detailed restorations and restitution [41]. As such, the reconstruction process is about increasing the importance of the meanings and the values the contemporary building carries rather than the physical fabric of the historic architecture itself. It is the stories and cultural heritage connected with historic places that are of greater importance as long as the reconstructed building is compatible with cultural heritage of the place [42]. Therefore, it is necessary for a reconstruction process to reflect on the relationship between invention and memory and not necessarily require recreating something exactly as it was in the past [43].

Reconstruction is also seen as a process of renovating or regenerating the social and economic conditions of an area that has been abandoned for an extended period of time. In this case, it involves an attempt to remember something in one's mind, as well as establishing one's identity once more [39]. As a result, restoring historical buildings reflects a community's social and political context. It is only the beginning of the process to ensure the reconstruction is authentic (using traditional techniques, materials, and original plans [44]. Unlike restoration, reconstruction primarily restores the functional qualities of a building without altering its appearance [38]. Reconstruction is not just a matter of restoring or repairing. In essence, it is the protection of one's own past. Nonetheless, the decision to rebuild a historically significant building is always motivated by the desire to preserve it permanently for future generations. Reconstruction in other words is a significant tool for conserving, stabilizing, and preserving the heritage for the present and the future [40].

#### **6. Example of modern reconstruction of a Graeco-Roman period building in Egypt**

Alexandria's modern Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the Great Library of Alexandria) can be considered a magnificent example of the reconstruction of one of the most prominent Graeco-Roman buildings in ancient Egyptian history. The ancient city of Alexandria was the center of science and knowledge in the ancient world. It was founded under the command of Alexander the Great when he invaded Egypt in 332 B.C. His successors, the Ptolemies, aimed to make Alexandria the center of Hellenistic culture in the ancient world. As the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, Ptolemy I was planning to establish a scholarly library annexed to the Museion which would function like a scholarly academy for intellectuals and scientists [45].

In the Graeco-Roman times, the library was located in the royal headquarter of the city, where also the Museion, the great scientific edifice lay. In order to establish the Museion and the library, Ptolemy I entrusted them to Demetrius of Phaleron, who was interested in the philosophy of Aristotle and had been the ruler of Athens for about ten years until he was banished in 307 BC. In addition to being one of the earliest public libraries in the world, the Great Library of Alexandria was also the largest. It contained a large collection of books, papyri rolls, and original manuscripts collected from Egyptian temples. According to Strabo—the great Roman historian who visited Egypt at the end of the first century B.C.—it consisted of a park, a hypostyle hall, and a great construction for holding assemblies. It contained a large number of volumes and papyri rolls. The Ptolemaic rulers paid great attention to provide it with original manuscripts collected from the Egyptian temples. The library contained then between 400.000 and 700.000 papyrus rolls dealing with all fields of science. It was sadly struck by a terrible tragedy during the Alexandrian War of 48 BC. A dramatic fire destroyed it. It was restored and reconstructed in several times over history until it was completely destroyed and forgotten.

In 2002, the newly built library of Alexandria was officially opened. The project of establishing and reviving the library was supported by UNESCO. Unfortunately, the modern library is not located exactly where the ancient one was, but close to it on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria. The idea of revitalizing this old library dates back to 1974 when Alexandria University appointed a committee to select a plot for its newly constructed building. Construction works on the complex began in 1995, and it was inaugurated on October 16, 2002. It is built near the sea with an area of about 80.000 m2 . It is designed by a Norwegian architectural company Snohetta, whose design was selected through an anonymous international competition held in 1989. The structure has an inclined cylinder form emerging from the ground with a sun disk shape roof imitating the sun rays shining over the Mediterranean. The outer wall of the structure is covered with granite panels bearing characters and alphabets from ancient and modern languages. To play the same ancient role as a cultural and science center of excellence, the library embraces in addition to specialized libraries and archives, and it houses a number of institutes, research centers, libraries, museums, and permanent exhibitions.

In contrast to the ancient library, the modern one was not reconstructed along the same lines. In spite of its reconstruction to serve the ancient purpose of being a world intellectual and cultural center, this structure has a contemporary design that is substantially different from its ancient counterpart. Therefore, the current Bibliotheca Alexandrina is an outstanding example of the theory of how reconstruction is used primarily as a means of preserving a heritage's significance and quintessence rather

#### *A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

than its appearance. To put it another way, the goal here is primarily cultural rather than political in reviving the Graeco-Roman tradition.

In comparing the current reconstruction of the Graeco-Roman Bibliotheca Alexandrina with the reconstruction undertaken by the Ptolemaic and Roman emperors during the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt, it is clear that they differ in two critical aspects: Firstly, the approaches pursued, and secondly, the reconstruction's role as a means of architectural conservation. With respect to the first difference, in modern concepts, the heritage core and cultural significance (in some cases) are more valued than the appearance of a renovated historic structure. However, in the case of the reconstruction of Egyptian temples in the Graeco-Roman period, appearance played a significant role along with traditional significance. Alternatively, in the second difference, the purpose of reconstruction is largely to conserve and retrain the culture of localities. By contrast, the Ptolemaic and Roman emperors were more interested in conserving Egyptian temples built along the same lines as in Pharaonic Egypt. They also emphasized representations of deities and royal scenes out of political aspirations rather than cultural ones. In other words, they pursued a cultural approach to achieve their political goals rather than the cultural ones.

#### **7. Conclusions**

It has become apparent that reconstruction has been used for architectural conservation since the early ages in various parts of the world as a means of architectural and cultural heritage conservation, specifically during the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt. Over the course of history, reconstruction has primarily been intended to preserve cultural heritage.

However, the preservation of architectural and cultural heritage was primarily carried out to serve the political goals of the Graeco-Roman rulers. In order to preserve the architectural heritage represented in the Egyptian temples, the Ptolemaic kings and the Roman emperors adopted a conservationist approach. Their apparent goal was to pass on the Egyptian cultural and religious legacy, but their primary objective was actually quite different. The foreign rulers followed this policy in order to placate the populace and legitimize their rule by relying on the Egyptian faith.

Architectural conservation thus in the Graeco-Roman period served as political propaganda for the rulers in order to gain acceptance as legitimate successors to the Egyptian pharaohs. The strategy involved architectural restoration and reconstruction. In addition to this, the walls of the temples were painted with the same Egyptian reliefs and scenes. They were carved and decorated in the same ancient Egyptian style and with Pharaonic royal and religious themes. Consequently, they continued to formalize the legitimacy of these rulers in a way that fit the Egyptian political and religious heritage then.

There has been a long and continuing debate among heritage institutions and scholars regarding reconstruction as a means of preserving cultural heritage. This debate includes the criteria that should be incorporated into the process of reconstruction. Reconstruction, however, as an approach to conserving architectural heritage, today has totally different principles and goals than it did in ancient times, particularly the Graeco-Roman Egypt. In the modern world, the main objective is to preserve culture and history. It is aimed at revitalizing the identity and authenticity of the place by reviving its significant past. This is well illustrated by the example of the reconstruction of the Great Library of Alexandria from the Graeco-Roman period. The main goal here is to retain the same intellectual and scientific role played by the library in Graeco-Roman times or in other words to revive the cultural glory of the city.

Thus, the answers to the questions mentioned in the introduction of the chapter about the purposes of architectural conservation in Graeco-Roman Egypt, and where the same concepts are applied today with the same goals. A small comparison between the Graeco-Roman period and modern times shows that although the approach and the concept of using reconstruction as a method of conserving architectural heritage in the two cases are quite similar, the goals on the other hand are different. In modern times, the goal focuses more on preserving culture as it pertains to history, heritage, identity, and authenticity. In the case of the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt, however, it was evidently done to preserve ancient Egyptian religious heritage to eventually achieve political goals.

#### **Author details**

#### Marwa Elkady1,2

1 Department of History, Seattle University, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A

2 Former Department of Tourist Guiding, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

\*Address all correspondence to: elkady.marwa@yahoo.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*A Conceptual Framework for Conserving Architectural Heritage in Graeco-Roman Egypt:… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110516*

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#### **Chapter 6**

## Digital Immersion Technology and Its Strategy in the Field of Urban and Architectural Heritage Conservation

*Pan Husheng, Ping Li and Lie Zhang*

#### **Abstract**

Urban and architectural heritage, an important part of tangible cultural heritage, is a treasure of humanity and spiritual supply that nourishes and sustains the vitality and cohesiveness of all peoples. With the rapid modernization of cities, the urban and architectural heritage left by our ancestors is facing the risk of irreversible destruction or permanent disappearance, so the research on the application of digital conservation of urban and architectural heritage is of importance and urgency. To this end, based on the research theme of urban and architectural heritage, with the application of digital immersion technology in the field of urban and architectural heritage conservation as a clue, and by sorting out its development status and trends, the application forms of relevant projects are analyzed and relevant ideas, and finally summarized about the four ideas and strategies of "value interpretation", "authenticity", "in situ" and "sustainability". Among them, "value interpretation" is the core of immersion technology application, "authenticity" is the fundamental source, "in situ" is the characteristic highlight, and "sustainability" is the future direction of social, economic and cultural integration, hoping to provide a possible technical approach and reference of ideas and strategies for digital conservation of urban and architectural heritage worldwide.

**Keywords:** urban and architectural heritage, digital immersion technology, current trends, case forms, ideas and strategies

#### **1. Introduction**

In the long evolutionary process of survival and development, human beings have left countless outstanding cultural heritages, among which urban and architectural heritage, as material carriers witnessing and recording historical cultural lineage, are important components of tangible cultural heritage. They can be divided into two major parts: urban heritage and architectural heritage. The former mainly refers to ancient relics buried underground, including settlements and architectural sites, tombs, kiln sites, traffic, etc., which can reflect the historical, artistic, cultural and

scientific values of a city; while the latter is subordinate to the former, referring to ancient artificial constructions existing on the ground, including temples, cities, bridges, and various structures, etc., which are material, immovable cultural entities. The conservation of urban and architectural heritage has long been a top research direction in this field in both academia and industry, and is also the most complex area of urban public governance, involving complex conflicts between the values and interests of plural social agents [1].

