Re-Architecture: Reality or Utopia?

RE-ARCHITECTURE: lifespan rehabilitation of built heritage (2004-2007) is a doctoral research funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal; and hosted by the Unit Architectural Design and Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands. This doctoral research is now reaching its final stage. RE-ARCHITECTURE is a design process support system created to effectively assist architects and architecture students, when developing or simulating rehabilitation interventions in built heritage. It provides to its users a work environment with methodological guidelines, technical knowledge and functional tools. We believe that RE-ARCHITECTURE will contribute, directly, to the quality of rehabilitation designs, and indirectly, to the preservation of both natural and built heritage. Nevertheless, to verify if such belief is in fact, reality or utopia, we must test it and wait for the results. Meantime, this paper shall focus on the explanation of its most relevant utilities.