Heritage values are sometimes used in many places to prevent workable access solutions to older buildings. A paper from Italy discusses the issue of pitting two different values against each other – heritage and accessibility. The complex museum structure at the Church of San Salvatore in Brescia is used as a case study where ramps were denied at the museum.
Similarly to contemporary projects, when ancient buildings are opened up to the public for the first time, accessibility should be considered first, not when the complaints come in. The authors conclude, “… accessibility to culture and cultural heritage is to be understood as synonymous with democracy and sustainability”.
The title of the paper is, “Does Pure Contemplation Belong to Architecture? The Denied Ramps at the Church of San Salvatore in the Santa Giulia Museum in Brescia”. The paper was presented at the 6th International Universal Design Conference held in 2022. Authors are Alberto Arenghi and Carlotta Cocoli. The full paper is open access and can be downloaded from IOS Press Ebooks.
You can also access all other published conference papers for this conference.
From the abstract
This paper addresses the issue of balancing the two values underlying the accessibility and conservation of cultural heritage: its use and its protection. These values are often, wrongly, regarded as opposites, or as incompatible. The reason for this contrast originates in the way ancient architecture is understood and in the value of the relationship between architecture and people.
We present a case of the Museum of Santa Giulia in Brescia, a multi-layered complex that preserves evidence ranging from the prehistoric to the contemporary age.
The failure to build access ramps offers an opportunity to reflect on the need for better integration between different approaches. We refer to recent reflections in the field of conservation carried out in Italy related to accessibility to cultural heritage.