Intangible Heritage

Giving meanings, values and context to objects and places.

Design has an uncanny ability to make visible the invisible connections between ordinary things. This is a main thread that spans across many of the projects here — research, teaching and work.

In 2003 ICOMOS advised UNESCO to distinguish a category of intangible heritage on its list of World Heritage. Intangible heritage is described by ICOMOS as that which “gives meanings, values and context to objects and places.”

A succinct description of architecture’s cultural content, intangible heritage invites us as architects into the realm of memory without the obligation to reconstruct. The Convention’s safeguarding measures correspond to our professional expertise, including documentation, presentation through non-formal means, and fostering public awareness.

The task of this work is to discern the unique ability of architecture to reveal meaning, values and context through experience both spatially and in the participant’s imagination.

Related Projects
Revealing the tissues of culture curtain | kyongii | asu | taiwan |
Disclosing the existence of invisible fields Phoebe’s Field™ (NSF planning grant)

The exhibit feminist practices currently features examples from Margarita’s work on intangible heritage.