The Buildings and Sites department works to advance conservation practice worldwide on a range of heritage places including buildings, archaeological sites, and urban environments, and to address problems of regional or international relevance. Work is undertaken primarily through model field projects, which involve research, training, and capacity building. Projects may include development of principles, methodologies, techniques, tools, and emerging technologies that enhance understanding about cultural heritage places and their values and improve their practical conservation. In all of our projects, Buildings and Sites works with local partners to strengthen the skills, knowledge, and expertise needed locally to ensure the project outcome's long-term sustainability.
Our projects follow recognized international conservation principles and adhere to the highest standards of practice. These include developing an understanding of the cultural significance of the place through documentation and diagnostic research, identifying the respecting the multiplicity of tangible and intangible values associated with it, and designing conservation responses that preserve cultural significance and are sustainable, and appropriate to local circumstances. All our projects commit to principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, and to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
