Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MOEBHIOS (Multi-attribute values’ OntologiEs to improve Built Heritage InformatiOn assessment in cluStered territories)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2025-03-31
Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project
MOEBHIOS (Multi-attribute values’ OntologiEs to improve Built Heritage InformatiOn assessment in cluStered territories) aim is to develop an innovative Value-Based Decision-Making approach on historical Built Heritage on the cross-border contexts of clustered territories. The improvement of Information Systems for territorial geo-mapping with Multi-attributes Values from Social Sciences fields will be pursued, developing advanced Information Ontologies specifically suited for landscape and Built Heritage. The project is tested on the pilot case study of historical Built Heritage in Palestine, assuming a key example of a complex heritage ecosystem at the territorial scale envying societal and landscape developing programs, similar to other contexts at European borders. To achieve the goal, the research project provides a path of theoretical studies, on-field direct training and practical activities (social surveys, technical dialogue sessions) for the collection of data concepts and logical structures referring to 4 main macro-areas concerning Built Heritage analysis: social, archaeological, economic and architectural fields.
The researcher will participate to a creative research & training program across Europe and the Middle East, in contact with excellent research laboratories and chairs in Cultural Heritage social (Palestine) and economic (Germany) fields. The researcher will re-integrate the advanced social sciences skills to Architectural and Built Heritage research, considering the horizon of digital practices of documentation and 3D modelling experimented at the beneficiary sending institution (Italy).
The scientific quality of resulting Information Ontologies for historical Built Heritage is envisaged by development agencies for territorial governance and the strengthening of local communities in Third Countries, and by European and non-EU academies studying heritage contexts interested by sharing, displaced or aggregated communities, fostering the establishment of good practices and standard protocols on dynamic representation and monitoring of tangible Heritage through EU and above.
MOEBHIOS main object is to develop a Value-based Geo-referenced system for Built Heritage relevance, tested in the case of traditional Palestinian architectural heritage on a pilot area for the research. Other sub-objects of the research program regarding:
OBJECTIVE 1 Increase the standardization of interdisciplinary values in relevance for Cultural Heritage safeguard.
SO1. To cross-analyze and interconnect sectoral values (social, cultural, economic, archaeological) on Built Heritage in a system of Multi-Attribute Values (MAVs) at the urban/territorial scale.
SO2. To extend the geo-mapping of widespread Built Heritage sites on the territory from research references, open access databases, archival information, and fast survey integration.
OBJECTIVE 2 Advance the adoption of digital Information Ontologies for Cultural Heritage studies sustainability.
SO3. To connect MAVs hierarchies and geo-data for achieving reliable Information Ontologies on BH.
SO4. To validate the query results of the information system regarding Value-Based Decision-Making (VBDM) correspondence from the simulation on the preliminary reported Pilot Heritage context.
OBJECTIVE 3 Propose a protocol for widespread Built Heritage challenges of conservation.
SO5. To test the protocol in non-EU border case study, considering the potential impact of Heritage evaluation for preservation practices in a complex architectural context of dynamic territorial compression.
SO6. To address replicability and export methods/outcomes on ongoing European case studies.
The researcher will participate to a creative research & training program across Europe and the Middle East, in contact with excellent research laboratories and chairs in Cultural Heritage social (Palestine) and economic (Germany) fields. The researcher will re-integrate the advanced social sciences skills to Architectural and Built Heritage research, considering the horizon of digital practices of documentation and 3D modelling experimented at the beneficiary sending institution (Italy).
The scientific quality of resulting Information Ontologies for historical Built Heritage is envisaged by development agencies for territorial governance and the strengthening of local communities in Third Countries, and by European and non-EU academies studying heritage contexts interested by sharing, displaced or aggregated communities, fostering the establishment of good practices and standard protocols on dynamic representation and monitoring of tangible Heritage through EU and above.
MOEBHIOS main object is to develop a Value-based Geo-referenced system for Built Heritage relevance, tested in the case of traditional Palestinian architectural heritage on a pilot area for the research. Other sub-objects of the research program regarding:
OBJECTIVE 1 Increase the standardization of interdisciplinary values in relevance for Cultural Heritage safeguard.
SO1. To cross-analyze and interconnect sectoral values (social, cultural, economic, archaeological) on Built Heritage in a system of Multi-Attribute Values (MAVs) at the urban/territorial scale.
SO2. To extend the geo-mapping of widespread Built Heritage sites on the territory from research references, open access databases, archival information, and fast survey integration.
