The XXXlVth AADIPA Curset is dedicated this year to the intervention in constructions dedicated to defence.

From early beginnings to present day, civilizations have been building architectural elements destined for defence. Whether isolated or forming part of the whole, fortifications such as walls, castles, towers or shelters have safeguarded individual enclosures, whole territories, cities, road links and frontiers. 
Today we can see these elements characterizing our landscapes and territories in which they are found. Each one reflecting on a local or national history, which will determine their value in today’s society. They may represent symbols of great pride and local attachment, symbols of domination and oppression, or quite simply become obsolete and surplus to requirements. The perception of these designs will influence today’s society on the willingness to preserve, abandon or even destroy them.

Defensive structures are functional architectures that cannot be fully understood without taking into account weaponry and attack strategies of the time and that pay little attention to decoration.
The important recourses spent in those buildings are employed in the quality of construction and in its imposing appearances. The question of propaganda is the main architectural meaning.
However, it has been the changes in arms, what have caused these fortifications to become obsolete, leading to them being abandoned, destroyed, or put to another use.

Only when we have considered all the history and its underlying significance, can we tackle the interventions into our defensive heritage. We need to know how the systems of offence and defence were employed, who defended and who attacked, how the buildings were used and how people lived in them. We need to understand what role the building had in its territory and in society, and analyze when the building became obsolete, when it was abandoned, destroyed or put to another use and how it was later re-evaluated or rebuilt.

We must look at what role heritage plays in today’s society; the importance the monument has now and what story it is telling us; its value as a historical document and its contribution to the knowledge of its epoch and the building techniques of that time.
It is essential to decide to what use it will be put. All too frequently, the principal problem is in trying to find a use whilst respecting the monument that will suit society and not become just another tourist attraction. Finally, we have to consider the criteria for restoration and adaptability to new requirements of the building, resolving any conflicts it may encumber. The answers can only come from a global collaboration of history, archaeology, architecture, and town and regional planning. We must also look at the needs of management, property and citizens, who are destined to enjoy the cultural benefits and who have a right to a complete and critically correct history of the monument.

Anna Albó Riera
Dídac Gordillo Bel
AADIPA – XXXIV Curset Directors
International Conference on Architectural Heritage Intervention