Vitruvio
International 
journal of 
Architecture 
Technology and 
Sustainability
Volume 3 Is 2

VII

EDITORIAL

In order to respond to the Call of past months, our 
magazine Vitruvio has on this occasion approached 
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and sustainable recovery of the built architectural 
and landscape heritage. Currently, and in spite of 
having as a starting point the intrinsic, academic and 
constructive approaches of the past, two fundamental 
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intervening on the built environment; that is to say, 
how can intervention proposals be undertaken (as a 
consequence of new designs and very imaginative 
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intervention has to be compatible and respectful of the 
existing conditions.  This operation, which can produce 
contradictory results, not only for the lay person (who 
can certainly be our best observers, as they do not 
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different scenarios which, in time, could lead to the 
very failure of the interventions themselves. Before 
undertaking any intervention proposal, it is necessary 
to know their mechanical and physical capabilities, as 
well as the forms and aesthetics, sometimes referred to 
as cultural or traditional constructions.  The proposals 
must be compatible, not only in terms of technological 
and material solutions, but also in terms of legislative 
regulations. In the end these proposals must provide 
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without diminishing it or give rise to confusing 
interpretations. In this issue we will discuss the 
application of these questions in a concrete context.
In one of the best-known books by architect Le 
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Engineer, Architecture”. There, from the beginning, he 
clearly expresses his idea about industry: “The tool is 
the direct, immediate expression of progress; the tool 
is the obligatory collaborator; it is also the liberator”. 
This “new tool” is the second question we refer to at 
the beginning of the editorial:  the purpose of the new 
tool or tools, which at present can be described as 
new technological instruments of support are coming 
from computerization and communication. This 
question about tools will be discussed in depth in this 

issue because the intervention on the built heritage, 
from conception to completion of a project, is very 
much associated with the application of these tools 
or instruments.  Not only those of mechanical nature 
and proven effectiveness, such as the use of a simple 
drone for the precise capture of hard to reach data, 
but also other instruments such as the use of the latest 
generation software, or techniques of augmented 
reality such as HBIM (Heritage Building Information 
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All of these instruments allow different and varied uses 
including pedagogical and didactic.  This condition 
gives rise to an interdependence of actions which gives 
way to a multidisciplinary way of proceeding.  In term, 
each and all parties participate with a concrete and 
positive approach in order to reach optimum results. 
This methodological, holistic position, regardless of the 
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on its own development of the work by the participant 
entities, since each of them is going to highlight the 
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other parts and participants.
Likewise, the work carried out will have in addition 
an obligatory consideration which will be none other 
than to take into account sustainability as a general 
concept. Within this concept, the work has to establish 
parameters regarding the compatibility of the 
materials, their durability and therefore their life cycle 
as well as environmental care and energy savings.  
As discussed in two of the articles, rural areas also need 
to take into account the environmental integration of 
the proposals, and if it is a question of using existing 
constructions, their reuse, as it is the case here. The 
articles investigate and demonstrate the relative 
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and spatial aspects of the technological adaptability of 
computer systems to better respond to the needs of 
the information society and its consumers.
In the case of historic urban centers one can employ 
effective simulations using appropriate software and 
following state regulations. The simulations can be 
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https://doi.org/10.4995/vitruvio-ijats.2018.11151



VIII

and mechanical aspects of the same, and to provide 
useful information serving as a complement to the 
research carried out from the beginning.  
Currently we are destined for the permanent changes 
of our cities and our environment, be it on a small or 
large scale. The social demands and the requirements 
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as well as other conditioning factors (economic, spatial 
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and affection with which anastylosis was treated in an 
architectural complex or in a monument, refers to the 
times of the very origin of the term. That is to say, we 
are as far away as Greece itself.  

Luis Palmero