Heritage education is a key approach to preserving and transmitting a community’s history and culture embedded in its collective memory, fostering social cohesion, and cultivating a sense of identity among different populations. Bridging the gap between historical narratives and contemporary audiences is central to promoting educational outcomes. In recent years, rapid advances in digital technologies have provided unprecedented opportunities for the preservation, inheritance, and dissemination of cultural heritage. Virtual reality (VR), with its ability to create three-dimensional representations of real or imagined locations, provides a compelling sense of realism, illustrating its potential for various applications in cultural heritage preservation, such as 3D historical reconstruction, enhanced tourism engagement, gamified learning, and pedagogical cultural heritage programs. This mini-review focuses on VR-enhanced heritage education, a field that involves transdisciplinary studies on the dynamics of user engagement and virtual experiences tailored for cultural heritage education. The aim of this mini-review is to investigate the current status, identify limitations, and outline prospective design considerations for integrating VR technology into heritage education. In this study, we will provide insights into future design considerations for designers, developers, and educators in order to create better heritage education experiences, contributing to developing interactive approaches to heritage education. ... Read more

The 20th biennial conference of the International Planning History Society (IPHS) was held in Hong Kong, China. Through a comprehensive analysis of the keynote speeches, panel presentations, roundtable discussions, excursions and IPHS awards, this report highlights key insights from the conference that are especially relevant to urban historians. It suggests that planning history not only acts as a tool for informing urban strategies but also offers critical perspectives on socio-political, environmental, and cultural dimensions of urban transformation. The report presents three key insights for urban historians: (1) the entangled planning histories of Hong Kong and Shenzhen reflect broader political, ideological and international ambitions of dominant powers; (2) the evolution of environmental histories when rethinking human–natural relations in urban transition; and (3) the emerging attention to marginalized voices and alternative archives to enrich dominant planning narratives. These together demonstrate how planning history offers a critical historiographical lens for interpreting urban transformation. ... Read more

In recent decades in Southeast Asia, dramatic social, economic and political changes have profoundly impacted the lives of Indigenous populations. In Malaysia, the Sama Dilaut, known as the “sea nomads,” are under pressure to abandon their traditional way of living at a time of rapid modernization. Over centuries, the Sama Dilaut have developed a harmonious relationship with their environment, practicing sustainable small-scale fishing methods that have minimal impact on marine ecosystems. In their worldview, humans are not considered exceptional but interconnected with the ocean and species that inhabit it. This contrasts with the Western-centric worldview, where nature-culture dualism prevails, viewing humans as separate from nature and encouraging exploitative attitudes toward the environment. This article outlines and acknowledges the value of the Sama Dilaut culture, knowledge of the sea and struggles against dominant power structures. It advocates for recognizing Indigenous rights to ancestral lands and seas and integrating Indigenous knowledge and communities in conservation practices. These goals are essential for achieving justice for Indigenous peoples and offer significant potential in the search for alternative approaches to combating climate change. ... Read more

Facadism is an adaptive reuse approach — removing internal redundancies and remodeling heritage buildings while preserving their historic façades. Criticized but also widely applied in heritage practice, the concept of Facadism has evolved towards heritage conservation principles, leaving important examples for heritage practitioners involved in the conservation and transformation practice of historic urban landscapes in contemporary metropolitan development. Historic urban landscapes and built cultural heritage therein have become key drivers for urban renewal in many historic towns and regions worldwide. Since the 1980s, to alleviate housing pressures, Facadism has become a common adaptive reuse approach evolving to balance historic landscape conservation and urban development in real estate developments in North America, and has been controversial due to the physical destruction of heritage authenticity. In China, an adaptive reuse approach similar to Facadism has also come to the forefront since the late 1990s through the practice of conservation and renovation in the Xintiandi redevelopment project in Shanghai. The Facadism approach reflects the tension between conservation and development, history and modernity, and tradition and innovation, launching a call for in-depth research.