Early conservation of urban and architectural heritage manifested itself more as a broader study of the cultural heritage dimension, the origins of which can be traced back to the Enlightenment Movement in Europe. On the one hand, the aspirations of the upper classes for democracy and republicanism inspired their passion for the restoration of the architectural remains of ancient Greece and Rome; on the other hand, people believed that they could dictate the future through the power of scientific prophecy and social engineering and rational planning [2]. And the concept and practice of modern urban heritage conservation began in France after the Revolution in the 19th century, with the establishment of measures to protect the first buildings in order to restore the architectural heritage destroyed during the Revolution, which is considered to be the source of modern heritage conservation legislation. The study of urban and architectural heritage conservation in China originated in the 1930s, when architectural conservation experts, represented by Mr. Liang Sicheng, took the lead in focusing on and practicing the conservation of relevant urban heritage [3].

However, with the development of society and changes in the concept of heritage conservation, views on the conservation of urban and architectural heritage have begun to sprout that, in addition to traditional conservation measures such as restoration, rehabilitation and monitoring, many factors such as urban economy, culture, society and environment need to be considered at the same time. The principle of "authenticity" for cultural heritage conservation was introduced in the Venice Charter in 1964. However, there has been a fundamental contradiction between conservation and development in cultural heritage, mainly because some researchers believe that maintaining the "authenticity" of cultural heritage will hinder the planning and development of modern cities to a certain extent. For example, China has experienced rapid urban modernization in recent decades, but while the public has enjoyed modernization, the problem of permanent destruction of the original urban and architectural heritage has come along with it, causing irreparable loss of historical information. Therefore, in response to the practical problem of contradictions and controversies in the field of urban and architectural heritage conservation, new technical tools and interpretations are urgently needed.

In recent decades, the rapid iterative innovation of digital technology has led to a booming wave of digital conservation in the cultural heritage sector, offering new possibilities for solving these problems. Research on digital preservation of cultural heritage can be traced back to the "Memory of the World" project proposed by UNESCO in 1992. In the 1990s, with the support of 3D technology and virtual reality, the digital conservation of cultural heritage entered the 3D era. In 2009, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) launched The London Charter for Computer-Based Visualization of Cultural Heritage [4], which provides an authoritative framework for the digital conservation of cultural heritage, with a landmark significance [5]. Digital conservation of cultural heritage in China began in the late 20th century. For example, the "Dunhuang Frescoes Multimedia Restoration" project of the Dunhuang Research Institute, a project that involves the salvage digital preservation of Dunhuang frescoes through 3D scanning and other technologies. In

*Digital Immersion Technology and Its Strategy in the Field of Urban and Architectural Heritage… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110710*

the process, digital immersion technology (hereinafter referred to as "immersion technology") has become an increasingly important focus of research and application, mainly in the form of art, culture, technology and industry integration, resulting in a different form of art that brings many changes to social life [6]. Meanwhile, in recent years, based on the application of immersion technology, the vocabulary such as immersive experience evolved from it has been widely used in the fields of film, theater, and theme parks around the world [7]. Therefore, the study of digital immersion technology in urban and architectural site conservation has important research value and application significance.

In this regard, through reviewing the development of digital immersion technology in the field of urban and architectural heritage conservation, sorting out its advantages and analyzing representative cases, it is attempted to summarize its application forms and strategies in this paper, with the aim of providing a reference for the application forms and strategies of digital conservation of urban and architectural heritage in the global context.

#### **2. Current trends in the application of digital immersion technology**

The term "immersion" originally refers to the effect of computer technology and means, and there is no unified definition of the concept of "digital immersion technology", which is broadly understood in this paper as "a general term for a series of technologies that make it difficult for users to distinguish between real and virtual by blurring the boundaries between virtual and real environments", mainly divided into building technologies based on digital scenes of urban and architectural heritage, such as geographic information, 3D scanning, model building and heritage management, and display planning and experience design based on digital simulation scenes. Therefore, in this paper, the current trend of its development is discussed from three aspects: immersion technology, immersion experience and immersion design.

#### **2.1 Software and hardware immersion technology: growing maturity**

Currently, the categories of display forms based on immersion technology are virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality and the newly popular metaverse. The immersion technology mainly stimulates users with multi-sensory through relevant sensing, display and other equipment, so that the user's sense of presence and participation in the virtual environment can reach the best state. In terms of the development of its hardware and software equipment, it has been increasingly mature with broad future prospects. For example, Meta CEO Zuckerberg introduced Meta's R&D trends in head-mounted displays in the next 5-10 years: to further enhance the hardware device experience in four aspects: retinal resolution, focal depth, optical distortions, and high dynamic range (HDR), to achieve a dramatically higher experience than the current head-mounted display by 60 times. The fourth "Holocake2" is a holographic display solution to create the lightest, most immersive mixed reality device.

The situation and conditions of contemporary hardware and software immersion technologies extend to the issue of the degree of variability between the psychology and physiology of the user. Some studies have shown that human psychological and physiological responses have reached a similar level between real and virtual environments [8, 9]. Behavioral realism explains the extent to which observers respond to a

virtual environment made up of hardware and software immersion devices, just as they do to a physical environment [10]. These responses can cover a wide variety of bodily behaviors, including the way users hold or move their bodies, their performance in Kinesthetic Sense tasks, and their navigation and wayfinding decisions in space. Therefore, the use of immersion technology to create a roaming experience of urban and architectural heritage environment and real scene tour, has now reached the ability to give users a similar experience, which partially supports the increasing maturity of the current software and hardware immersion technology. Whether it is the restoration of a single building site or the whole city site, the display is more image, vivid and realistic, which is a good foundation for better protection and display of urban and architectural heritage.

#### **2.2 Multi-sensory immersion experience: getting more realistic**

The increasing maturity of immersion technology and hardware and software products experience innovation, on the one hand, greatly enhance the stability and sustainability of the operation of immersion products, on the other hand, based on this, greatly enhance the experience of immersive virtual environment, reflected in the user's feelings and the mobilization of the sense of touch, hearing, smell, so that users enjoy a more realistic multi-sensory immersion experience, allowing the display of cultural heritage more realistic and attractive.

The immersion experience was first introduced by the American psychologist Mihaly·Csikszentmihalyi [11] in 1975 and then systematically described in his book *Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience* in 1990: The "flow" refers to the state of total concentration and forgetfulness when we do something - a state in which one is not aware of the existence of time and feels a sense of energy and satisfaction when things are done.

The development of immersive technologies allows cities and architectural sites to go beyond data collection in research institutions, but to be presented for science and cultural dissemination to a wider audience. Digital interpretation of heritage can make the final presentation interpretive, engaging, and entertaining, interpreting heritage knowledge in a more interesting and engaging way and enhancing interaction with participants [12]. At the same time, immersion technology can recreate unreproducible cultural themes while maintaining the "authenticity" and "integrity" of heritage. Taking the "Reproduction - the Old Summer Palace" [13] project as an example, experts and scholars of the project have restored the Old Summer Palace, which was damaged in 1860 and known as the "Garden of All Gardens", based on various historical documents and site surveys, and have used immersion technology for interactive display of the virtual site on the basis of the restoration. The products currently available include augmented reality products and immersive realistic spaces, which have attracted a large number of visitors to the site. Thus, immersion technology provides a realistic multi-sensory immersion experience through the integrated use of touch, hearing and smell, allowing for a more realistic presentation of urban and architectural heritage.

#### **2.3 Diversified immersion design: more possibilities**

Immersive technologies and immersive experiences benefit from a variety of display and narrative methods, which can be called "diverse immersive design" and offer unlimited possibilities for scenario planning and visual design. For example,

#### *Digital Immersion Technology and Its Strategy in the Field of Urban and Architectural Heritage… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110710*

Mihaly's flow experience model is known as the "three-interval model. Following his research using the Experience Sampling Method, he predicted that flow experiences are possible when the challenges people face when participating in an activity match the skills they have acquired; boredom occurs when skills are greater than the challenge, and anxiety occurs when skills are less than the challenge. Following Mihaly, the research team at the University of Milan built on its foundation to create a four interval model and an eight interval model to more precisely locate the evoked location of the flow experience. Later on, as the experimental data accumulated, more scholars such as Hoffman [14] and Novak suggested that data comparison from more dimensions would be more accurate. The VR product *Notes on Blindness: Into Darkness* [15] is a virtual reality experience based on the dictated diary of blind professor John M. Hull. Using the principles of flow generation, the work is a good balance of curiosity, interactivity, surprise, and presence, which are the key elements of flow generation. In the work, binaural audio and 3D animation effects are used to create an immersive world felt by a person who is gradually losing his sight. The work makes extensive use of ambient sound effects so that the experience can be displaced according to the sound to determine the orientation. In the work, the visual form is particularized and the auditory senses are immersed in the sensory world of the blind professor. This work won the Feature Film Award at Tribeca Film Festival and the VR Work Award at Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival.

Cultural heritage themes often involve religious, mythological and political education scenarios that are difficult to showcase in cultural heritage restoration, but diverse immersion designs can bring about unimagined possibilities. For example, the introduction of VR technology, a branch of immersion technology, into red political education is also an important initiative in the cross-application of VR technology. The practical application of immersive VR in red education resource development is analyzed through the virtual roaming and interaction design of three scenes: red architectural resource scene restoration, red education featured classroom development and grassroots featured virtual exhibition [16]. As can be seen, the immersive experience of scene restoration, interaction design and game design has greatly enhanced the application form and dissemination capability of the site, providing more possibilities for future expansion of immersive products.

