Alois Riegl has been credited with the conception of the values-based approach in conservation practice that ascribes value to a cultural property for purposes of protection and inventory. Riegl’s work analyses the relationship between art, time and history. In addition, his work discusses cultural artefacts through the lens of the politics of representation, cultural significance and historical influence. He investigates the monument’s role as a ruin, the original intent of the builder, preserving history and cultural memory, and the effect of time as expressed through “age value” evident in its disintegration and decay. Conversely, Riegl has argued in favour of the restored monument, which preserves “historical value” and aims to create a dialogue with an evolving urban fabric. He asserts that the act of restoration assures the use-value of the monument, demonstrating a potential for its future incorporation as a conserved or repurposed cultural built form within the built environment. The arguments presented employ Riegl’s premise to conceptualize the London Wall as “preserved” fragments of ruin, which embody dissonance and age value. Secondly, they reiterate the significance of St. Paul’s Cathedral as a “conserved” historical monument in the Fleet Street Conservation Area to reintroduce a product of political and cultural conflict into the urban context to interrogate the possibility of a future for the past. These classifications and the relational dynamics binding history, memory and time demonstrate the evolution of the historical artefact and monument. Contemporary cultural discourse attempts to combine perception and practice with regard to age value and historical value, cogently demonstrating their relevance to heritage preservation.
Trisha Sarkar is an architect and an artist with a Bachelor’s in Architecture from CEPT University, Ahmedabad and a Masters degree in City Design from the Royal College of Art, London. As an exchange student, she spent a semester at TU Delft, Netherlands, and has participated as CPD Candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science. At present, she is a PhD candidate at the Architectural Association, School of Architecture where she also teaches as a Seminar Tutor in History and Theory Studies in the Intermediate program. She has worked as an architect, designer and researcher.