This research first analyzes the theoretical origins of Facadism and its evolution in heritage discourse by understanding and defining it. It also studies the impact generated by Facadism on heritage authenticity in practice. Secondly, since many cases of Toronto’s Facadism practice have received widespread recognition for their treatment of building − street linkage, this research identifies and reviews typical cases with the aim of exploring the factors that make Facadism successful in a particular context. By tracing the evolution of Facadism practice on Toronto’s Yonge Street over the course of the 21st century, the research reveals why Facadism has become the default strategy for adaptive reuse of historic buildings in Toronto, and its multiple impacts on heritage values, genius loci, collective identity, spatial perception, urban development and social justice. By reviewing public discussions, municipal decisions and theoretical perspectives, this research aims to analyze and explain the potential reasons for the successful practices of the Facadism strategy in adaptive reuse and its evolutionary path during implementation. To further explore the theoretical applicability of the concept of Facadism in China’s urban renewal under contextual transformation, this research introduces Shanghai’s extensive adaptive reuse practices and the use of related terms for comparative analysis.

Through an analysis of the adaption of the Bank of Montreal, the McLaughlin Showroom, and a row of Victorian buildings, this research categorizes the façade-led design strategies for adding high-rises on existing historic buildings into three groups: Sheet mode, podium mode, and attachment mode. The research also identifies similar approaches in adaptive reuse practices in Shanghai, such as the redevelopment of Jianyeli, Shangxianfang, and arcades on East Jinling Road. However, this research notes that although practitioners have used Facadism approache in Shanghai’s heritage adaption, the term “Facadism” is not introduced and known to the academia and the general public as a term or a keyword to describe a retrofitting strategy. Furthermore, in the China Knowledge Network database, there is no evidence of any papers or other results related to “Facadism” through keyword search. This research further suggests that the general idea of “adaptive reuse” for summarizing various heritage approaches can directly lead to two drawbacks in heritage conservation practice. On the one hand, it allows stakeholders to obfuscate concepts, to use slogans such as “conservation development” to disguise actual destructive operation of heritage in a speculative manner and to lower the public’s psychological line of defense against the destruction of cultural heritage. On the other hand, this leads to a lack of respect for the designation of significant heritage and conservation planning by stakeholders, requiring adjustments of legally valid conservation planning in implementation. This research further argues that the most alarming aspect of Facadism approach is not its outcome, but the impact on the integrated conservation of historic landscapes and the choice of values in the extensive urbanism process. In China’s post-2021 urban renewal, an increasing number of historic blocks, neighborhoods, and roads selected into the heritage list are facing the challenge of being transformed. This research argues for the introduction of more pragmatically oriented adaptive reuse concepts in contemporary urban renewal in China, preventing the hybridization and misuse of conservation concepts by stakeholders and maintaining the purity of heritage conservation principles. Overall, this research emphasizes the implications of Facadism in contemporary urban renewal from the perspective of heritage integrity and authenticity of the conservation of historic urban landscape. ... Read more

文章以欧洲卢森堡大公国的第二大城市更新项目贝尔瓦尔旧工业区的改造经验为案例,讨论了一个面向未来的历史工业景观的转型之路。以工业遗产保护的发展为背景,由面及点,从整体到局部,阐述和讨论了工业区更新中整体规划随时会面临的挑战...展开更多

This paper applies the experience of the transformation of the old industrial area of Belval,the second largest urban regeneration project in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Europe,as a case study.discusses the path of transformation of a future-oriented historical industrial landscape.After introducing the development of industrial heritage,it specifically addresses and discusses the challenges and uncertainties that master planning in Belval regeneration has faced,from the surface to the point,from the whole to the part.This paper also analyses the different strategies for adapting industrial heritage and points out the need for adaptive reuse in transformation.It further reveals the problems and shortcomings of the Belval project's regeneration up to now and highlights the importance of sustainable transformation of historical industrial landscapes for enhancing community vitality. ... Read more