In addition, the immersion industry spawned by immersion technology is growing rapidly around the world, showing a vigorous overall vitality that fills people with anticipation [17]. *Harry Potter: The Forbidden Forest*, which is themed as a Harry Potter experience in the UK, has been widely acclaimed for its strong fan base and immersive interactive experience model, making the immersive night tour experience a new growth point in the UK tourism economy as well. Meanwhile, in 2021, Dunhuang Research Institute, together with Tencent, proposed the "Digital Provider" project on the WeChat applet "Cloud Tour Dunhuang" platform [18], promoting the first public welfare NFT in the cultural and museum industry, connecting the details of the frescoes in Cave 156 of Dunhuang's Mogao Caves, "Zhang Yichao's Army Traveling" and "The Traveling of Lady Song" to users through blockchain, metaverse and other popular technologies, creating more possibilities for immersion products.

#### **3. Case form of digital immersion technology application**

Urban and architectural heritage immersion technology is mainly divided into online and offline application categories. Online immersion application is primarily based on Web3D, 360° panoramic pictures, 2.5D staggered web display and other technologies, forming a virtual space case form of Web end roaming and 3D immersed in App, such as panoramic Forbidden City, cloud tour of Great Wall, etc. Offline immersion application form, mainly using LED screen, multi-channel projection fusion, interactive sensing equipment, virtual imaging equipment and other hardware base, and under the control of broadcast control software, creates a sensory experience with immersive audio-visual in the enclosed space in the museum. It also generally has two forms: one is the audiovisual immersion form in which the audience stands in the middle position to watch the images wrapped around them, and the other is the fantastic function of increasing the interaction between the audience and the images by adding hardware devices such as radar scanning on top of the first one. Virtual reality technology is currently a more obvious form of immersion experience application. In this paper, this will be briefly explained from the two cases of "Terracotta Warriors VR" and "Samsung Pile VR" that the author's team participated in developing, respectively.

Known as the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum and Terracotta Warriors contain rich information and unique value in the field of history, culture, military, science and technology and so on, highlight the core values of Chinese civilization, and have become an epitome of Chinese history and culture [19]. The "VR Terracotta Warriors" project is a virtual interactive roaming experience based on the real 3D space of the site and the 3D restored model of the terracotta warriors, combined with archeological related historical materials such as the color of the terracotta warriors, ancient military system, ancient carriage system, ancient weapon knowledge, etc. The audience uses the knowledge learned during the site visit to perform knowledge breaking activities in the experience. In the form of a serious game combining narrative and experience, they are engaged in an immersive experience of cultural exploration of the Terracotta Warriors in a specific capacity. The audience takes a profound and fantastic journey through time and space in the alternating evolution of real and virtual, space and time. In this interactive process of exploration, the audience are actually submerged in an immersive learning journey about the history and culture of Qin Shi Huang's tomb under the intentional arrangement of the designers. The actual scenes during the game are shown in **Figures 1** and **2**.

**Figure 1.** *Terracotta warriors site VR immersion tour.*

*Digital Immersion Technology and Its Strategy in the Field of Urban and Architectural Heritage… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110710*

#### **Figure 2.** *VR immersion tour into the underground world.*

In addition, the case of "Sanxingdui VR" is another immersive application developed in recent years with the participation of the author's team. Sanxingdui site, as a typical city and architectural site, has a continuous development history of 4800 ~ 2600 years, having experienced the heyday from the end of primitive society to the slave society, and the stages from the dissolution of primitive society to the local state and kingdom, which could be regarded as a more hazy but also more complete early Shu messenger [20]. Through the excavation of Sanxingdui, comparing the artifacts with the documentary materials such as "The Book of the King of Shu" and ancient history and mythology, experts have sorted out the dynastic lineage of Sanxingdui civilization and also outlined the site area stretching about 1200 hectares through relics such as the West City Wall, Moon Bay Wall, Sanxingdui City Wall and Qingyuan Mountain Site. Sanxingdui VR is a newer product application of immersion technology created based on the city and architectural sites of Sanxingdui. The game increases the novelty of the audience through hearing, the guidance and use of props such as torches and force feedback gloves, enabling the audience to further explore the mysteries of knowledge contained in the ancient Shu ruins during the game of finding clues.

During the game immersion experience, the experiencer needs to observe the surrounding environment, select and explore the exit to escape, in which he/she needs to find the totem symbols to be collected in turn. Totems were an important object of worship in the religious life of the Shu people, and a large number of totem ornaments and artifacts in various forms have been excavated from the Sanxingdui site. The content design requires the use of site totems and mask patterns, to which the audience has to tell the symbols represented by the symbols during the collection process. The experiencer can only find the totem pattern to put together to trigger the level to open the ancient tomb of Sanxingdui. The material sources of the totem design are shown in **Figure 3**. The actual game effects of the immersion experience are shown in **Figures 4** and **5**.

In the interactive system design of the VR game, the innovation of using the self-made positioning torch as the main interactive prop changes the traditional interaction mode of the handle prop, using the real behavior of blowing the torch

#### **Figure 3.**

*Source of material for VR immersive game art creation. Left: Sun god bird gold jewelry. Middle: Golden frogshaped ware. Right: Bronze man mask.*

**Figure 4.** *VR immersion game scene effect 1.*

**Figure 5.** *VR immersion game scene effect 2.*

*Digital Immersion Technology and Its Strategy in the Field of Urban and Architectural Heritage… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110710*

**Figure 6.**

*Comparison chart of test environment and real environment in game immersion experience. (a) Looking up at the cave entrance to receive NPC commands. (b) Picking up falling torches. (c) Rekindling an extinguished torch by blowing. (d) Moving in space using a torch. (e) Finding other torches to light. (f) Finding the totem fragment.*

and lighting other torches in the cave to promote the interactive narrative clues. Four instructions are set in the experience, such as blowing torch action instructions, lighting cave torches, searching for totem fragments, using fragments to put together the door opening mechanism, etc. If the experiencer does not execute them within 5 seconds, the system will make voice prompts corresponding to the instructions. **Figure 6** below shows the comparison between the test environment (left side) and the environment displayed on the head-mounted display (right side) during the experience.

#### **4. Ideas and strategies for the application of digital immersion technology**

In the previous section, we discussed the representative cases that can be formed by immersion technology, and combined with the long-term practice and reflection of the author's team in this field, this section focuses on a brief explanation of the

ideas and strategies for the application of immersion technology in the field of urban and architectural heritage conservation.

(1) Following the technical strategy of "value interpretation" as the core of heritage.

The issue of heritage value is often mentioned and concerned first in the field of urban and architectural heritage conservation, which has a universally recognized value division in the heritage community, with historical value, artistic value, scientific value, cultural value and social value. For the classification of heritage values, the subdivision is different in different research fields. For example, Bernard, a famous British architect, divided the values of architectural heritage into three major categories with sixteen subcategories in his book *Conservation of Historic Buildings* [21]. The first major category of emotional values contains wonder, continuity, respect and spirituality; the second major category of cultural values contains documentary, historic, archeological and age, esthetic and architectural values, townscape, landscape and ecological, technological and scientific; the third major category of use values includes functional, economic (including tourism), social (also including identity and continuity), educational, and political. Using the above categories as criteria, designers can more clearly and objectively reflect the value output they need to express or emphasize in the process of digital immersion design construction and display expression.

These values coexist in most cases, but in some scenarios or aspects, they may conflict with each other, for example, modern urban transportation construction for socio-economic development and monument preservation are sometimes conflicting sides, and some indigenous people have conflicting perceptions of native culture and foreign immigrants' perceptions of native culture, etc. [22]. Therefore, when using digital immersion technology for heritage display expression, on the one hand, efforts should be made to discover, understand and respect the diversity and unity of the specific cultural values assigned to heritage by the cultural groups to which the heritage belongs, and on the other hand, it is necessary to analyze and select the value content that needs to be expressed in priority according to the usage scenario, thematic content and communication purpose. To this end, a broad ranking of value systems can be further developed to allow designers to better understand the priorities of heritage value presentation and thus identify possible ways of coexistence between value and immersion design.

(2) Preserving the technical strategy of "authenticity" preservation of heritage. Since the 18th century, a number of principles have evolved in the conservation of urban and built heritage interventions, such as authenticity, legibility, integrity, minimum intervention, reversibility, etc. In the *Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention*, it is mentioned in the assessment of heritage that "the ability to understand the value of a property depends on the trustworthiness or truthfulness of the source of information about that value. The knowledge and understanding of these sources of information relates to the original and subsequently evolving characteristics of cultural heritage and its accumulated meaning over time, which is the necessary basis for assessing its authenticity in all its aspects [23]." It is clear that "authenticity" is fundamental to the understanding of heritage values. However, in the case of the Heritage Convention, the "authenticity" of urban heritage is also full of ambiguities due to the differences in different cultural identities, so immersion technology should be designed to be compatible with the authenticity of heritage in the recording and presentation process.

In general, the design of "authenticity" for urban architectural sites needs to be integrated into the design, storage, conservation and presentation of digital

#### *Digital Immersion Technology and Its Strategy in the Field of Urban and Architectural Heritage… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110710*

immersion from the very beginning of the planning and design process. For example, when creating a multi-source and heterogeneous database of urban heritage, it is important to prepare the groundwork for sourcing the raw data for in-depth immersion research at a later stage. In addition, digital immersion technology breaks the limitations of geographical space, but the visual design elements and manners of interactive behaviors of digital immersion products should also take full account of the cultural traditions and customary concepts they contain. For example, through the design of the interaction method that matches the theme the most, the connotation of the expressed theme and the cultural characteristics of the place are highlighted, so as to achieve the best flow experience. The general VR game experience relies on handle interaction, and the interaction form is mostly the usual game design thinking, but for the immersive experience design of tangible cities and architectural heritage, the principle of "authenticity" should be given priority. This is reflected in the "Sanxingdui VR", where the interactive prop is changed from the traditional handle to a real "torch", which is to maintain the principle of substituting the real theme.

(3) Appropriate application of technical strategies for heritage "in situ" features.

In general, the only visible remains in urban and architectural sites are the foundations of earth platforms, which can directly convey a very limited amount of information, but the sense of history and in situ nature of the site can effectively arouse deep national emotions and desire for exploration among scholars, students and viewers. It would be a good technical idea to combine the unique advantage of "in situ" emotional experience with the presentation and interpretation of multiple information of heritage, so as to present a more interpretive, engaging and entertaining effect.

