Between Continuity and Transformation: Exploring New Frontiers in the Conservation of Heritage Landscapes

In 1964, the Venice Charter established the protection of monuments and emphasized the revelation of their form and historical value as central objectives of conservation and restoration work, suggesting that systematic maintenance of sites was the fundamental first step. With contemporary social and environmental crises worsening, heritage landscapes such as historic gardens, parks, public spaces, and even notable 20th-century landscapes face increasingly severe challenges imposed by society and the environment, in addition to the inevitable decline inherent to them. This sometimes renders traditional efforts of conservation and restoration, primarily focused on restoring plants and architectural elements, inadequate in improving the capacity and attractiveness of monuments as contemporary cultural venues. A deeper reconsideration of the relationship between conservation and innovation becomes ever more urgent to protect and reveal the value of monuments while adapting them to contemporary social changes. In recent years, some scholars have suggested that restoration-focused conservation possesses limited adaptability, while an innovative conservation, recognizing the landscape as living heritage, implies that decision-makers and designers should act as custodians of monument landscapes. Innovative maintenance is believed to be able to guide such places towards positive transformation, management, and compatibility over time (P. Donadieu, 2006; Matteini, 2019). Within the context of current charters, the active development of dialectical relationships between conservation and adaptation in monument landscapes can have a positive impact on revealing and transmitting their values. Taking the Twickel Ring Road in Delden project as an example, the article explores adaptative conservation approaches based on an understanding of the different phases of the heritage landscape and recognition of contemporary environmental changes. It emphasizes adaptive updating of the heritage landscape to restore the historical function of the ring road, re establish connections with the diverse landscapes and urban context, and ultimately enhance and transmit its value within the contemporary setting.