China’s Grand Canal was the world’s most extensive civil engineering project before the Industrial Revolution. This interview explores how the process of applying for and achieving World Heritage status has led to the improvement of the environment surrounding the Grand Canal and encouraged collaboration among canal cities spanning eight provincial administrations. It highlights the role of water heritage as a catalyst for improving the protection of historic landscapes and waterscapes as well as the Grand Canal’s cultural heritage. It also addresses how these efforts have supported the integrated development of canal cities. The Grand Canal remains a vital link that promotes balanced cultural, ecological and economic development, contributing to the sustainability of various canal cities across northern and southern China. ... Read more

Various progressive rural renewal programs have been launched in China over the past two decades. What does the future of rural areas and regions look like in China’s Yangtze River Delta Region, and what can we learn from these for other situations such as in the Northern Netherlands? Our aim is to find a new perspective for more sustainable spatial development. By walking we try to discover a new vision for the future developments of towns and countryside, especially in exurban areas at a medium distance from urban conurbations. Instead of only plowing through archives, this research is methodically based on “walking” in which not only the case is physically experienced intensely, but also a discussion is held with as many different people as possible. While walking there is time to see and discuss things from different perspectives. By walking we expect to discover hidden values in the countryside near metropolitan regions. “Walking through the landscape” is also a metaphor, with an assumption that by deliberate slowing down, we can find sustainable alternatives, as opposed to overconsumption and depletion of the planet. ... Read more

Design increasingly plays a pivotal role in achieving justice for all. However, there are often gaps between visions and implementation due to the variety of factors and stakeholders involved in design practice. Through literature review and a keyword co-occurrence analysis, this paper investigates current landscape justice research and identifies the distinguishing concerns in design, and highlights the importance of systematic thinking in achieving landscape justice. By examining the practices of the British company Building Design Partnership (BDP), a multinational design company, this paper identifies BDP’s three key design principles as experiences can be followed for landscape justice: design for inclusion, design for resilience, and design for future ecosystems. The paper also addresses potential challenges and conflicts in implementing landscape justice across different contexts and highlights multinational design companies’ efforts to mediate between various stakeholders. Finally, this paper demonstrates that design companies can contribute to 1) bridging social and environmental justice through landscape design, 2) achieving the visions promoted by scholars, 3) identifying and deploying diverse approaches to achieving landscape justice with their sensitivity to practical problems, and 4) fostering integrated feedback loops via both top-down and bottom-up approaches to ensure effective implementation of landscape justice. ... Read more

This thesis investigates the introduction, adaption, and implementation of the modern concept of heritage conservation in modern China after the opening of its treaty ports. Through an analysis of the different layers of disseminating and receiving knowledge in transnational exchanges, it explicitly points out the divergence between the Eurocentric concept of conservation and the Chinese tradition of treating historic buildings and sites. As a result of the complexity of understanding and adapting an imported idea, the heritage discourse in China is characterised by its own ambiguity. Conservation of modern heritage, in particular those built under colonial power, has seen conflicts of perceptions between conservation planning and interest-led practice. A progressive legislative framework for heritage conservation has had a limited binding effect on stakeholders’ actions to protect listed immovable built cultural heritage sites from artificial damage in China’s contemporary urban practices. By analysing various actors’ interpretations and expressions of the concept of “conservation” (known as “保护” in Chinese) derived from different temporalities, it explores the causes and effects of heritage strategies and approaches created by individuals, groups, and the state apparatus. Theoretically, it challenges the local acceptability of classic conservation principles that are primarily based on European thoughts and cultural background. Practically, it provides adequate clues for a multi-faceted consideration of listed heritage sites in future development. It highlights the significance of creating a powerful local narrative under the authoritative heritage discourse at a crossroads of ongoing globalisation and growing nationalism. ... Read more