For example, the author's team adopted this similar design idea at the Yingtian Gate architectural site in Luoyang, China, achieving an excellent social response. At the site of the gate building, we innovatively superimposed the site and video media to form a dream-like naked-eye immersion audio-visual effect. At this point, through the interpretation of video narratives, site knowledge can be implanted in the minds of visitors in a more receptive, visual and narrative way, allowing them to experience the historical construction techniques and the rise and fall of the Yingtian Gate in an immersive manner, so that heritage knowledge can be effectively and profoundly disseminated and create value in contemporary times.

Such creative narrative technique of artistic expression with "in situ" characteristics, which integrates projected images and site space, has a strong immersion experience, strengthens the audience's perception and feeling, ensures the artistry, vividness and interactivity in the process of conveying knowledge about the history and form of the Yingtian Gate site, and effectively connects the past with the present, and the knowledge with the audience, so that researchers or learners could efficiently access the information. This authentic case format further validates the importance and usefulness of such digital immersion technology intervention for the interpretation of urban and architectural heritage conservation.

(4) Seeking technical strategies for "sustainability" of heritage development.

Concerning the need for "sustainability" of urban and architectural heritage, the "Sustainability Guidelines" of the *London Charter* also state this. The current "sustainable" heritage development strategy is mainly reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, actively seeking the co-integration of digital immersion technology and physical buildings or sites, constituting a super-realistic audio-visual immersion of both, forming a superposition of physical heritage and immersion technology, resulting in a "1 + 1 > 2" effect, such as the above-mentioned Yingtian Gate site 3D immersion

image case. In addition, the design strategy of cities and architectural sites should not only include immersion technology, but also include the construction of immersion industry into the city construction system, so that immersion technology, heritage conservation and economic construction can develop together in a sustainable way.

On the other hand, although reconstruction cannot replace the original sites, artistic restoration of the existing heritage with respect for history has a certain sustainable development value and significance. For example, the Sui-Tang Luoyang City National Heritage Park project in Luoyang is based on the 2009 *Sui-Tang Luoyang City Site Protection Master Plan*, which calls for the preservation of the existing Sui-Tang Luoyang City sites on both sides of the Luo River. The Sui-Tang Luoyang City site has an important position in the history of the development of ancient Chinese capitals, and its layout and architectural form have had a profound influence on future generations, even influencing the architecture of East Asian countries [24]. The site overlaps with a busy part of the present-day Luoyang city district, making conservation and restoration difficult, and then through unified and coordinated reconstruction, it has now become a win-win model for heritage conservation and urban development, livelihood improvement, and cultural and tourism integration.

#### **5. Conclusions**

In summary, in this paper, based on the current development trend of digital immersion technology, a more comprehensive analysis and outlook from three dimensions of technology, experience and design are presented. Moreover, through the practical explanation and process summary of representative cases, it is not only clear about the current situation and possible innovative forms of digital immersion technology application in the field of urban and architectural heritage conservation, but also clear about the four ideas and strategies of "value interpretation", "authenticity", "in situ" and "sustainability" for digital immersion technology application in the field of urban and architectural heritage conservation. Among them, "value interpretation" is the core of immersion technology application, "authenticity" is the fundamental source, "in situ" is the characteristic highlight, and "sustainability" is the future direction of social, economic and cultural integration. In addition, the process of this research has led to several implications for the continuation of similar research in the future:

First, the application of digital immersion technology in the field of urban and architectural heritage conservation has been practiced in principle for many years and has been well received by most experts and scholars, mainly in the following aspects: through digital immersion, it is possible to preserve, record and display urban and architectural heritage in a safer, more comprehensive and flexible way without destroying the "authenticity" of the original heritage, using computer digital bitesized storage means and simulation-based expression.

Second, the advantages of intuitive, visual, narrative and interactive experience brought by digital immersion technology are highly infectious and efficient in communication, and its vivid and imaginative immersion art techniques are conducive to revealing deeper historical and cultural veins and spiritual connotations of cities and buildings. Also, the interactive features of digital immersion technology can give the audience the feasibility of participation and interaction, allowing the audience to exert more subjective initiative, when the audience is not only the receiver of culture, but also becomes the disseminator of culture, realizing two-way benefits, thus promoting the coordinated development of urban society.

#### *Digital Immersion Technology and Its Strategy in the Field of Urban and Architectural Heritage… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110710*

Third, in the context of "living" global heritage, the intervention of digital immersion technology and the conservation application of urban architectural sites are gradually forming an effective means of intervention, and the two have a mutually reinforcing development trajectory. The charm of digital immersion technology stimulates the vitality of traditional heritage and makes it a spiritual thread and source of strength for digital immersion technology and content extraction with its rich urban and architectural heritage. Digital immersion technology is an effective means and an innovative path to bring urban and architectural heritage closer to the present and to the world.

Fourth, in the context of the integration of culture and technology, the acquisition of knowledge and learning of planners, designers or engineers should not be limited to a single professional aspect, but rather should focus on or emphasize the integrated development of "culture, art and technology", i.e., the direction of training composite talents, so as to create more and more innovative paths for the conservation of urban and architectural heritage in the future.

Fifth, globally, as the application of digital immersion technology in the field of urban and architectural heritage is still in the initial exploration stage, a more practical and systematic methodology cannot be formed yet. However, as people subsequently practice, apply, summarize and reflect on digital immersion technology in large quantities, it is believed that the construction of related methodologies will emerge one after another, which is also the goal and scope of our subsequent research. Looking ahead, the research in this paper represents only a new exploration of digital immersion technology and heritage conservation. We expect more communication, exchange and cooperation with international related research teams to produce more research results.

#### **Acknowledgements**

This paper is an outcome of the project "Application research of interaction design in the field of cultural heritage display and communication" (no. 20BG127) supported by National Social Science Foundation of China art Project.

#### **Author details**

Pan Husheng, Ping Li and Lie Zhang\* Academy of Art and Design, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

\*Address all correspondence to: 347613327@qq.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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#### **Chapter 7**

## Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings towards a Resilient Heritage

*Maya Hassan*

#### **Abstract**

This chapter summarizes the development of the global principles of historic building reuse and the theories of fundamental intervention, starting from the end of the eighteenth century down to the related principles' integration into comprehensive sustainable development agendas at the beginning of this century. The chapter raised some research questions and presented three historic churches from the Syrian coast that need reuse and activation. Then, it attempted to answer the questions through a literature review and a case study of international examples of the adaptive reuse of historic churches from America and Europe in an assortment of functions. The presented case studies focused on the abandoned historic churches' original structure and materials and incorporating them into the design for the new usage, era needs and techniques, where their conservation and adaptive reuse emphasize the aging of original surfaces, walls and other components as a form of respect for the place's memory in some cases, as well as using the creative design in other cases to provide the needs of the new functions. The chapter concluded with some guidelines and essential points to be considered in the process of historic building/church' adaptive reuse in Syria and worldwide.

**Keywords:** historic church, adaptive reuse, authenticity, resilience, built heritage

#### **1. Introduction**

Architecture is the art of meeting human needs, which started with the early man who used rocks and caves as a refuge and shelter from the natural factors and predators that threatened his life. Since prehistoric periods, the processes of using what exists, modifying and preparing it to serve its daily needs began. The early man used a kind of architectural treatment for his cave in line with his discoveries and his desire for survival and continuity. He made a cave door to be closed and an opening to let the smoke out when he discovered the fire. The requirements and developments of human life prompted the use of a kind of functional division of his shelters, such as sleeping and residence zones. Thousands of years later, given the values of social, cultural and historical archaeological sites and buildings and their importance in shaping the identity of the country and the culture of current

and future generations, it stresses the need to reuse them in preserving them and striving for sustainable development. They are preserved for a "social purpose" with the possibility of handing over a special richness to future generations. Currently, heritage assets are referred to the inherited resources, activities or goods of the past. They are the resources for which each country has a regulatory framework designed to protect them as exemplary public goods. They contribute to giving their country vision, increasing the attractiveness and cultural tourism, which will surely generate a treasure for the nation [1]. From an economic point of view, the value of cultural heritage assets lies in the benefits that can be derived from their direct and indirect use and even from their non-use. Valorisation means benefiting more from the investment of countries, regions and municipalities in cultural heritage in several ways, thus enhancing social and economic returns. Their mere existence can contribute to business activities, employment as well as regional and urban renewal, skills development, and cultural participation of citizens. At the same time, their reuse in a suitable and non-destructive usage can provide added value [2]. Adaptive reuse is the process of modifying old or monumental buildings to make them suitable for new and non-destructive uses to allow structures to maintain their historical integrity while meeting the needs of their contemporary occupants. It continuously updates building structures that have aged beyond their original functions to meet modern requirements and changes in technology and lifestyle [3, 4]. Many research and case studies examined the effects generated by the adaptive reuse of historic buildings onto their adjacent neighbourhood and demonstrated the increase of their property prices and bringing substantial social and economic benefits as a result of heritage adaptive reuse side by side with maintaining the authenticity of the cultural heritage [5]. Several historic buildings are currently a thing of the past and need preservation. Several historic churches/buildings are demolished and abandoned as ghost buildings, and some are ineffectively reused. Our main question is: Couldn't we rethink the historic churches/buildings' design, structure, function and physical situation to be socially responsible, warm and vibrant structures in balance with their authenticity in the current era and the building material and digital revolution? The research used documentation and data collection methods based on historical and academic documents about adaptive reuse for historic buildings and churches in the first section of the research, while the second section included a case presentation and analysis of historic churches that have been reused with other functions, leading to general principles and a guiding framework for our churches adaptive reuse.

