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Abstract

This paper explores the value of imperfections and curated decay in the conservation of architecture and public art as vehicles of cultural memory. While conventional heritage practice treats physical degradation as a threat, newer conservation ethics argue for embracing material impermanence within an aesthetics of care. We examine how acknowledging patina, weathering, and even structural decline can become an act of care, maintaining the “spirit” and authenticity of a place. The theoretical framework integrated the aesthetics of imperfection, including concepts like the Japanese wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in the incomplete and impermanent, critical heritage theory (which questions whose memories and values are preserved or excluded) and cultural memory studies (notably Nora’s notion of lieux de mémoire, where material sites become symbolic elements of communal memory). Methodologically, the article is grounded by two case-study video essays, Imperfections (Genoa) and Scars (Nicosia), as instruments of research, which provide visual analyses of decayed architectural environments. These examples illustrate how curated decay can transform abandoned buildings and war-scarred urban zones into powerful mnemonic devices, provoking reflection on history, identity and the ethics of preservation. Despite extensive theorisation of patina/age-value and curated decay, recent heritage debates offer limited operational criteria for distinguishing intentional curated decay from unmanaged neglect in lived urban conservation contexts. Drawing on ethics and aesthetics of care, this article asks if and how care can be operationalised into a decision framework for urban conservation and tests this framework through two selected buildings: Albergo dei Poveri (Genoa) and Home for Cooperation (Nicosia). The authors argue that caring for heritage does not always mean restoring it to an as-new state; curating ageing and traces of time can support remembrance, resilience, and reconciliation, enriching heritage’s role in future urban imaginaries.

Keywords

aesthetics of care, architectural memory, curated decay, ethics of care, public art

Publication Date

2026-01-01

Publication Title

Heritage

Volume

9

Issue

3

ISSN

2571-9408

Deposit Date

2026-04-13

Funding

The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude to all individuals and institutions who contributed to this research in the framework of the European Culture and Technology Laboratory (ECT Lab+), EUt+ alliance. This work was significantly supported by funding received from the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programmes. Specifically, we acknowledge the financial support and collaborative framework provided by the EthiCo Project, Ethics and Ecology in Technological Education, under grant agreement [2020-1-IE02-KA203-000762]. We also extend our appreciation to the partners involved in the AesThiCo Project, Aesthetics and Ecology in Technological Education, under grant agreement [2021-1-IE02-KA220-HED-000031130]. The insights and resources developed through these projects were instrumental in shaping the conceptual framework and data collection methodologies.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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