Vintage Ports: futures for Historic Defence Sites - World Heritage?

Ref.: 281
Área temática: 04 Abstracts donde los autores no han indicado el área temática.
Fecha de recepción: 27/11/2008

AUTORES (* Autor principal)

CLARK, Celia * (Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte) - Heritage Practitioner, Wessex Institute of Technology

ABSTRACT

Historic defence sites are a rare subject for study. They are nationally important historic urban landscapes, but as armed forces in different countries are reduced and regrouped, many such complexes are becoming redundant. Their transition to civilian uses is a profoundly symbolic land use exchange, which is worthy of greater analysis ­ for its physical as well as its economic and social significance. The effect of conversion on the defence industry has been well analysed, but conversion of military properties: dockyards, ordnance and victualling yards, hospitals, armouries, airfields, barracks - many of them historic - has received far less attention. New land uses may require new structures which significantly affect authenticity - as well as radical conversions of historic fabric. World Heritage inscription may strengthen or inhibit this transition; it may also enable exchanges of experience between sites with shared experience.
Large and small - contaminated, built over with utilitarian or architecturally impressive structures - military and naval sites offer a challenge to the achievement of creative, sustainable reuse. The different ways in which government lands may be disposed of ­ from free transfer - to sale to the highest bidder will determine land use. Job creation and technical innovation may result from this highly symbolic transition, but land values and local tax bases are considerably affected as these sites emerge into the property market. New activities: marine, maritime, commercial, leisure/shopping, educational, cultural, heritage tourism, residential and industrial uses are appearing, but respecting and enhancing the sense of place of defence heritage sites is essential if their uniqueness as a special family of places is not to be destroyed in reuse. Understanding the site's history is crucial but it does not always guide what happens after the military leave. Specialised industrial archaeology and textural details may be swept away in redevelopment for high-end housing or leisure tourism. The plan types of specialist dockyard buildings present particular challenges to adaptation and reuse. While developed countries have legislative protection for historic buildings and sites, conservation and reuse is not a priority in rapidly developing countries.
World Heritage inscirption marks historic defence sites as key sites in human history, though each one must make a case for its uniqueness to convince UNESCO to inscribe it on the list. Local governments must lead the bids to ICOMOS, but their economic development aims may conflict with sustainable reuse and unacceptable urban forms may be proposed.
There are good models of how to manage this key transformation for military to civilian. What is clearly needed is a long-term sustained discussion of accumulating experience, embracing this very special family of places across continents.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Coad Jonathan 1993 The Royal Dockyards 1690-1850 Architecture and Engineering Works of the Sailing Navy Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England Scholar Press Aldershot
Clark Celia 2000 Vintage Ports or Deserted Dockyards Differing futures for Naval Heritage across Europe The University of the West of England Working Paper No. 57 July 2000 Bristol UK
Clark Celia 2008 `"The Past is a Present to the Future" Portsmouth Harbour, Isle of Wight & Spithead as `the world's first Cultural Seascape' to be inscribed on the World Heritage List Dockyards The Naval Dockyards Society July 2008 Volume 13, Issue I pp. 5-7
Clark Celia 2008 `World Heritage Inscription for naval heritage brownfields?' Fourth International Conference Prevention, Assessment, Rehabilitation, Restoration and Development of Brownfield Sites 6 - 8 May Cephalonia, Greece. Wessex Institute of Technology pp.189-199 ISBN 978-1-84564-105- 4
Clark Celia 2008 `Vintage Ports: a Future for Historic Dockyards around the World' The Suomenlinna Dockyard Round Table Discussion Learning from each other experiences 23-24 April Finland (proceedings to be published by Governing Body of Suomenlinna)
Clark Celia 2007 `Vintage Ports. Lessons in the Renewal of Historic Naval Dockyards: An International Perspective' Seventh Annual Conference of the Naval Dockyards Society 5 April 2003 Transactions of the Naval Dockyards Society Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Annual Conferences in 2001, 2002, 2003 pp.89-102
Clark Celia 2006 Defence heritage moves onto civilian futures Brownfields 2006 19-21 July Tallinn, Estonia
Clark Celia 2006 Naval Waterfront Renewals Ist Symposium on Waterfronts in the Danube Region 3-8 March Novi Sad
Clark Celia 2005 Xingcheng Walled City Liaoning China English Editor Xincheng Cultural Bureau China
Clark Celia 2005 `Coming into the light: the rediscovery and reuse of naval heritage buildings' Maritime Heritage and Modern Ports eds. R Marcet I Barge, CA Brebbia, J Olivella Wessex Institute of Technology Press pp. 33-44ISBN 1-84564-010-1
Clark Celia 2002 `Les ports d'époque ou les chantiers navals abandonnés: les différents destinées du patrimoine maritime à travers l 'Europe'in Le Patrimoine Maritime Construire, Transmettre, Utiliser, Symboliser Les Héritages Maritimes Européens Françoise Péron ed. Presses Universitaires de Rennes, France 2002 ISBN: 2- 86847-594-9 2002
Clark Celia 2002 White Holes University of Portsmouth PhD. Thesis: `White Holes: decision-making in disposal of Ministry of Defence heritage sites'
Clark Celia 2000 `Vintage Ports or Deserted Dockyards: differing futures for naval heritage across Europe' Acquapolis Città d'acqua, Venice pp 1-10
Clark Celia 1994 Oxford University/Oxford Brookes University MSc. Historic Conservation: distinction for thesis The Future of Dockyard Heritage: Conservation, Community and Economic Aspects of the Transition of Naval and Military Sites to Civilian use in four former dockyard towns: Chatham, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Venezia