#### **1.1 An overview of the global evolution of reuse and adaptive reuse' principles and approaches**

Definitions of heritage conservation began in Europe (Italy-France-England) and later in the Americas. The most important theories of conservation and restoration appeared with the early approaches in the Italian Renaissance and during the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century to be embodied in international policy trends after World War II. Authenticity, original condition and materials were the main issues in the Restoration discussions. Several historic buildings were converted during the Renaissance for new uses, and in later times during the French Revolution, the use of these buildings was converted for industrial functions or military uses. The more predominant traditional approach has been to preserve the old structures as long as they continue their previous use or their function through the new use. The driving force behind "reuse" was essentially functional and financial for two reasons:

#### *Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings towards a Resilient Heritage DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110280*

firstly, the stability of these structures, so there was no reason to destroy them, and secondly, the construction of new structures required a long time and significant financial resources. The task was not easy, and the revolution and Napoleonic rule led to a shortage of craftsmen with the skill to restore medieval buildings. Besides, the lack of sufficient documentation for these pre-war buildings and the lack of experienced architects caused the restoration; sections were renovated and remodelled rather than restored [6]. The basic intervention movements in the historical conservation of the built heritage since the mid-nineteenth century have been framed in the dualism of the Restoration and the Anti-restoration movements. Although the objectives of these two approaches are partially identical, as both are directed towards the protection of historical buildings and works of art, their methods often conflict, sometimes leading to significant conflicts. Restoration movement pioneers include Violett-le-Duc in France, Schinkel in Germany and Scott in England. The method used by the early restoration engineers was to dismantle the buildings and replace the damaged parts, leading to virtual renovations [7]. There were major modifications to the cathedrals and parts of them disappeared, which gave the restoration process the impression of destruction. The growing opposition to the prevailing practice of architectural restoration led to the emergence of the Anti-restoration movement headed by John Ruskin and William Morris calling for conservation and maintenance, and later to the opening of the Society for the protection of ancient building's Manifesto in 1877. In the Lamp of Memory, Ruskin emphasized that architecture provides memory for a nation, and the architecture of the past is an engineering inheritance of modern man that must be preserved as a living memory of the past [8]. The posterior Modern conservation movement came to bring the two trends together and to emphasize the historical, aesthetic and use values and respecting the original material based on a critical historical restoration of the artwork, which was later reflected on the international level and the Venice Charter later in 1964. Luis Regal, one of its pioneers, discussed the opposing views of the two previous movements and attributed the conflict in their theory to the different values of historical buildings. He divided these values into two categories: commemorative values and present values and suggested that the reuse of historical buildings is the most important part of the modern preservation process of architecture based on the value of architecture use.

Madrid Conference of 1904 classified the monuments into two groups: dead monuments of earlier civilizations and living monuments still in use, and recommended minimal intervention and restoration. In the 1931 Athens Charter, conservative principles rather than stylistic restoration gained international support [9, 10]. During the period of urban restoration after World War II, architects thought about preserving and reusing historic buildings. "Adaptive reuse of old buildings" became an essential topic of academic research in the second half of the twentieth century, and cultural heritage preservation grew as a global goal. They were followed by the emergence of international committees and institutions of cultural heritage concerned with the affairs of heritage and preservation (1945 UNESCO, 1946 ICOM, 1946 ICCROM). The conservation of cultural heritage grew as a global goal, and many charters were published for specific types of built heritage and museum utilization. The principles of the Venice and Bora Charters were applied, which laid the general foundations and procedures for any heritage site and building, regardless of location, culture or society. Venice Charter of 1964 established guidelines for intervention levels in conservation and restoration work. It has 16 articles for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites based on authenticity, integrity, and original materials and documents (Articles 9,11,12,13,15,16). This charter

is still being implemented in evaluating UNESCO projects to preserve monuments and historic buildings inscribed on the World Heritage List. Venice Charter in the conservation Articles (5 and 6) concerns the monuments' reuse for socially beneficial objectives as a kind of their conservation. The modifications demanded by a change of function should not be out of the building layout or decoration, and the surrounding site and the relations of mass and colour must be preserved. It also emphasizes in Articles (2 and 10) the necessity of using sciences and technologies in conservation and restoration operations, provided that the techniques have proof of effectiveness and are tested and guaranteed by expertise [11]. The Australian ICOMOS Burra Charter (1979) encouraged an assessment of heritage property importance based on a values-based approach. The values change over time depending on the factor of the social variable itself and align with shifts in environmental, cultural, spiritual values and other use values. It defines three types of actions of built heritage conservation into Preservation, Restoration, and Reconstruction [12].

During the 1960s and 1970s, adaptive reuse was popularized in the dominant architectural language. The decline of heavy industry during the early and mid-twentieth century has left a legacy of abandoned and underutilized idle sites across the global landscape. Industrial Revolution buildings were particularly suited to adaptive reuse due to their large, open spaces and the emergence of the need for environmental treatments [13]. Due to a growing concern for the environment, increasing fuel and building materials costs and the difficulties associated with securing them, historic preservation and adaptive use become viable alternatives to new construction and building removal for urban renewal [14]. After the global energy crisis, the lack of resources and the pieces of evidence of the impact of changing climatic conditions on cultural heritage, simultaneously with the emergence of green principles, sustainability and classification systems, conservation principles and approaches began to change and the use of available technologies to adapt to the needs of this age and reduce current and future pressure on cultural and natural heritage. The integration of heritage preservation into comprehensive sustainable development agendas appeared in the Budapest Declaration of 2002 under the explicit title "the effective and sustainable conservation of the World Heritage properties" [6, 15]. Then, it was followed by other calls of UNESCO in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 to integrate sustainability principles into heritage and authenticity preservation and develop strategies for built heritage as important assets for sustainable social and economic development, which was officially adopted at the twentieth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention in 2015 to harness the potential of World Heritage properties and heritage, in general, to contribute to sustainable development [16]. Since 2019, with the outbreak of the Coronavirus epidemic, the increase in office vacancy rates in many urban centres around the world and the spread of quarantine, work and remote communication, some trends have emerged to transform the use of office space into livable residential units, especially in capitals and major cities, which reinforces the need to think about transforming Usage down to a flexible heritage and adapted to the conditions of this era [17].

#### **1.2 Adaptive reuse of historic churches**

From the end of the nineteenth century, churches from all around the United States started adaptively reusing for a community development outcome due to the churches' deteriorating and the declining number of their parishioners [18]. The historic religious buildings were known as "white elephant buildings" in the preservation

#### *Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings towards a Resilient Heritage DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110280*

and real estate industries due to the high cost of basic repairs and maintenance of this kind of property. They are well-known landmarks, have a significant community location configuration, and are strongly linked with their neighbourhood and its physical and social situation, well-being and health, and structure deterioration [19]. The study of Simons and Choi explained the existence of a total of 210 successful adaptive reuse cases of America's religious buildings and schools by 2010. The mentioned buildings were classified into the following categories: 52 Residential Condo' buildings, 22 apartment buildings, 43 Retail buildings, 26 Office buildings, 42 Cultural buildings, 24 Schools and one Industrial building [20]. This phenomenon is widely distributed in the USA and Europe. A survey conducted in the Netherlands by Benjamin Garstka about the suitable function for the churches' adaptation demonstrated the significance of place identity and using caution in reusing buildings of social and emotional significance. The cafés, kindergartens and private apartments were the most acceptable functions, and clubs, mosques and supermarkets were the least desirable. More than two-thirds of responders demonstrated the harm of the external changes of the churches to the local landscape, while they did not mind the internal modifications of the churches in this study [21, 22].

Towards the second half of the 1980s, new cultural orientations led to new designs or even interventions of modernization or enlargement and certain measures towards an intervention not limited to restoration and installation, but to creative intervention from the present, either by neutralizing the original space by recreating it, or by inserting elements of contrast with the building, which in any case establishes a dialogue between architectures of the past and current [23]. A sample of 100 churches along the Italian peninsula recognised four usage groups and six strategies for functional conversion of the churches. The four usage groups in this study cover non-Christian religious uses, non-cultural functions mainly in the minor buildings (official, residential, retail, entertaining functions, etc.), light cultural functions especially in the edifices (museums, auditorium, open theatres, multiple use spaces, artists' workshops, etc.) and heavy cultural functions (theatres, cinemas, multimedia centres and libraries). The strategies were reorganizing the furniture; creating temporary adaptations; conservation work escorted by new furniture; installing technological utilities and elements; inserting new functional architectural shapes; and the deep transformation of the buildings [24]. Where the adaptive reuse of churches is perhaps the most difficult type of adaptive reuse that exists, therefore, creativity plays an essential role in reusing and choosing the proper function. It is internationally recognized that historic buildings should be used for their original historic purpose with a minimal change to their architecture, site and environment for a new use. Reusing the churches first faces design obstacles due to the specific plan type, the original interior and exterior architectural features, ceiling, wall thickness, windows, materials and techniques, etc. In addition to the stringent preservation requirements of the listed historic buildings, the cost of rehabilitating, lack of funding and interest, evoking the regulations, developer challenges and declining neighbourhood economies and social fabric in many cases [25]. The enormous stock of abandoned historical churches in Western countries enabled reuse to promote their historical continuity, sustainability, and socio-cultural connectivity. It provides learned lessons and successful experiences.

