Adobe Architecture Conservation Guidelines : Focusing on Yazd Historic City
ABBASI HAROFTEH, Mohsen, TABATABAEI, Seyed Mohammad Amin, MORISET, Sébastien, HAJMIRBABA, Majid, RAKOTOMAMONJY, Bakonirina, 2022. Adobe Architecture Conservation Guidelines : Focusing on Yazd Historic City. Yazd : World Heritage Base of Yazd Historic City, General Office of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts in Yazd Province, Vernacular Architecture Research Centre of Yazd University, CRAterre, European Union. 115 p.
Résumé
Following its inscription on the World Heritage List in 2017, the Old City of Yazd has seen a real revitalisation of its historic core. Private investors have multiplied rehabilitation interventions, to such an extent that 1,000 rehabilitation sites were listed in the 4 years following the inscription. This enthusiasm required a strong mobilisation of the «World Heritage Base». Other Iranian heritage actors, including the ICHHTO and the municipality, have provided their support to curb any possible abuses that could affect the authenticity of the site. However, despite the enormous human and institutional resources deployed, an educational tool was missing. Thus, an illustrated version of the regulations was developed under the direction of Dr. Abbasi Harofteh, with the support of CRAterre and the University of YAZD.
This 130-page document presents each of the rules applying to buildings such as volumetry, wall coatings, doors, terraces and commercial signs. For each element, images taken in the old town show what the law requires, what is strictly forbidden but also what can be tolerated in some cases. The choice of images required a great deal of discussion in order for all the experts to agree, which allowed a first internal harmonisation of the understanding of the legal texts. These illustrated prescriptions will be of use to all owners, investors and craftsmen working in the old city.