Authenticity and heritage values in contemporary architecture: the local identity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Project in Algiers

Hassiba Rachedi; Tsouria Baba Ahmed; Mohamed Madani

doi:10.6092/issn.1973-9494/22500

Authors

Hassiba Rachedi LAMAUS laboratory, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Mohamed Boudiaf University of Science and Technology Oran, Algeria
Tsouria Baba Ahmed Ecole Polytechnique d’Architecture et d’Urbanisme EPAU d’Alger, Algérie
Mohamed Madani Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Mohamed Boudiaf University of Science and Technology Oran, Algeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1973-9494/22500

Keywords:

authenticity, heritage values, identity, ministry of foreign affairs, Algiers

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between authenticity and identity in contemporary architectural projects. It shows how the integration of historical architectural heritage values can guarantee this authenticity and enrich this identity, based on their re-interpretation and integration in these projects.
The aim is to show that, in order to give a city an identity that reflects its local culture, we need to find ways of extracting from its heritage the positive characteristics and the values that make it authentic, and translating this culture into a new language so that it can be integrated into contemporary projects.
To this end, this paper proposes an analytical grid. Based on a cross-referencing of a number of research studies, it will help to move heritage values from being an abstract concept to being a concrete reinterpretation, enabling them to be integrated into an architectural project. In a second phase, its relevance will be tested through its application to the building project of the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Algiers.
The conclusion of the study shows the interest of this grid, which integrates the historical, cultural, social and aesthetic dimensions of heritage, allowing a better reinterpretation of heritage in contemporary projects with a local identity.