#### **1.3 An overview of the case study buildings**

The three targeted historic churches for this study were headquarters of the Knights Templar on the Syrian coast in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The main purpose of building them was military, defensive and religious purposes. They served a twelfth-century pilgrimage route. In the 1990s, they are registered as a national heritage with the decision of the Ministry of Culture. These ancient structures currently do not exist individually but within the framework of a city with a distinct texture and a great diversity in the styles of its buildings. The loss of active and functional communication between the building and the surrounding environment characterizes them. They suffer from the lack of restoration funding as most Syrian historic buildings. Although the economic objective of the building is considered one of the partial objectives and not one of the main objectives for employing the building, the non-destructive investment of these historic buildings and making them of economic benefit provides an appropriate return that covers the costs of restoring these buildings and helps to raise the level of maintenance. Revitalizing these buildings also achieves social goals by creating a kind of public sympathy between the building and the local people and users and achieving a kind of archaeological awareness of the antiquities and preserving them. The three selected buildings are as follows:

#### *1.3.1 Chastel Blanc in Safita in Syria*

The first building is located in Safita city in Tartous governorate in Syria. It is a tower at Chastel Blanc (Burg Safita), a small mountain crusader fort. The tower is located at the higher central point of the walled castle, where the adjacent houses cover a large part of the features of its defensive walls, as shown in **Figure 1**, [27, 28]. The tower served as both a chapel and a fortress. It is built of white limestone with 3 metres thick. It has a rectangular shape (31 m x18m, and 27 m height). Its structure base dates back to the Phoenician period; it consists of an underground floor with a semi-circular vaulted ceiling with gates leading to catacombs and a covered water cistern carved into the rock, where the water cistern and a former weapons cache were essential elements in case of siege. The cistern was filled in when the residents began building their homes. The tower chapel on the ground floor is still used today as a church for Christians. It has a barrel-vaulted roof and has been called the Church of St. Michael since 1652, in which religious rites are currently being practiced in Safita. The first floor is reached by a staircase within the thickness of the massive walls (3 meters) and leads to an open hall with windows called the Great Hall (possibly the knights' dormitory) [29, 30]. It was built on three pillars of huge protruding columns, on which are strongly curved cross-shaped stone arches. The gothic hall is currently open for visitors but not used. The flat roof is reached by a staircase and edged with simple merlons with arrow slits overlooking the distant horizon. The castle had restored in 1170 and 1202 AD after the big damage from the earthquakes. The tower remained in good condition until the end of the nineteenth century. Efforts were made to restore the tower during the French Mandate, and intensive repairs were undertaken in 1946 to protect the castle from collapse. The tower still needs restoration, and the underground and first floor need to reuse.

#### *1.3.2 The churches of the old city of Tartous in Syria (The Crusader Tortosa churches)*

Tortosa, currently called the old city of Tartous, was used by the Knights Templar as a military headquarters and a keep from 1105 (the capture by Raymond of Saint-Gilles) until it fell in1291. During that period, they built the castle with its facilities, such as a chapel, great hall and fortification surrounded by thick double concentric walls, as shown in **Figure 2**, a. Tortosa was the last outpost of the Templars on the

**Figure 1.**

*Chastel Blanc in Safita in Syria: (a) The fort site plan, (b) The tower plan and section, (c) Site view, (d) The church on the ground floor and the west façade, (e) fort gate remains and photos of the templer hall and the roof. Source: Author, (a, b): [26].*

Syrian mainland. Tortosa bishopric consisted of the castle and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa within the third historic wall, as shown in **Figure 2**,c. [26, 29]. In contrast to the Chastel blanc design, the knight's hall in Tortosa was separated from the chapel in a two-storey large rectangular building in the inner circle of the city walls. Tartous castle's chapel (Tortosa chapel), the second selected case study, is built nearby the hall in a typically rectangular building without an apse and covered with four gothic ribbed vaults. The houses currently overlap with the chapel wall under two western vaults, and the chapel roof is mainly destructive, as shown in **Figure 2**, d. The abandoned chapel forms a dangerous space for the local kids because they always gather and play there, and it is always filled with rubbish and waste bags. It needs structural strengthening, a complete restoration and reusing with a function that adapts to the current surrounding fabric of the old city, where most of its occupants profess the Islamic religion.

The third selected building is the semi-fortified Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa. It was built in 1123 by Crusaders over a Byzantine church that was popular with pilgrims. According to legend, it was an early Christian monastery dedicated to Saint

#### **Figure 2.**

*Knights chapel: (a) Tartous walled Castel, (b) the inner and outer castle' walls in 1180 AD, (c) Tortosa bishopric within the third historic wall, (d) Tortosa knights' chapel before and after the residents' houses. Source: Author& [6, 26, 31]. Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa. Knights Chapel.*

Mary and consecrated by the holy apostle Peter himself. The Cathedral was used as a mosque after the Muslim reconquest of the city, where the minaret on the west facade still bears witness until today. In Ottoman times, it became a horse stable and a barracks. The building was renovated under the French and is now the National Museum of Tartous, containing antiquities recovered from Amrit and many other sites in the region [32]. The cathedral plan is a typical basilica (41 m x 34.5 m x15m) related to the Romanesque style with the Gothic influence in the western facade presented by the five-pointed arched windows set in recessed shape in the wall, as shown in **Figure 3**. The museum was closed during the Syrian war from 2013 to 2018, and the relics were protected in a safe place. Since 2018, the museum has alternated between opening and closing for visitors due to COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 and the later interior restoration and maintenance of the capitals of the internal columns of the Cathedral. On the occasion of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in August 2022, the Al-Mahaba Choir and the artist Ghassan Saliba held a performance concert at the Tartous National Museum (the oldest Cathedral dedicated to Our Lady) *Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings towards a Resilient Heritage DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110280*

**Figure 3.** *Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa: Plan, section, and photos of the exterior and interior. Source: Author & [26].*

organized by Akkar Archdiocese and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Tartous and sponsored by Banque Bemo Saudi Fransi and Ahli Trust Bank. This event received a positive response and admiration from the residents of Tartous. The antiquities and Museums Department in Tartous has a proposal for an alternative location to build a museum in Tartous in the next 10 years, and all the exhibits and collections will transfer to the new building. Therefore, an adaptive utilization should be prepared for the Cathedral.

### **2. Global examples of adaptive reuse of historic churches**

#### **2.1 Santa Maria Church of Vilanova de la Barca in Lleida, Spain**

The original church floor plan is a single-nave basilica-style church with a false transept and rectangular apse of medieval origin built of local stone. It is 22 meters long and 7 meters wide, and its interior rises up to 10 meters. The church was not built in one batch; different parts were added over time. A side nave and an entrance from the Baroque period were added to the church. The eastern part still contains side buttresses and a late Gothic cross vault from the seventeenth century at the head. The new additions to the historic church consist mainly of the completion of the damaged stone wall of white bricks and a tiled gable roof supported by thin steel trusses covering the nave. Originally, the main entrance was in the western façade of the church out to the old front square. Currently, the western entrance is replaced by a glass opening, and the building faces the east by a wooden door of the old church, and an external side door leads to the main entrance in the southern façade, as shown

#### **Figure 4.**

*Santa Maria Church of Vilanova: (a) The new eastern entrance, (b) The wooden door in the eastern façade after the intervention, (c) The west facade after the intervention, (D-D) View of the interior wall after the intervention, (E-E) View of the interior arches in contrast to the intervention. The rest of photos are for lighting, materials, and roof during and after the intervention. Source: [33, 34].*

in **Figure 4**. The intervention aims to achieve consolidate the elements in ruin to restore the original space of the church, simultaneously differentiating the original and added building materials, in order to reuse it as a multipurpose space. Recovering the origin volume and avoiding the mimetic reconstructions were achieved using a mediating element to achieve the main objective. The use of openwork and painted white brick cladding together with the metal trusses of the roof contrasts with the existing original remained structure in the interior. On the other hand, the new skin promotes the exchange of air with the exterior. It ventilates the building in order to avoid humidity, in addition, to its potential as an acoustic control element. Two types of lighting were used in this building; firstly, natural light penetrates the interior

through the pores of the new facings, where the light filters in, and the views are hidden for privacy. Secondly, the artificial light suspended from the ceiling covers the monumental height space at a more human height to create a sacred and collected space and an artistic installation within the primary space. The pendant lighting consists of mere wires, sockets and LEDs in a carefully thought-out arrangement of simple elements [33–35].

#### **2.2 Selexyz Dominicanen Church of Maastricht in the Netherlands**

The Selexyz Dominicanen Gothic-style Church in Maastricht was built in 1294. It was used for different functions since the Dominicans were ousted at the end of the eighteenth century started with a military depot, a school, the city depot, an exhibition space, a celebration hall, a multicultural space, a postal service, the city library, and bicycle storage. Then, it suffered poor conditions in the 1990s until 2000 when its restoration was started to be opened as a bookshop in 2006. The previous community function of the church before the restoration was one of the justifications for the proposed retail purposes use. The proposal of converting the church into a retail function was because of the new master plan for Maastricht city centre, where the church was a part of the rehabilitation project of the shopping centre Entre-Deux in 2000 [4]. The available church floor space was only half of the commercial space required, and as the church is a unique and grand monument with a strong space and vaults, it needed to be kept as open and visible as possible. Therefore, a two-storey volume of asymmetrical height was introduced into the church. A steel bookcase structure was designed on two floors to the nave side to provide extra space for books, and perforated steel sheets were used to increase the transparency. Where the volume from the ground floor emphasizes the monumental dimensions of the church while from the upper floor the visitor can see all the architectural details close up, as shown in **Figure 5**. The steel construction stands alongside the row of columns. It never covers the wall or touches the church, and it contains a series of stairs and one elevator inside its structure. All interventions are structurally reversible except the excavation of the cellar. The technical installations, storage and restrooms were hidden from sight in the existing basement. A proper lighting system was added. The lighting plan highlighted the books for sale, focused on the architectural beauty of the church and avoided visual pollution by integrating most of the lighting equipment and fixtures into the furniture or storage unit [4, 37]. According to a comparative and analytic study of Bie Plevoets, the Selexyz Dominicanen church is an outstanding case of retail reuse on the architectural, retail design, and conservation level and in urban regeneration. All stakeholders strived for a qualitative result and scientific restoration of the church [4].

