Djabarouti, J., 2026.

Designing with the intangible: tools for contemporary architectural heritage practice

This RIBA-funded study examines how architects working with historic buildings and places identify, translate, and sustain living heritage through the design process. Living heritage (also called intangible cultural heritage) refers to the practices, memories, skills, community relationships, and physical traces that give places cultural meaning. Following the UK's ratification of the UNESCO 2003 Convention, it is increasingly recognised in policy, yet it remains inconsistently addressed within architectural workflows that are better equipped for material condition and statutory designation than for cultural continuity.
The research is practice-led, drawing on three architect-led focus groups representing eighteen UK practices, thirteen case studies, and a peer testing workshop involving the wider heritage sector. The findings suggest that living heritage is already present in architectural work, encountered through stories, routines, skills, and patterns of use. The difficulty lies in carrying it durably through a project. Cultural intent proves most vulnerable at transitions between RIBA work stages, where knowledge fragments as teams change and information becomes more technical and abstract.
The report aligns these findings to the RIBA Plan of Work and sets out a set of pilot outputs - including a living heritage overlay, illustrated case studies, and presentation-based resources - intended as a basis for further development rather than finished professional guidance.