Search Results (671)

This study analyzes the durability of brick-faced clay-core walls (BCWs) in the traditional residential architecture of Quanzhou—a UNESCO World Heritage City. Taking the northern gable of Ding Gongchen’s former residence as an example, the mechanical properties, microscopic structure, and changes in chemical symbol, oxides and minerals of the red bricks and clay-cores were analyzed using finite element mechanics analysis (FEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicate a triple mechanism: (1) The collaborative protection and reinforcement mechanism of “brick-wrapped-clay”. (2) The infiltration and destruction mechanism of external pollutants. (3) The material stability mechanism of silicate minerals. Therefore, the key to maintaining the durability of BCWs lies in the synergistic effect of brick and clay materials and the stability of silicate mineral materials, providing theoretical and methodological support for sustainable research into brick and clay constructions. Full article

Lion Grove was established in 1342 during the Yuan Dynasty and is one of the four most famous classical gardens in China. It was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Although Lion Grove is now regarded as a private garden representing the culture of Confucian scholars, it was originally a Chan Buddhist garden during its inception in the Yuan Dynasty. This study examines the natural landscapes of Lion Grove at its inception, focusing on four main aspects: the philosophy of nature, planning intent, creators, and the philosophical ideas they represent. Key findings include the following: Firstly, Lion Grove’s attitude towards nature is rooted in China’s indigenous culture, making it both a physical expression of Chan philosophy and a space reflecting the scholar–bureaucrats’ vision of an ideal landscape. Secondly, from the perspective of landscape planning, the Lion Grove of the Yuan Dynasty placed greater emphasis on natural elements compared to its modern counterpart, with rock landscapes serving as the core element throughout the garden. Thirdly, hermitic philosophy emerged as a significant cultural theme alongside Chan Buddhism during the Yuan Dynasty. Fourthly, the landscape elements of Lion Grove symbolize Chan Buddhist wisdom and the hermit’s idealism, with poetry playing a key role in conveying these cultural ideals, preserving the site’s early philosophical significance. Full article

The impact of soundscapes in religious architecture on public psychology has garnered increasing attention in both research and policy domains. However, the mechanisms by which temple soundscapes influence public emotions remain scientifically unclear. This paper aims to explore how soundscapes in temple architectures designated as World Natural and Cultural Heritage sites affect visitors’ experiences. Considering visitors with diverse social and demographic backgrounds, the research design includes subjective soundscape evaluations and EEG measurements from 193 visitors at two World Heritage temples. The results indicate that visitors’ religious beliefs primarily affect their soundscape perception, while their soundscape preferences show specific correlations with chanting and human voices. Furthermore, compared to males, females exhibit greater sensitivity to emotional variations induced by soundscape experiences. Urban architects can enhance visitors’ positive emotional experiences by integrating soundscape design into the planning of future religious architectures, thereby creating pleasant acoustic environments. Full article

Historic cities across the globe have experienced profound changes in their spatial and functional characteristics over time, and the historic core of Patan, Nepal, is no exception. The area surrounding Patan Durbar Square was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Between 2003 and 2007, the Kathmandu Valley was placed on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger, largely due to various factors, including the rapid and unsympathetic transformation of its buffer zone. This study focuses on the Nagbahal neighborhood, a culturally significant locality within this buffer area, to explore a community-rooted and sustainable approach to conservation. Employing a mixed-methods research design, the study integrates qualitative and quantitative data gathered through interviews and surveys of native residents. It investigates the drivers and impacts of changes in the function, ownership, and physical form of traditional residential buildings, and assesses whether these changes align with principles of sustainable heritage conservation—social, cultural, economic, and environmental. While challenges persist, including the proliferation of reinforced concrete structures and limited enforcement of heritage policies, the findings reveal that Nagbahal remains resilient due to strong local traditions, active religious institutions, and cohesive social practices. The study offers transferable lessons for sustainable conservation in living heritage buffer zones globally. Full article

Groundwater level monitoring is crucial for assessing hydrological responses to climate change and human activities, which pose significant threats to the sustainability of semi-arid aquifers and the cultural heritage they sustain. This study presents an integrated remote sensing and transformer-based deep learning framework that combines diverse geospatial datasets to predict spatiotemporal variations across the plain near the Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rustam archaeological complexes—UNESCO World Heritage Sites situated at the plain’s edge. We assemble 432 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) scenes (2015–2022) and derive vertical ground motion rates greater than −180 mm yr⁻¹, which are co-localized with multisource geoinformation, including hydrometeorological indices, biophysical parameters, and terrain attributes, to train transformer models with traditional deep learning methods. A sparse probabilistic transformer (ConvTransformer) trained on 95 gridded variables achieves an out-of-sample R² = 0.83 and RMSE = 6.15 m, outperforming bidirectional deep learning models by >40%. Scenario analysis indicates that, in the absence of intervention, subsidence may exceed 200 mm per year within a decade, threatening irreplaceable Achaemenid stone reliefs. Our results indicate that attention-based networks, when coupled to synergistic geodetic constraints, enable early-warning quantification of groundwater stress over heritage sites and provide a scalable template for sustainable aquifer governance worldwide. Full article

