“Heritage of Health” event hosted by the School of Architecture

Abercromby Square

The University of Liverpool School of Architecture recently hosted an international seminar on the “Heritage of Health within the Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework, as part of Accelerated Scientific and Technological Development”.

The seminar was part of the series “Exploring the Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework in the European context”, organised by the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on 20th Century Heritage (ISC20C) together with the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI).

Initiated and chaired by Dr. Christina Malathouni, the seminar built on the Liverpool School of Architecture’s extensive expertise on heritage, including 20th-century heritage research that led to a REF 2021 Impact Case Study on “Saving Preston Bus Station and enhancing understanding of Brutalism”. It also built on developing research and teaching that link health, wellbeing and the built environment.

Centered around Theme 2 of the Twentieth-Century Historic Thematic Framework that embraces “Accelerated Scientific and Technological Development”, this seminar focused on three subthemes that relate to various aspects of health and healthcare: advances in delivery and administration of public health; development of new medical technologies; and advances in the understanding of human behaviour and mental health.

The seminar brought together experts from England, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and The Netherlands. With examples covering sites of both physical and mental healthcare, in diverse social, geographical, policy, and architectural settings, the seminar opened up the conversation around the particular difficulties of heritage relating to healthcare sites and the potential benefits of engaging with the ISC20C Historic Thematic Framework.

The seminar recording will be made available on the ICOMOS-ISC20C and GCI websites.

To know more about the seminar series, please visit: https://bit.ly/3BRGXjg

To know more about the Theme 2 seminar, please visit: https://bit.ly/ISC20cSeminar2