#### **2.3 St. Vincent de Paul Church of Brooklyn in New York in the U.S**

According to Manhattan's Department of Buildings, in 2013, half the total of permits was for conversion; therefore, adaptive reuse was speedier due to the extremely scarce land and the existence of numerous historic districts making new construction hard [38]. The developers and real estate brokers converted several unlivable buildings such as warehouses, power plants and parking garages, churches, schools, cinemas and banks. Our selected example is the St. Vincent de Paul campus in Brooklyn, New York. The original campus contains a church, a school and a rectory. The church was founded in 1860 and closed in 2004 due to its deteriorating and declining number

#### **Figure 5.**

*The Selexyz Dominicanen Church in Maastricht: (a) The ground floor, (b) The first floor after the interior design, (c) cross section shows the bookcase structure and some interior and exterior of the church. Source: [36].*

of parishioners. In 1985, the school attached to the church was merged with Our Lady Mt. Carmel and renamed Northside Catholic, and then, this school closed in 2009 [39]. In 2011, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio issued a decree stating that the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel could no longer afford to maintain the church and issued the ability to sell the church could be sold for profane use except for sordid purposes such as a bar or liquor-serving restaurant [40]. The church was later sold, and the patrimony was removed in 2012. In 2011, before turning the building over to the developer, the Brooklyn Diocese removed a 130-year-old of two-ton bronze historic bell, which is blessed by Brooklyn's first Catholic bishop, as well as other artefacts, Catholic relics, stained glass windows and an altar from the vacant St. Vincent De Paul Church. Where the religious objects will remain in the Diocese's East New York warehouse until other parishes claim them in Brooklyn and Queens for use. The sight of removing the bell from the tower unnerved the neighbours and the emotion of the previous church visitors and its school students [41]. In 2014, the campus was converted into a residential usage called the "Spire Lofts" includes 104 Multi Family Residential Units [42].

The foundations have been strengthened. The Church and Rectory buildings have been restored, keeping their original architectural components, basic exterior elements and character, interior details, and the aesthetic of restored wooden old beams, arched windows, stained glass, and exposed brick. The church was designed to have a long nave with rows of columns supporting balconies on either side. The church is converted into a 5-storey building containing 40 housing units while maintaining the building as part of the historic design. To maximize the space and the number of units within the church's structural shell and interior timber truss system, the apartments were designed as duplex spaces. This allowed scenic double-height volumes and extra spaces. The central aisle is repeated on each floor and connects the two separated wings. Recessed balconies, with angled floor-to-ceiling glass doors, allowed for the required natural light and air requirements while creating unique balcony spaces. Material selections and palette remain neutral, while new elements

*Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings towards a Resilient Heritage DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110280*

#### **Figure 6.**

*St. Vincent de Paul campus: (a) The church back facade, (b) the church front façade with the bell tower, (c) section on the church after adaptive reuse, (d) the campus plan after conversion, (e) the mixture of the new and old materials of the internal converted spaces. Source: [42, 43].*

for mezzanines, bridges and balconies introduced an industrial look to its interior. The church ceiling' exposed beams extend through some living spaces to remind the tenants of the historic character of their new living spaces. The church's disrepair bell tower, the roof that is riddled with holes, and the missing bricks and shingles are also restored. The original two-storey school was extended vertically to contain five stories in accordance with zoning and building code to have more space for the proposed interventions, where its zoning permits residential development up to 50 feet tall (about 15 m) [42], as shown in **Figure 6**. Although living in a church is taboo for some people, it is a challenge for others. Several structures of old vacant churches were

converted into modern houses by some architects after solving the problem of the building's possession and ownership. The Dutch Reformed Evangelism Building in the Netherlands by Leijh Kappelhoff Seckel van den Dobbelsteen architecten, London's Westbourne Grove Church by DOS Architects, Anglican church in Melbourne by Bagnato Architects, Luke Chapel in Bern in Switzerland by Morscher Architekten, James Spicer Memorial Church Hall School in London by Gianna Camilotti Interiors are related examples, where mostly the exterior may remain the roofs, arches and traditional shape for the facades and the openings, while the interior features are changed according to the space needs in the new design and with modern furnishings.

#### **2.4 Santa Barbara Church of Llanera in Asturias region in Spain**

The church was built in 1912 for the workers' community of the explosives company. After the Spanish Civil War and the company's closing, the workers' families of the old colony emigrated to other cities, leaving the place uninhabited. The old colony buildings were demolished, except for the Santa Barbara church, by a private company in the 1960s to use as an industrial estate. The church remained abandoned until 2007 and faced neglect and deterioration after years of abandonment. The church was sold to a commercial agent to build a multiservice company (Ernesto Fernández Rey), and then he decided to use the place for his skateboarding hobby. The Church Brigade collective, who was the agent belonged to, went on after his death to transform the church into a skate park called Kaos Temple with support from online fundraising and some commercial brands. The new additions were mainly the Skate ramps. They were designed and installed in the middle nave of the church, and the space was converted to serve the new usage. Okuda San Miguel was a Spanish street artist who was later commissioned to paint the church's interior vaulted walls and ceilings, which was inaugurated in 2015, with geometric figures and colours. The rainbow colours covered the interior surfaces, and the tall windows illuminated the space to give a vibrant atmosphere, as shown in **Figure 7**. This church was not the only one which transformed into a skate park. Churches in the United States were also transformed into indoor skate spaces. Such as the Saint Liborius church in St. Louis, Missouri,

**Figure 7.** *Santa Barbara Church, before and after, source: [44].*

*Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings towards a Resilient Heritage DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110280*

**Figure 8.** *Saint Liborius Catholic Church before and after, source: [45–47].*

in the Midwestern region of the United States, was founded in 1889 for a wave of German immigrants who had arrived in St. Louis. and it was closed in 1992 after the declining Catholic population alongside the population in the city in general. Then in 2012, it reopened as a skate park (Sk8 Liborius) and community centre to serve its neighbourhood and district differently. The noticeable difference was in the wall paintings treatment after changing function. The drawings of the St. Louis skate park were random, disorganized and drawn by amateurs [45], as shown in **Figure 8**.

#### **2.5 St. Mary's Church of Dublin in Ireland**

The St Mary's Church in Dublin was built between 1700 and 1704. It faced a continued decay after it was closed in 1986 due to the decline of its Church of Ireland parishioners. The church was used for various purposes after deconsecration until purchased by a publican in 1997. Then, the building was refurbished as a pub and restaurant named the "John M. Keating Bar", and the pub changed its name to be called "The Church" in 2007. Currently, it serves as a cafe, bar, restaurant, and nightclub. As shown in **Figure 9**, the white area (the nave) on the ground floor currently includes a large oval bar and two tiers of balconies overlooking the main floor, where the hatched area is the gallery on the first floor, and the red points are the walking route. The exterior spiral glazed stair tower built to the northeast, linked with a glassenclosed bridge, leads to the restaurant at the upper level within the church and leads down to the burial crypts of the church [48, 50–52]. The church crypts were the only original basement of the original building, and the current Cellar, Kitchen and Tower were dug out of the foundations during the renovations. Records show that burials were in the Church Crypts. All of the contents of the crypts in this church were exhumed, and cremated and the ashes were re-interred in the Crypts of St Michan's Church, Church Street, Dublin 7 [53]. St Mary's Churchyard on the south side of the church was a burial place for a number of notable individuals. The graveyard had

**Figure 9.** *St. Mary's Church of Dublin in Ireland the exterior, interior and the gravestones and churchyard, source: [48, 49].*

become so overcrowded by the mid-nineteenth-century that bodies were removed in order to make more room—to the outrage of the locals. The old railings have been destroyed with the modern open urban spaces works [54]. The churchyard was converted into Wolfe Tone Park by the 1940s. The old gravestones in the churchyard have been stacked up at the southern end or removed, and a number of them laid out flat in the manner of paving stones and open for walking on in a disrespectful way to the dead and affected the inscriptions and their records [48, 55].

Several other examples were used as a nightclub, bars, and restaurants, such as Taft's Ale House in Cincinnati, Ohio (built-in 1850, a church until 2011, and a brewpub since 2015)- The Church Nightclub in Denver in Colorado (built-in 1889, a church until 1975, and nightclub since 1996, one of the top 3 Nightclubs in Denver)- Pitcher & Piano in Nottingham in England (built-in 1876, a church until 1982, and bar, restaurant, and piano since 1998)- Vessel Nola in New Orleans in Louisiana (built-in 1914, a church until 1977, and a restaurant and bar since 2016, and distinguished by Architectural Digest as one of the eight Gorgeous Restaurants in Former Churches Worldwide in 2018)- The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania (was built-in 1902, a church until 1993, a brewery and for the Brew Works since 1996, and classified by the Pittsburgh Magazine as one of the best breweries in Pittsburgh in 2012) [56–60]. No significant changes for the outside, the churches look like any other nineteenth Century church in the same city, as an initial impression. The interior

*Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings towards a Resilient Heritage DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110280*

decors do not suggest that it is a former place of worship, and later some original features remind the seated visitor of the original purpose of the space, such as the churches' porches and arches, original stonework, and preserved stained glass. Although preserving the original structure and including a number of repainted pieces of furniture, the interiors have strikingly changed due to the churches' refurbishments. The central nave has been used as a bar or big dance stage, with seating circling over the floors with an acoustic treatment suitable for the high ceilings.

#### **2.6 Saint Francesco Church of Santpedor in Barcelona Spain**

The Sant Francesco complex was built in the eighteenth century. It was sacked in 1835, and its structure's progressive deterioration began and ended with its demolition in 2000. Only the church remained standing, but in a destructive state. With the aim to adapt the church to reuse as a cultural facility, auditorium and historical archive on the upper floors, the rehabilitation project was started in 2005. The design is characterised by contemporary predominance by using additions and interposed contrasted volume in a juxtaposition way. Besides preserving and focusing on the original deteriorated structure without any deleting, the intervention used new elements side by side with the old fabric and the partially collapsed roof [61], as shown in **Figure 10**. External glazed stairs climbing the ancient walls of this church were added as an entrance leading to the central nave. A new roof overlaps with the old damaged vaulted ceiling and shelters it. The

#### **Figure 10.**

*The church of Saint Francesco in Santpedor in Barcelona: (a) The church floor plans after intervention, (b) The church sections and façade after intervention, (c) some external and internal photos of the auditorium. Source: [61] And photos ©Jordi Surroca.*

partial collapses of the roof have been filled in with glass windows, and the modern glass windows have also been used, allowing natural light to flow inside. It consolidated natural light placed the proper technical equipment, and added an exterior vertical staircase to preserve the unity of the inner church's nave. New stairs and ramps with geometric shapes are placed in the ancient central nave leading to the two upper mezzanine levels in the wings of the church for historical archive use. Concrete supports were used to create new areas for the storage of large technical equipment [62].