OBJECTIVE 2 Advance the adoption of digital Information Ontologies for Cultural Heritage studies sustainability.
SO3. To connect MAVs hierarchies and geo-data for achieving reliable Information Ontologies on BH.
SO4. To validate the query results of the information system regarding Value-Based Decision-Making (VBDM) correspondence from the simulation on the preliminary reported Pilot Heritage context.
OBJECTIVE 3 Propose a protocol for widespread Built Heritage challenges of conservation.
SO5. To test the protocol in non-EU border case study, considering the potential impact of Heritage evaluation for preservation practices in a complex architectural context of dynamic territorial compression.
SO6. To address replicability and export methods/outcomes on ongoing European case studies.
Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far
The MOEBHIOS project is dedicated to the study of neglected Built Heritage from Palestinian tradition within a Value-Based Decision-Making (VBDM) approach, aimed at guiding conservation planning and development strategies. This investigation is carried out in the specific context of cluster territories. In this regard, the work performed was structured into key areas:
1) Definition of the specific context of cluster territories and the conceptual framework of Clustered Heritage.
Clustered Heritage is conceived as a heritage background conditioned by forced densification and aggregation of dissonant communities in a well-defined territorial domain, resulting in an extreme dynamism in assessing cultural values on heritage, especially considering Architectural Heritage. The ‘clustering’ condition is arranged mainly by geo-political decisions, based on social, territorial or environmental factors. These components are explicitly tied to governance, forced migration, and socio-political factors, as key drivers of land transformation choices that must also combine with human and cultural sustainability. In this way, local communities oversee a multi-perspectival approach to shaping heritage significance, starting with its recognition through values.
Diversity in cultural, social, economic, archaeological and architectural values contributed by each community, often mutually contradictory, challenges their coexistence and interaction. Thus, the mutual influence and exchange within the cluster groups assume a conflictual dialogue, parallel narratives are forcibly denied, and conservation practices change according to governance projections, with unpredictable scenarios of cultural transmission. Furthermore, gentrification in Clustered Heritage contexts can reshape Architectural Heritage through controversial adaptive reuse, sometimes leading to the displacement or loss of intangible cultural elements.
2) Collection and analysis of Built Heritage typologies and territorial heritage networks related to the Palestinian tradition.
Architectural Heritage related to the Palestinian community and its traditions provides a key context for piloting the concept of ‘clustered heritage’, within a present geo-political background resulting from a secular aggregation of communities. The extraordinary cultural diversity of the communities inhabiting the region of historic Palestine has generated a varied and stratified heritage of traditions and rituals, incorporating the adoption of diversified architectural typologies and styles that later became a basis for identity contestation. Sites representative of the architectural typologies under study have been addressed through means of digital documentation and 3D survey, especially applying experimental approaches of fast survey (i.e. 3D photogrammetry by light UAVs and 360° cameras). Furthermore, data collection has included community-based approaches, through the sharing of stories, memories, interviews and public sources from the social dimension of Built Heritage in the local community.
Concerning vernacular heritage, architectural sites dedicated to religious and productive traditions from historical Palestine express an identity rooted in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern landscape before the 19th century, merging constructive patterns and geometries with popular beliefs and rituals. Spiritual shrines (maqamat) dedicated to prophets or leaders reconstruct a route of landmarks and pilgrimage trails, which originated further beyond the historical mandate boundaries or the present geo-political countries. Agricultural towers (manateer) still match a territorial network connected to the original properties and country yard practices, as the seasonal settling of families in the field properties for the harvesting season. Springs (ein) and wells (bir) reconnect with the dimension of rural settlements and communities gathering before the urban settlement, linking the primary use of water to its celebration and spiritual association, often merged with religious built features.
The infrastructuralisation of rural architectural typologies has introduced pools (birkets) from more extensive hydraulic rainwater harvesting and distribution systems, still maintaining a social dimension within their architectural space. Also, the institutionalisation of religious architectural sites and their typologies through mosques, churches and monasteries (in the major Christian-present areas), synagogues (especially in Tiberias) has consolidated a framework of spiritual connection between communities and places. Similarly, covered markets (suqs), caravanserrai (khan), public baths (hammams) and schools (madrasa), as well as clocktowers (in Jaffa and Nablus), define central components of the urban identity which shaped the local civil and spatial practices.
