SYMPATHETIC APPROACH TO HERITAGE PLACES: Acknowledging Atmospheres in the Management of Danish Cultural Environments

​The paper will introduce the Danish heritage category called cultural environments (in Danish: kulturmiljø). This paper addresses the emotional attachment to and sensuous experience of the respective cultural environment and the meaning it has for a local community. These immaterial values are not to be underappreciated in a sustainable development. An emotional connection to the cultural environment can motivate caring for the physical structures and buildings. This aspect supports preserving and reusing materials which helps minimizes the environmental impact of the building industries. In other words: The local communities’ emotional attachments are of vital importance in relation to both social and environmental sustainability. The paper adresses the following research question:

In the management of cultural environments, how can we approve our awareness of site-specific values including the immaterial and intangible relations such as the atmosphere, the local culture and the emotional attachments to the heritage place?