#### **2.7 St. Peter's Church (D Petrus) in Vught in the Netherlands**

St. Peter's Church was built between 1881 and 1884 and extended in 1935. In 2005, St Peter's Church stopped using it for religious activities because of the need for restoration. Although the funding challenges, the church demolition was replaced with social use, and the restoration was later implemented to its exterior masonry, roof and openings in 2011–2012. It has been a library, museum and community centre (DePetrus) in Vught since 2018 [63]. According to Hauke et al., this church's intervention is a kind of creative reuse of the old buildings as libraries. A radical renovation was done to the church to preserve the characteristic elements such as stained glass windows, vaults and confessionals [64].

The church's original windows work in tandem with the added lighting to create a bright, well-lit space. The renovations also concerned the roof, leadworks, gutter and drain to prevent further leakage; electrical heating installations and radiators under the paintings and windows to prevent cold traps; the floor has been removed and replaced by a floor system with isolation and heating. A thin mezzanine floor surrounding the original central space connected to the first floor has been added. The added part forms interior walking paths in an organic shape as a curled ribbon along pilasters in an eye-catcher visual effect in contrast to the traditional rectilinear plan of the church and offering a panoramic view of its opened interior for events, as shown in **Figure 11**. The first floor has fire resistance and acoustic facilities that reduce the reverberation time and ambient noise because of the height of the building (about three-storey height) and the multiple utilizations (such as reading books, playing billiards, activities, meetings

#### **Figure 11.**

*St. Peter Church's floor plans and section after intervention and photos of exterior and interior. Source: [63, 65].*

and courses) under it to 95 per cent. The mezzanine floor continues outside as the roof of four pavilions connected to the church to expand the exterior space and provide an entertainment zone. The flexible church' floor provides room for events on all scales and functions as a library. Where the bookshelves are easily accessed and are installed on a rail system that can be moved to the aisles when ample space is needed to create private areas for events, meetings or small conferences [63, 65].

#### **3. The results and discussion**

Cultural heritage is a record of the total cultural, architectural, artistic, sociological, economic and environmental aspects of the time and space, not merely an object. Therefore, the era challenges impose on us to go far from strict conservation principle and the Articles of the Venice Charter avocat the reuse of the same previous usage and prevent falsifying the artistic or historical evidence by distinguishing the new materials from the old ones. Reusing historic buildings is not a new process; it has been made throughout history to save resources, time, material, and craftsmanship, give life, and maintain the buildings whether they happened calculatedly or not. The local reclaim of historical monuments through preserving, maintaining, and adaptive reusing them gives a breath to our cultural heritage and more linkage to the local people who are partners, and their satisfaction indicates how successful reuse has been done. The increasing closure of churches has caused using them with architectural forms and functions not previously associated with religion to link their communities to the place and to provide the communities' needs of business, culture and entertainment facilities. The second part of the research presented international examples of the adaptive reuse of historic churches from America and Europe. The selected case studies present the diversity of the function which can be chosen in the churches' conversion and the methods of redesigning their interior spaces, and their role in local community development, such as restaurants, residences, indoor climbing gyms, libraries, concert venues, community centres, and office space for businesses and non-profits. Despite some reuse functions giving more financial input to operation and tourism and are a way to protect valuable heritage structures, they evoke society's emotions, such as the nightclub and modern houses. With the current mania for tearing out old fabric and replacing it with tawdry modern materials, several demonstrated calls on the relevant authorities to save the historic buildings of the vandalism perpetrators and the mistreatment of the church and holy places. The above cases, **Table 1**, have shown the need for a wise decision to choose the proper function to meet the current and new requirements. Two main approaches to adapting intervention could be distinguished:

• The minimal intervention where the architects and designers focused on preserving as much as possible of the original structure and building materials and integrating these components into the general design for the new use, with some examples confirming the preservation of the effects of aging on the surfaces, walls and other original components as a kind of respect for the memory of the place. In addition, the use of available technologies to adapt to the needs of this age and reduce the current and future pressure on ancient buildings, their neighbourhoods and their indigenous communities, such as restoring recycling and using some of its materials, and adding what is needed for new usage in terms of non-destructive needs and structures. Where the new additions were mainly limited to the completion of the damaged structure' components by differentiating



*Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings towards a Resilient Heritage DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110280*

> **Table 1.** *Summary of the seven selected historic churches.*

the original and the added building materials in order to reuse it and using the light system or acoustic or heating and cooling facilities with structurally reversible furniture interventions, as it was shown in Santa Maria Church of Vilanova in Spain and Selexyz Dominicanen Church in the Netherlands.

• Creative design in adaptive reuse, where adaptive reuse projects can completely replace, repair, preserve or restore the building envelope (roof, windows, doors, and wall systems) in a specific way by building envelope design professionals. Where exteriors are not altered, the roofs, arches and traditional shape for the facades and the openings are retained. At the same time, the interiors are remodelled to adapt to the new design and needs, as in the cases of converting old vacant churches into modern houses, such as James Spicer Memorial Church Hall School in London. The intervention can use new elements and interposed contrasted volume alongside the old fabric in a contemporary predominance such as the church of Saint Francesco in Barcelona. Creative design can use innovative adding and contrasting and audacious interventions for furthering the new use as a radical renovation, such as St. Peter Church in Vught.

The Local authorities in Syria play a significant role in deciding and developing policies addressing the conservation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Most registered heritage buildings in Syria are government properties, and a few are private properties. The government-related authorities are the only body that can support the adaptive reuse, rehabilitation and retrofit projects for historic buildings and listed and certified properties. Community involvement and the authorities acting together can make the difference between failure and success. Compared with worldwide successful Adaptive Reuse case studies, a possible solution or a new public function could be presented to the historic churches towards continued usage of the heritage buildings, providing financial support for restoration and further treatment possibilities.

#### **3.1 General principles in the process of adaptive reuse, creative activities and intervention**

Many principles must be taken into account in the process of adaptive reuse design, creative activities and intervention, which help in the success and continuity of reuse and preservation operations, and these principles are as follows:

#### *3.1.1 Authenticity*

It is known that when carrying out the reuse of inherited buildings or sites, this intervention process loses the building or place part of its originality, and the amount of this lost originality varies according to the preservation policy and the method used, but it is vital to preserve as much as possible their authenticity and deal with them as historical evidence and not as works of art only by the following:


#### *3.1.2 Reversibility*

The principle of reversibility had to be applied in adaptive reusing processes, both in materials and in procedures relating to removals or additions. It aims to leave the buildings open to future technologies, which may be less harmful to buildings and heritage sites and more to preserve their authenticity, with the aim of leaving the field open also for evaluation of the implemented conservation operations, the possibility of correcting errors and making future modifications, which help the restored sites keep pace with the era and its uses and keep pace with emerging conservation theories.

#### *3.1.3 Sustainability*

It is a fundamental principle in order to ensure the continuity of operation of projects and sites that are preserved and developed and to ensure that they cover their future maintenance costs. Achieving the dimensions of sustainability is done through the following:


#### *3.1.4 Community involvement*

The tangible heritage is linked to the intangible heritage and its inhabitants who are primarily concerned with preserving it and the beneficiaries of its operation, which made the process of community participation in the management of heritage not only a driver of heritage. Community Involvement should involve local citizens in all stages of the urban heritage preservation process. It is one of the essential principles in preservation, reusing and operating processes for the following reasons:


#### **3.2 Adaptive reuse framework of the historic churches/buildings**

Based on the above analysis and literature review, a framework for the adaptive reuse process of the historic building is proposed as following stages, **Figure 12**:

#### *3.2.1 Before decision-making*

After determining the targeted building, a stepwise approach might be followed before choosing the new function taking into account the following points:


#### **Figure 12.**

*Flowchart of the adaptive reuse process of the historic building. Source: Author.*

#### *3.2.2 Decision-making and new function determining*

• The decision-making process is a multilateral participatory based on the involvement of the property owners and local population and consideration of their basic needs without conflict with the principles of protecting cultural heritage and the aspirations of the municipality and the authorities authorized to preserve cultural heritage (governmental and non-governmental bodies) and the cultural heritage experts.


#### *3.2.3 Interventions and design*

Once a decision has been made to undertake adaptive reuse, the next step is to determine how it will be done in historic buildings.


• Cover policy and regulations should be treated and prepared in all steps and at the end of the process before the implementation, management and supervision, which is the final step in this process.

### **4. Conclusion**

This chapter started with a review of the global evolution of reuse and adaptive reuse' principles and approaches. The research focused on historic churches as sacred buildings that are not easy to change for several spiritual, symbolic, and moral considerations and values before they are historical or aesthetic, down to describing three targeted historic churches in Syria. Seven global examples of the adaptive reuse of historic churches were presented to highlight their experience and the various functions utilized in their adaptive reuse and distinguished some socially unacceptable functions for church reuse. The decreased number of parishioners of the churches in several cities around the world, simultaneously with the growing environmental concerns and rising demolition costs, promoted the adaptive reuse of historic churches. In all presented cases, the architect's creativity and inventiveness played a significant role in determining the financial feasibility of the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. Where sometimes the costs could not be cheaper and could fall within the range of new construction. The research distinguished two main approaches to adapting interventions used in these global examples, where some examples used minimal intervention, and others preferred the creative design. General principles in the process of adaptive reuse, creative activities and intervention were summarized, and a framework for adaptive reuse of the historic churches/buildings was introduced. Due to the lack of adaptive reuse research and projects in Syria, the research framework and results could be helpful for Syrian cases. They also could be generalized in any other global cases.

### **Author details**

Maya Hassan Tishreen University, Faculty of Architecture Engineering, Lattakia, Syria

\*Address all correspondence to: eng.mayahassan@gmail.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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### Section 3