With the 20th century, modern architectural models saw widespread diffusion, both due to the affirmation of the growing European communities in the area and the tendency to Westernisation favoured by the mandated status. The region welcomed further European cultural influences, introducing modern construction techniques and new design geometries. Stylistic solutions from Modernity are observable in residential buildings, post offices and banks, public institutions, with a concentration in the main arteries of urban expansion.
3) Analysis and review of Heritage Value typologies through an interdisciplinary approach.
Values assessment represents a practical standardised application informed by theories and scholarly frameworks in Cultural Heritage, however, its evolving adaptation of typologies should be considered according to the awareness of dynamics in heritage contexts. According to its diffusion, values have been institutionalised for classification and definition in typologies, and they have been assumed as determinant factors associated to a specific heritage asset, whose inclusion or omission in an assessment process deeply influences the definition of a proper heritage significance, and consequently the practical impact of conservation on its future.
The Literature Review was aimed at collecting the main references in the field of theories on value typologies for Values Assessment in Cultural Heritage, with the specific focus on Architectural Heritage, for the identification of related value lists. The references were also chosen based on their significance and balance in terms of their interdisciplinarity ensuring representation from the most relevant scientific fields of argumentation: ‘Architecture’, ‘Sociology’, ‘Economy’ and ‘Archaeology’. Their selection has prioritised their principal relevance for Architectural Heritage studies to deepen the influence of geo-political dynamics and ‘clustering’ on the assignment of typologies of values and the argumentation on their evolution.
The method of analysis was thus oriented towards the identification of disciplinary ‘attributes’ for each value type.
The application of the method of values’ analysis and the identification of the processes of values’ metamorphosis has led to the development of revised value typologies for Architectural Heritage, focusing on the context of ‘clustered heritage’. In particular, the results illustrate critical considerations of the existing value typologies (1) and the recognition of a ‘metamorphosis’ phenomena within specific categories (2).
3) Development of Value-based Ontologies and applications within Heritage Geo Information Systems
(Activity is still under development)
1) Definition of the specific context of cluster territories and the conceptual framework of Clustered Heritage.
Clustered Heritage is conceived as a heritage background conditioned by forced densification and aggregation of dissonant communities in a well-defined territorial domain, resulting in an extreme dynamism in assessing cultural values on heritage, especially considering Architectural Heritage. The ‘clustering’ condition is arranged mainly by geo-political decisions, based on social, territorial or environmental factors. These components are explicitly tied to governance, forced migration, and socio-political factors, as key drivers of land transformation choices that must also combine with human and cultural sustainability. In this way, local communities oversee a multi-perspectival approach to shaping heritage significance, starting with its recognition through values.
Diversity in cultural, social, economic, archaeological and architectural values contributed by each community, often mutually contradictory, challenges their coexistence and interaction. Thus, the mutual influence and exchange within the cluster groups assume a conflictual dialogue, parallel narratives are forcibly denied, and conservation practices change according to governance projections, with unpredictable scenarios of cultural transmission. Furthermore, gentrification in Clustered Heritage contexts can reshape Architectural Heritage through controversial adaptive reuse, sometimes leading to the displacement or loss of intangible cultural elements.
2) Collection and analysis of Built Heritage typologies and territorial heritage networks related to the Palestinian tradition.
Architectural Heritage related to the Palestinian community and its traditions provides a key context for piloting the concept of ‘clustered heritage’, within a present geo-political background resulting from a secular aggregation of communities. The extraordinary cultural diversity of the communities inhabiting the region of historic Palestine has generated a varied and stratified heritage of traditions and rituals, incorporating the adoption of diversified architectural typologies and styles that later became a basis for identity contestation. Sites representative of the architectural typologies under study have been addressed through means of digital documentation and 3D survey, especially applying experimental approaches of fast survey (i.e. 3D photogrammetry by light UAVs and 360° cameras). Furthermore, data collection has included community-based approaches, through the sharing of stories, memories, interviews and public sources from the social dimension of Built Heritage in the local community.
Concerning vernacular heritage, architectural sites dedicated to religious and productive traditions from historical Palestine express an identity rooted in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern landscape before the 19th century, merging constructive patterns and geometries with popular beliefs and rituals. Spiritual shrines (maqamat) dedicated to prophets or leaders reconstruct a route of landmarks and pilgrimage trails, which originated further beyond the historical mandate boundaries or the present geo-political countries. Agricultural towers (manateer) still match a territorial network connected to the original properties and country yard practices, as the seasonal settling of families in the field properties for the harvesting season. Springs (ein) and wells (bir) reconnect with the dimension of rural settlements and communities gathering before the urban settlement, linking the primary use of water to its celebration and spiritual association, often merged with religious built features.
