Cultural significance assessment of Mariahoeve and impact assessment of developments: strip of Z-flats as case study

Focus of cultural heritage management is slightly shifting from the management of monumental assets to the values and attributes that convey their cultural significance. In that respect, a value- based management process is introduced in which the “Statement of Significance”, which is the outcome of performing cultural significance assessment, becomes important. This thesis aims first to assess the cultural significance of Mariahoeve, a postwar constructed neighborhood in The Hague, and then to assess and minimize the impact of developments on the architectural values of the neighborhood. Through the application of Cultural Value Survey Method, cultural values and their representative attributes that make this area eminent, are distinguished. Same assessment is carried out on a strip of Z-flats; a residential complex located at the edge of the neighborhood that is of municipal value. As this case study is assessed as a proper representative of the valued architectural attributes of Mariahoeve, recommendations made to avoid or minimize the adverse impacts of developments on these attributes can be easily adapted to be applied to other buildings of the neighborhood inheriting the same attributes. One third of the building blocks of this strip has been demolished and then rebuilt in 2008, another third has been renovated in 2015, and the rest are still in their original condition. The impact of these interventions on the architectural values of the case study was assessed and compared. ICOMOS guidance on heritage Impact assessments for cultural world heritage properties provided the framework of this assessment. The encountered insufficiencies of this method are presented as a critical piece. Results show that the adverse impacts of renovating the Z-flats on their architectural values have been far less than demolition and building new. This thesis concludes with providing a guideline for renovating the untouched blocks of Z-flats; renovation which do preserve the architectural values of the property.Focus of cultural heritage management is slightly shifting from the management of monumental assets to the values and attributes that convey their cultural significance. In that respect, a value- based management process is introduced in which the “Statement of Significance”, which is the outcome of performing cultural significance assessment, becomes important. This thesis aims first to assess the cultural significance of Mariahoeve, a postwar constructed neighborhood in The Hague, and then to assess and minimize the impact of developments on the architectural values of the neighborhood. Through the application of Cultural Value Survey Method, cultural values and their representative attributes that make this area eminent, are distinguished. Same assessment is carried out on a strip of Z-flats; a residential complex located at the edge of the neighborhood that is of municipal value. As this case study is assessed as a proper representative of the valued architectural attributes of Mariahoeve, recommendations made to avoid or minimize the adverse impacts of developments on these attributes can be easily adapted to be applied to other buildings of the neighborhood inheriting the same attributes. One third of the building blocks of this strip has been demolished and then rebuilt in 2008, another third has been renovated in 2015, and the rest are still in their original condition. The impact of these interventions on the architectural values of the case study was assessed and compared. ICOMOS guidance on heritage Impact assessments for cultural world heritage properties provided the framework of this assessment. The encountered insufficiencies of this method are presented as a critical piece. Results show that the adverse impacts of renovating the Z-flats on their architectural values have been far less than demolition and building new. This thesis concludes with providing a guideline for renovating the untouched blocks of Z-flats; renovation which do preserve the architectural values of the property.