Architectural Records: Problems, Challenges and Opportunities

Conference: The Asian Conference on Education (ACE2022)
Title: Architectural Records: Problems, Challenges and Opportunities
Stream: Education/Technology and Society: Technologies/Knowledge Creation and Access
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Authors:
Paulo Batista, University of Évora, Portugal

Abstract:

Architectural archives present many problems and challenges ranging from the organization of documentation to its description, conservation, preservation and granting of access before arriving at its full dissemination. So, how can these difficulties be turned into opportunities?
First, archivists often need to acquire specialized architectural training. Then, countless hurdles must be overcome from the moment the architectural documents arrive in the archives until they are made available to the public. Documents may be scattered and incomplete, often lacking attribution. They come in a wide variety of sizes, are usually quite fragile and their conservation and preservation require a large investment, although their target audience is notably small and highly specialized. This set of characteristics reduces the attractiveness of architectural documents for archives, and our great challenge is how to overcome these obstacles.
My 30-years' experience as an archivist, as complemented by my work teaching and training in architectural archives enable me to state that an integrated and transdisciplinary methodology can equip us to overcome the challenges inherent in architectural archives: the development of educational services of architectural archives; the organizationation of exhibitions, cultural events and editorial productions; the provision of information access instruments (guides, catalogs, inventories, etc.); the creation of merchandising lines; and the investment in Information and Communication Technologies, namely in the digitization until the documentation is disseminated on the Internet.



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