The infrastructuralisation of rural architectural typologies has introduced pools (birkets) from more extensive hydraulic rainwater harvesting and distribution systems, still maintaining a social dimension within their architectural space. Also, the institutionalisation of religious architectural sites and their typologies through mosques, churches and monasteries (in the major Christian-present areas), synagogues (especially in Tiberias) has consolidated a framework of spiritual connection between communities and places. Similarly, covered markets (suqs), caravanserrai (khan), public baths (hammams) and schools (madrasa), as well as clocktowers (in Jaffa and Nablus), define central components of the urban identity which shaped the local civil and spatial practices.
With the 20th century, modern architectural models saw widespread diffusion, both due to the affirmation of the growing European communities in the area and the tendency to Westernisation favoured by the mandated status. The region welcomed further European cultural influences, introducing modern construction techniques and new design geometries. Stylistic solutions from Modernity are observable in residential buildings, post offices and banks, public institutions, with a concentration in the main arteries of urban expansion.
3) Analysis and review of Heritage Value typologies through an interdisciplinary approach.
Values assessment represents a practical standardised application informed by theories and scholarly frameworks in Cultural Heritage, however, its evolving adaptation of typologies should be considered according to the awareness of dynamics in heritage contexts. According to its diffusion, values have been institutionalised for classification and definition in typologies, and they have been assumed as determinant factors associated to a specific heritage asset, whose inclusion or omission in an assessment process deeply influences the definition of a proper heritage significance, and consequently the practical impact of conservation on its future.
The Literature Review was aimed at collecting the main references in the field of theories on value typologies for Values Assessment in Cultural Heritage, with the specific focus on Architectural Heritage, for the identification of related value lists. The references were also chosen based on their significance and balance in terms of their interdisciplinarity ensuring representation from the most relevant scientific fields of argumentation: ‘Architecture’, ‘Sociology’, ‘Economy’ and ‘Archaeology’. Their selection has prioritised their principal relevance for Architectural Heritage studies to deepen the influence of geo-political dynamics and ‘clustering’ on the assignment of typologies of values and the argumentation on their evolution.
The method of analysis was thus oriented towards the identification of disciplinary ‘attributes’ for each value type.
The application of the method of values’ analysis and the identification of the processes of values’ metamorphosis has led to the development of revised value typologies for Architectural Heritage, focusing on the context of ‘clustered heritage’. In particular, the results illustrate critical considerations of the existing value typologies (1) and the recognition of a ‘metamorphosis’ phenomena within specific categories (2).
3) Development of Value-based Ontologies and applications within Heritage Geo Information Systems
(Activity is still under development)
Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)
The activities and research Objectives pursued by the project MOEBHIOS have achieved relevant results in both theoretical and practical research applications.
Theoretical applications > Development of novel terms and concepts
CLUSTERED HERITAGE
The novel term “Clustered Heritage” complements and enriches current understandings of heritage-in-crisis related to enforced densification and amalgamation of disparate communities. It introduces a nuanced perspective on heritage studies, offering a distinct interpretative lens by specifically addressing the interplay between enforced socio-territorial clustering and the fluidity of heritage values. The acceptance of variability and mediation of recognised values, along with the choice of a cohesive approach to the knowledge of Architectural Heritage, can be searched in the primary human, functional, and celebratory reasons at the spontaneous root of Architecture as human-built heritage. Rather than defying it by historical ownership and contestation, this perspective prioritises the fundamental purposes that shaped Architectural Heritage. Such an approach can address the formation of social cohesion and guide new formation patterns of collective identity.
METAMORPHOSIS OF HERITAGE VALUES
The metamorphic nature of heritage values is evident in how different attributes of heritage are emphasised, de-emphasised, or redefined depending on contemporary perspectives. A site or tradition may be recognised for its historical importance in one era, its aesthetic value in another, and its social relevance in yet another. UNESCO (2003) highlights this in its definition of intangible cultural heritage, stating that it “is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature, and their history,” reinforcing the idea that heritage values are not only inherited but continually reshaped.
This interplay of continuity and transformation in heritage values can be further understood through the concepts of accretive, palimpsestic, and refracted heritage values.
The conceptualisation of the possible metamorphosis processes for heritage values and the introduction of the classes of ‘accretive’, ‘palimpsestic’ and ‘refracted’ values facilitated the updating of the existing value typologies. By applying the attribute system to each typology, an appropriate metamorphosis category was assigned. Subsequently, specific denominations were identified to enable the representation of the value types in the heritage dialogue perspective, introduced with respect to ‘clustered heritage’.
