Lost and Found: A Quest for Sustainability and Resilience in Rural Areas

Abstract

Global trends of rapid and constant urbanisation are constantly revealing new societal, spatial and technological challenges, which naturally directs research focus towards urban areas. Urbanisation and imminent migrations, however, have significant repercussions on rural areas as well: exposure of tangible and intangible cultural heritage to decay, leading to extinction, can be identified as one of such processes that indirectly affect entire population, not only the scarce locals. In the quest for sustainable proposals tailored for small and fragile communities with notable architectural and cultural heritage, the W.A.Ve Abroad Workshop explored sustainable models of revitalization of the village Bebića Luka in the vicinity of Valjevo in Western Serbia. During the workshop which was held in Belgrade, Bebića Luka and Venice in June and July 2018, architecture students from Belgrade, Venice and Ljubljana were analysing the multiple layers of Bebića Luka’s present and past, trying to envision future scenarios and define adequate programmatic and design proposals. The workshop results included new models of activities, tailored to enable preservation of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the village through interactions between permanent and temporary residents, providing first-hand mutual exchange of specific knowledges. This process should expose local residents to some useful state-of-the-art concepts while directly transferring unique heritage of the village of Bebića Luka and the surrounding area to the visitors that will eventually return to urban areas. The workshop results were presented at IUAV University in Venice, during the final manifestations of the W.A.Ve 2018 Workshop in which more than 1500 students participated, which for the first time also included mentorship from teachers from five foreign universities. The paper presents an overview of the methodological approach, derived concepts and design proposals for variety of interventions: from retrofitting the existing facilities to development of new complementary physical structures designed in accordance with principles of circular economy and sustainable development.