8 C O N T E X T 1 1 7 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 different regional characteristics in the Asia-Pacific region. The structured thinking is illuminating for professional practice here. The Asia-Pacific region is a crucible for forging creative new strategies for heritage conservation that are based on living traditions of cultural practice and community stewardship. Historic structures there are overwhelmingly in private hands. The community stewardship issue may assume far greater importance in the new government’s Big Society and localism agendas in the near future. The 1972 UNESCOWorld Heritage Convention provides the framework for international action. But the annual Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, inaugurated in 2000, respond to the question: within the realities of contemporary, fast-track development, what do Asians want to preserve from the past to inform their place in the global future? This relates to the often-heated debate about ‘western principles’ versus ‘Asian values’. A noteworthy corpus of projects has since come forward, with more than 500 entries from 23 countries. Of these, 91 have been recognised with awards representing a broad spectrum of the region’s built heritage. They are a testimony to how buildings can be successfully preserved in their traditional settings, and how conservation principles can be integrated into local development strategies. The submissions tackle head-on the key issues facing the conservation profession everywhere. Is it possible to adapt heritage buildings for contemporary needs and still retain their heritage significance? How do we insert contemporary architecture into the historic urban landscape? To what extent is change possible if historic districts are to maintain their character and identity? Most crucially, is historic conservation a mainstream action, essential for sustainability strategies or only a minor diversion in the development process? Entries are evaluated for excellence, based on eleven criteria grouped into three distinct categories: spirit of place, technical excellence and impact. Spirit of place The first three criteria together emphasise the importance of safeguarding the spirit of place in the conservation process.Without unqualified success in this prerequisite category, a project, however technically proficient, can not be considered successful. These are, first, the articulation of the structure’s heritage values in order to convey the spirit of place through the conservation work; second, appropriate use or adaptation of the structure; and third, the interpretation of the cultural, social, historical and architectural significance of the structure(s) in the conservation work. Technical excellence The next four criteria emphasise technical excellence, judged both by international standards and by the standards of traditional practice, on the basis that technical expertise is not a relative concept but is determined by exacting professional standards. The four criteria are, first, understanding of the technical issues of conservation and restoration in interpreting the structure’s significance; second, the use and quality control of appropriate building, artisan and conservation techniques; third, the use of appropriate materials; and fourth, how well any added elements or creative technical solutions respect the character and inherent spatial quality of the structure(s). Impact The final four criteria relate to impact in the community and within the profession to influence conservation practice and to catalyse further efforts in conservation. The indicators, which may be economic, social or political, comprise the following: • The manner in which the process and the final product contribute to the surrounding environment and the local community’s cultural and historical continuum. • The influence of the project on conservation practice and policy locally, nationally, regionally or internationally. • Continuing socio-economic viability and relevance, and provision in the project for future use and maintenance. • The complexity, sensitivity and technical consistency of the project methodology. The award winners consistently demonstrate that technical achievement in conservation must be underpinned by a profound understanding of conservation as a social process. The basis of the assessment provides an invaluable starting point for thinking through the issues in greater depth. The articles are well worth seeking out for the full discussion in greater depth than space permits here. Bob Kindred MBE From The Castles on the Ground by JM Richards (1946; this edition 1973) A legitimate complaint against suburbia is that it spreads itself too widely. As the motorist drives out of town along his concreted highway, his hopes of green fields are frustrated mile after mile. Though kerbstones give place to wide green verges and side turnings offer glimpses of gravelled country lanes, he still finds himself confined between barriers of bricks and mortar, to say nothing of the dwarf walls and garden gates, the shrubberies and rock gardens guarded by lead statuary, that form the outworks of this impenetrable fortification. And when the single ribbon of building breaks away, as it does every now and then, into deep bastions of residential development, fanning out inland until they seem to threaten the existence of rurality itself, the motorist sees with alarm a future England that has become, in effect, one enormous built-up area. Occasionally he is made aware that the phenomenon about which he complains is not quite as new as it seems. A mossgrown wall, backed by wellingtonias and monkey puzzles, only partially conceals a slate-roofed villa from which the stucco is now peeling sadly and whose garden, seen through a rusty iron gate, is overgrown with weeds, but was once the pride of some successful tradesman from the nearby town. A public house, which now flourishes on the passing motorist’s custom as well as serving as the local for the newly populated neighbourhood, once made its profits from supplying a change of post-horses to the users on the coach road. We can deduce its previous history from the Georgian gable that appears above the new plate-glass bay window of the bar parlour, from the extent of disused stabling at the back (which the landlord is thinking of converting into a tea lounge, with the help of some potted palms and a radiogram) and finally, if we care to enter the saloon bar, from a framed engraving on the wall depicting the simple rectangular façade of the ‘Coach and Horses’ before the magnificence of its roughcast and terra-cotta additions made it so notable a landmark. And when the schoolchildren scamper across the highway to the annoyance of the speeding motorist, he may notice that the object of their perilous journey is a sweetshop whose wares – which also include lemonade and minerals – are displayed behind the cast iron casements of what was once the gate lodge of a Victorian gentleman’s park.
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