Heritage Value Matrix - HVM

Abstract

The Heritage Value Matrix (HVM) is recognized as a growing analytical tool in the study of architectural and urban heritage, which finds its methodological roots within the value-based approach of architectural programming. The EU Council Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022 denotes architecture as a cross-cutting field and “as a discipline that encompasses the right balance between cultural, social, economic, environmental and technical aspects for the common good”. The right balance between these aspects also implies a focus on achieving sustainable development, which is why the identification of values that will be the triggers of this process is extremely important in research, education, practice and policy making. At the general level, HVM is an analytical cross-cutting system in which two axes intersect - problem and value. The first activates a problem-based approach in order to identify the scope that needs to be critically engaged through design process (problem-solving), while the second points to values that decode the contextual framework of heritage.