International Symposium – 12th and 13th December 2022

Concrete architecture is nowadays an integral part of the international heirtage, as evidenced by the 950 historic monuments protected in France, the recent inscriptions of de Perret and Le Corbusier works on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, those of Frank Llyod Wright in the United States, the one of the industrial city of Ivra, Italy as well as the German architecture of Bauhaus. In recent years, the heritage value of concrete has tended to be more widely recognized, particularly in China, as evidenced by the continued creation of a Franco-Chinese centre for the conservation of built heritage.

However the restoration of the concrete architecture remains a complex field which raises some heritage questions, as well as technical ones. Through various interventions bearing witness to professional experiences and practices, this symposium aims to show the specificities of this field, as well as the close relationships that the restoration of architecture maintains with history, architectural culture, and project methodology. Practical and technical aspects will be addressed, with the development of various diagnostic tools, treatments, methods of restoration and know-how on site, dedicated to this heritage. Designed in a multidisciplinary approach, these exchanges also aim to bring out research issues and pedagogical considerations that are necessarily related to them.

This free event will be presented in English or French. Registration is mandatory. The exchanges can be followed live by videoconference or «face-to-face» on two sites: at ÉNSA Versailles and at the University of Science and Technology of Zhejiang.

This symposium is organized at the initiative of the French Ministry of Culture through the laboratory of the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Versailles (LéaV) and the Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historiques (LRMH), the Universities of CY Cergy Paris, Science and Technology of Zhejiang (China), Univ-Eiffel and the School of Specialization in Architectural and Landscape Heritage of the Iuav University of Venice (SSIBAP), with the support of the Fondation des Sciences du Patrimoine, ICOMOS France and the French Embassy in China.

For further information about the program and registration, consult the event’s page.