Water has served and sustained societies throughout history. Understanding the complex and diverse water systems of the past is key to devising sustainable development for the future with regard to socioeconomic structures, policies, and cultures. Today, past systems form the framework for preservation and reuse as well as for new proposals. In this course, you will learn how to identify the spatial, social and cultural aspects of water heritage in your environment. You will investigate real situations, assess specific issues and evaluate the impact of potential measures, following existing expertise on water heritage and water management traditions as a model for your own practice. ... Read more

The dynamic heritage strategy is an era choice to respond to the “modern monument paradox”. As a highly malleable concept, heritage, whether it is the concept itself or its related practices, has to be discussed, and criticized before recognition in a constant movement. The typical Dutch tolerant society has been facing the impact of multiculturalism and the resulting dynamic identity. The national government therefore proposed a sustainable development concept of “conservation through development” for both heritage protection and regional spatial planning. From the perspective of architects, this paper discusses the dynamic strategies in heritage restoration and transformation from three dimensions of culture, economy and history. Focusing on strategies and specific methods, this paper analyses the dynamic Dutch mode and its positive influence on integrated heritage conservation, evoking sustainable strategies for modern heritage transformation of times. ... Read more

Since the establishment of treaty ports in the mid-19th century, the urban development of many Chinese cities, and notably of Shanghai, has been heavily influenced by global economic flows and global urban and architectural practices. In Shanghai, extensive lilong neighbourhoods stand as remnants of the treaty port era. Many of these historic districts are in close proximity to rapidly transforming areas of the city, creating civic tension around demolition, conservation and the redevelopment of colonial heritage. Examining the listed Bugaoli community in Shanghai’s old French Concession, the heritage strategies applied under the particular Cultural Relics Protection System (CRPS), and the discourse of local residents interviewed in the context of this project, this paper reveals the paradoxes around urban heritage conservation and urban development by considering three different temporalities: legislative time, economic time and citizen time. The paper argues that actors involved in heritage practices should consider both space and time related issues in urban heritage conservation. Historic communities such as Bugaoli experience conflicts between conservation and the demands of everyday life. They underline and require a heritage strategy that acknowledges diverse temporalities and balances legal norms, economic interests and the public’s demands. ... Read more

Shanghai’s history of urban development forms a grand chapter of the rural to urban transition in Asia. Studies pertaining to Shanghai’s history and social evolution have become an important topic for discussion in the study of modern Chinese cities. Since 1843, when its treaty port opened and twenty-six British merchants arrived in Shanghai, transnational exchanges accompanying Western migration to this city have continued, leading a series of urban changes. Among many historic events and moments, including the Sino-Japanese War started in 1937, the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, and China’s Economic Reform in 1978, three historical periods stand out and had far-reaching impacts on Shanghai’s urban formation. [...] ... Read more

“Densification” is an inevitable trend of modern urban development. The blend and apposition of new extension with historical environment would be an important feature of cities in the next age, which would further bring about the discussion and speculation on historical value and contemporaneity. As a typical representative of high-density countries, in the last decade, the Netherlands has performed outstanding in the adaptive transformation of the built environment. Based on the interview with Prof. Kees Kaan, the founder architect of KAAN Architecten, this paper makes an in-depth analysis of the stand and method of Dutch architects facing the complex historical environment. The interview focuses particularly on transformation and renovation strategies, heritage values and practical experience, with a view to obtaining traceable research clues on design involvement in the issues of preservation and renewal. ... Read more

The Water Heritage in Asian Cities Symposium took place between 29 November and 1 December 2018, in Shanghai. In respond to the increasing water risks of a warming planet, four institutes SASS, UKNA, IIAS and NYU Shanghai organized the symposium drawing on their urban studies network in Asia and beyond. The symposium encouraged diversity in perspectives, approaches and research methods concerning water and water heritage. This report explores presentations on three prominent topics discussed during the symposium: the Shanghai Master Plan 2035 (and the waterfront redevelopment it promotes), changing waterscapes, and water-based cultural heritage. Participants discussed how water utilization and management in the history of urban construction and expansion have accompanied the rise and fall of human societies. They emphasized the importance of thinking from a perspective focused on water and of placing water-related practices, studies and cooperation into global narratives. ... Read more