Practical applications > Testing and optimisation of fast digital documentation applications
3D MODELLING FROM AERIAL, 360° CAMERA AND VIDEOGRAMMETRY ACQUISITION
The application of digital documentation processes for the architectural sites under study involved the experimentation of on-site fast survey approaches, for georeferenced mapping and morphometric acquisition of architectural typologies characteristic of the Palestinian tradition. In particular, digital photomodelling methods through 3D photogrammetry were applied, experimenting with the use of aerial and 360° cameras and video acquisition formats to make the acquisition expeditious and compatible with the critical areas of the sites (reduced accessibility, cultural sensitivity, military security).
VIRTUAL HERITAGE ATLAS OF GEOREFERENCED ARCHITECTURAL SITES
The datasets collected from the on-site survey were post-processed and allowed the elaboration of 3D models of the architectural sites under study. The models constitute a 3D Virtual Heritage atlas, applied both as a geometric support of the Informative System and used as a virtual interaction base for the communication, awareness and dissemination activities of the architectural heritage towards the public, in the social and impact effects of the project.
The virtual heritage atlas produced by MOEBHIOS is accessible on the profile on the SketchFab service platform: https://sketchfab.com/moebhios(opens in new window)
Theoretical applications > Development of novel terms and concepts
CLUSTERED HERITAGE
The novel term “Clustered Heritage” complements and enriches current understandings of heritage-in-crisis related to enforced densification and amalgamation of disparate communities. It introduces a nuanced perspective on heritage studies, offering a distinct interpretative lens by specifically addressing the interplay between enforced socio-territorial clustering and the fluidity of heritage values. The acceptance of variability and mediation of recognised values, along with the choice of a cohesive approach to the knowledge of Architectural Heritage, can be searched in the primary human, functional, and celebratory reasons at the spontaneous root of Architecture as human-built heritage. Rather than defying it by historical ownership and contestation, this perspective prioritises the fundamental purposes that shaped Architectural Heritage. Such an approach can address the formation of social cohesion and guide new formation patterns of collective identity.
METAMORPHOSIS OF HERITAGE VALUES
The metamorphic nature of heritage values is evident in how different attributes of heritage are emphasised, de-emphasised, or redefined depending on contemporary perspectives. A site or tradition may be recognised for its historical importance in one era, its aesthetic value in another, and its social relevance in yet another. UNESCO (2003) highlights this in its definition of intangible cultural heritage, stating that it “is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature, and their history,” reinforcing the idea that heritage values are not only inherited but continually reshaped.
This interplay of continuity and transformation in heritage values can be further understood through the concepts of accretive, palimpsestic, and refracted heritage values.
The conceptualisation of the possible metamorphosis processes for heritage values and the introduction of the classes of ‘accretive’, ‘palimpsestic’ and ‘refracted’ values facilitated the updating of the existing value typologies. By applying the attribute system to each typology, an appropriate metamorphosis category was assigned. Subsequently, specific denominations were identified to enable the representation of the value types in the heritage dialogue perspective, introduced with respect to ‘clustered heritage’.
Practical applications > Testing and optimisation of fast digital documentation applications
3D MODELLING FROM AERIAL, 360° CAMERA AND VIDEOGRAMMETRY ACQUISITION
The application of digital documentation processes for the architectural sites under study involved the experimentation of on-site fast survey approaches, for georeferenced mapping and morphometric acquisition of architectural typologies characteristic of the Palestinian tradition. In particular, digital photomodelling methods through 3D photogrammetry were applied, experimenting with the use of aerial and 360° cameras and video acquisition formats to make the acquisition expeditious and compatible with the critical areas of the sites (reduced accessibility, cultural sensitivity, military security).
VIRTUAL HERITAGE ATLAS OF GEOREFERENCED ARCHITECTURAL SITES
The datasets collected from the on-site survey were post-processed and allowed the elaboration of 3D models of the architectural sites under study. The models constitute a 3D Virtual Heritage atlas, applied both as a geometric support of the Informative System and used as a virtual interaction base for the communication, awareness and dissemination activities of the architectural heritage towards the public, in the social and impact effects of the project.
The virtual heritage atlas produced by MOEBHIOS is accessible on the profile on the SketchFab service platform: https://sketchfab.com/moebhios(opens in new window)