VALDUEZA, JENNINA SANTI C.

ARC 112

ASPECN1 ASSIGNMENT
2013-101624

HERITAGE
DEFINITION:

It is something inherited from the past.

It seeks to maintain and thereby increase the value of buildings by keeping their original built form
and architectural elements, favouring their restoration rather than replacement and, when
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restoration is impossible, recreating scale, period and characters.
Our heritage is all that has been passed to us by previous generations. It is all around us. It is in
the houses we live in, our places of work, the transport we use, our places of worship, our parks
and gardens, the places we go to for our sport and social life, in the ground beneath our feet, in
the shape of our landscape and in the placing and arrangement of our fields, villages, towns and
cities.

Heritage is also found in our moveable possessions, from our national treasures in our museums,
to our own family heirlooms, and in the intangible such as our history, traditions, legends and
language.
Whilst everything we inherit is strictly our heritage, the term has become synonymous with the
places, objects, knowledge and skills we inherit that are valued for reasons beyond their mere
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utility. In other words, they have a value to us that is over and above their functional use.

TYPES OF HERITAGE:

NATURAL HERITAGE
-

It refers to the sum total of the elements of biodiversity, including flora and fauna and
ecosystem types, together with associated geological structures and formations
(geodiversity).
An important site of natural heritage or cultural heritage can be listed as a World Heritage
Site by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

BUILT HERITAGE
-

It is part of the environment we live and work in. It is both every day and ancient. The
built heritage is a festival of colour, shapes and textures. It is manmade, taken from the
earth and reshapen. It represents the vision and aspirations of those who went before us
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and it is ours to enjoy, to enhance and to hand on to future generations.
It is one of our most important cultural assets. It represents the historical layers of our
built environment in places made of brick, plaster, wood, metal and stone. It includes
cathedrals and cemeteries, factories and fences, houses and hotels, museums and
markets. It includes areas, precincts and streetscapes. It is the physical evidence of our
cultural development.
Built heritage within our urban and regional neighborhoods is a key to the understanding
of our shared history. It describes our origins and informs our understandings of who we
are today. It helps to define a sense of place, an identity for a community. It can
contribute to feelings of connection, community pride and confidence. Heritage can excite
curiosity about our past and enrich our daily lives. Built heritage is not just about beautiful
or significant historic buildings but also includes small, modest vernacular buildings that
reflect the social conditions of working families. It encompasses a wide range of familiar
and historical landmarks that are important in creating and sustaining a strong sense of
belonging and attachment in our society.
Many heritage buildings are used for functions and services that did not exist when they
were built. The richness of places and people's attachment to them grows from their
everyday use. This heritage presents an active, living cultural resource with social
meanings invested in them by the residents. They are important ingredients of collective
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sentiments, of the feeling that 'this is our place'.

ASPECTS OF HERITAGE:

TANGIBLE
-

It includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artifacts, etc., which are considered
worthy of preservation for the future. These include objects significant to the
archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specific culture.
Objects are important to the study of human history because they provide a concrete
basis for ideas, and can validate them. Their preservation demonstrates recognition of
the necessity of the past and of the things that tell its story. Preserved objects also
validate memories; and the actuality of the object, as opposed to a reproduction or
surrogate, draws people in and gives them a literal way of touching the past. This
unfortunately poses a danger as places and things are damaged by the hands of tourists,
the light required to display them, and other risks of making an object known and
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available.

INTANGIBLE
- The intangible cultural heritage is transmitted from generation to generation, and is
constantly recreated by communities and groups, in response to their environment, their
interaction with nature, and their history. It provides people with a sense of identity and
continuity, and promotes respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.
The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage defines
the intangible cultural heritage as the practices, representations, expressions,
as well as the knowledge and skills (including instruments, objects, artefacts, cultural
spaces), that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of
their cultural heritage. It is sometimes called living cultural heritage, and is manifested in
the following domains:

- Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural
heritage;
- Performing arts;
- Social practices, rituals and festive events;
- Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;
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- traditional craftsmanship

MOVABLE
-

It includes objects that people create or collect and forms an important part of a nation's
identity. These objects are known as cultural property and can be artistic, technological,
historical or natural in origin.
There is increasing trade and exchange of cultural property between nations. This
exchange can enhance international appreciation of cultural diversity, but it can also lead
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to the loss of significant aspects of a nation's cultural heritage.

Ancient jewelry discovered on archaeological sites, objects found in burial chambers

and religious buildings, sculpted stones, all sorts of art objects, rare books and
manuscripts, seals and ancient coins, textiles and fine furniture, ancient musical
instruments, photographs, films, stamps, but also fossils. All of this heritage which
are sometimes exhibited in museums deserve our attention because they reflect past
and present creativity and aesthetics and help to preserve the cultural identity of the
communities that produced them. 8

IMMOVABLE
It means a part of cultural heritage made up of the preserved or unpreserved material
cultural property built, equipped, created by past generations or made important by
historical events and directly related to the territory occupied by and required for the use
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of the property.

MY SIGNIFICANT HERITAGE SITE

The picture is taken by me in the Vigan, Ilocos. The place is so remarkable because it brought me into
an insight in the probability that a picturesque scene can still be preserved in the country apart from
the usual scene I always see here in the urban place. If most of the places in the country have this
preservation, what could have been the chance to walk within the heritage of our ancestors.
PERSONAL HERITAGE/ FAMILY HEIRLOOM
My descendant in my mother side has this big house of my great grandparents that we, as the
grandchildren have thought of the different stories made in that big house. We are happy to
experience this stories of how the fruits of our descendants have grown. The old picture of my
descendants, the antiques and the most important is the still standing house that have conquered the
years of war and of time.
The pictures that I have of the exterior faade in the front road were gone due to memory damage.
Some pictures from my relatives will help me to feature the Dakong Balay of the Valmores
descenedants.
The house is recently renovated and tried to be preserved by my other relatives. The house is made
out of wood mostly. The house of my descendant has shown of being part of the elite class during the
old times. It is because the house is close to the cathedral and the large ceiling features of the house
and rich furniture found inside the house. The house is also closed to the old owned land fields of my
great grandfather. My great grandfather was veteran American soldier and my great grandmother was
a disciplinarian housewife who was been a teacher before the war.

We have discovered a book in a library, a book of our descendant who was said to be a writer.
The most noticeable feature that our descendants have, running in every blood of the generations is
that they have these kalyo already part of their skin. They got it from their Spaniards clan.

SOURCES:

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http://www.heritagemeaford.com/heritage-conservation-a-brief-overview-article7

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5
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http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/Heritage/aboutheritage/builtheritage.html

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8
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http://arts.gov.au/movable

http://www.englishheritage.org.uk/professional/advice/hpg/generalintro/heritageconservationdefined/
http://www.corkcoco.ie/co/web/Cork%20County%20Council/Departments/Heritage/Aspects/Built%20Herit
age
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/cairo/culture/tangible-cultural-heritage/
http://www.unesco.org/services/documentation/archives/multimedia/?id_page=13&PHPSESSID=743f303f0
b2452205c4a672fde9310bc
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=35031&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://www.heritage.lt/t_aktai/istatymai/nkpai_engl.htm