The educational space of Architecture faculty is used to cultivate architects. At the same time, it becomes the carrier of architectural ideas and teaching methods. The type of architecture and its spatial organization reflect the architectural education philosophy and attitude. Back in history, as early as the Renaissance, there had emerged study places for architects. After the industrial revolution and the modernist process, the types of architectural education sites are more diverse, and their main features are the spatial form of hybrid and box-in-box. This article preliminarily analyzes the evolutionary outline of architectural education buildings and interprets the spatial ideas in each period. The study focuses on the famous Dutch architectural school--BKCity of the Delft University of Technology, analyzing the teaching space logic of its distinctive Why Factory and exploring how the related space could stimulate the vitality of architectural education. By the analogy of some architectural schools, it also tries to compare the differences and characteristics of Chinese and Western architectural academies, finding out the spatial significance in architecture discipline, education method as well as sustainable application. ... Read more

Since the development of architectural disciplines, Dutch architectural style and architects have played important role in the world. In the wave of local urban renewal in the Netherlands, Dutch architects represented by Rem Koolhass, Francine Houben, Winy Maas and Kees Kaan and etc. have shown rich practices and experiences, therefore, the architectural renovation and urban renewal have show prosperous scenarios. This paper focuses on the four types of architectural and urban transformation practices in the Netherlands, named as Regional renewal, architectural heritage refurbishment, adaptive reuse and industrial building renovation [1], and analyzes typical cases such as Westerpark West, Speelhuis theater, Timmerhuis and Villa Industria project. Exploring the role and spatial stance of Dutch architects, the research tries to sum up the Dutch modes and experiences, and provides a new perspective and method for similar transformation practices in urban renewal of contemporary China. ... Read more

The early introducing process of architectural conservation between 1928 and 1946 is a hint foreshadowing later development in the whole narratives of the Chinese practice. The discipline of heritage protection has never been a tradition in the Chinese socio-culture. As a result of the changing regimes and the movement of domestic ideology in the Chinese society, the architectural conservation of China consists four main phases with broadening scope applied to city-scale conservation strategies. By looking into the introduction, translation of foreign references and the evolution of the concept of conservation by multiple generation architects in China, this paper argues that conservation related issues have always initiated from promulgation of legislation with knowledge abroad throughout the particular history of conservation movement. Both academia and government have utilized such promulgation to ensure hierarchically the discourse authority and the right to speak rather than specific conservation and restoration measures in practices. The missing conservation theory foundation in China have led this particular discipline unlikely being independent from the other common subjects which the public can perceive and learn from. Apart from this, through analysing the cultural and ethical reflections on Chinese tradition and, the transition of conservation theory from blank field to authority centred practices, it also argues that the inherent inaccuracy in Chinese culture for expression has generated diverse interpretations of the term ‘heritage conservation’ and consequent inappropriate activities and approaches which have not been restrained and monitored by current laws and regulations. ... Read more

The state has owned most historical buildings since the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Residents within are entitled to the right to use the house in the form of a lease. After entering a free trade housing market in 1988, residents in historic neighbourhoods of Shanghai have been suffering uncertainty of their identities. Residents’ role, responsibilities and obligations within urban transformation, has always been in suspense and strongly affected by multiple stakeholders’ decisions. Based on an analysis of the relationship between the native residents and the historic Lilong communities they are living in, this paper examines stakeholders’ heritage approaches in three typical transforming project, to explore residents’ mobility and behaviour within varied urban transformation and socio-economic development. Through a literature review, fieldwork and a pilot study in Xintiandi, Tianzifang and Chunyangli districts, urban transformation in historic urban communities from within is found literally rare in China. This paper argues that residents could not clarify their role by living in urban heritage, neither obtaining house-ownership to define their position nor being treated as one component of urban heritage. Government in China has been indeed the character who mediates between all stakeholders and bears the most burden. ... Read more