Ancient temple complexes in China’s mountainous landscapes exemplify a profound synthesis of environmental adaptation and cultural expression. This research investigates the spatial logic underlying the Wudang Mountain temple complex—a UNESCO World Heritage site—through integrated geospatial analysis of environmental factors. Using GIS-based modeling, GeoDetector, and regression analysis, we systematically assess how terrain, hydrology, climate, vegetation, and soil conditions collectively influenced site selection. The results reveal a clear hierarchical clustering pattern, with dense temple cores in the southwestern highlands, ridge-aligned belts, and a dominant southwest–northeast orientation that reflects intentional alignment with mountain ridgelines. Temples consistently occupy zones with moderate thermal, hydrological, and vegetative stability while avoiding geotechnical extremes such as lowland humidity or unstable slopes. Regression analysis confirms that site preferences vary across temple types, with soil pH, porosity, and bulk density emerging as significant influencing factors, particularly for cliffside temples. These findings suggest that ancient temple planning was not merely a passive response to sacred geography but a deliberate process that actively considered terrain, climate, soil, and other environmental factors. While environmental constraints strongly shaped spatial decisions, cultural and symbolic considerations also played an important role. This research deepens our understanding of how environmental factors influenced the formation of historical landscapes and offers theoretical insights and ecologically informed guidance for the conservation of mountain cultural heritage sites. Full article

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities of balancing cultural preservation, tourism investment, and community resilience in historic Syrian cities during the post-war recovery period. The Syrian conflict has imposed considerable harm upon the nation’s cultural heritage, encompassing UNESCO World Heritage sites, thereby interrupting not only the urban infrastructure but also local economies and social networks. Utilizing a comprehensive methodology that includes a literature review, stakeholder interviews, and local surveys, this research investigates the potential for aligning cultural preservation with tourism investment to promote sustainable economic revitalization while simultaneously enhancing social cohesion and community resilience. The results underscore the significance of inclusive governance, participatory planning, and capacity enhancement to guarantee that post-conflict urban redevelopment fosters enduring environmental, social, and cultural sustainability. By framing the Syrian case within the broader context of global urban sustainability and resilience discourse, the study offers valuable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and heritage managers working in post-conflict or post-disaster environments worldwide. In the end, the study highlights that the revitalization of historic cities transcends being a simple technical or economic endeavor; it is a complex process of re-establishing identity, strengthening communities, and fostering sustainable, resilient urban futures. Full article

This research takes the Suzhou Gardens, a World Cultural Heritage Site, as the object of study and investigates a rapid scheme generation approach for garden restoration and expansion projects, assisting designers in making scientific decisions. Considering the limitations of current garden design, which is inefficient and relies on human experience, this study proposes an intelligent generation framework based on a conditional generative adversarial network (CGAN). In constructing the CGAN model, we determine the spatial characteristics of the Suzhou Gardens and, combined with historical floor plan data, train the network. We then design an optimization strategy for the model training process and finally test and verify the generative space scheme. The research results indicate the following: (1) The CGAN model can effectively capture the key elements of the garden space and generate a planar scheme that conforms to the traditional space with an accuracy rate reaching 91.08%. (2) This model can be applied to projects ranging from 200 to 1000 square meters. The generated results can provide multiple scheme comparisons for update decisions, helping managers to efficiently select the optimal solution. (3) Decision-makers can conduct space utilization analyses and evaluations based on the generated results. In conclusion, this study can help decision-makers to efficiently generate and evaluate the feasibility of different design schemes, providing intelligent support for decision-making in urban renewal plans. Full article

In water-scarce regions, natural ecosystems and agriculture increasingly compete for limited water resources, intensifying stress during periods of drought. To assess these competing demands, we applied a modified PT-JPL model that incorporates the thermal inertial approach as a substitute for relative humidity (RH) in estimating soil evaporation—a method that significantly outperforms the original PT-JPL formulation in Mediterranean semi-arid irrigated areas. This remote sensing framework enabled us to quantify spatial and temporal variations in water use across both natural and agricultural systems within the UNESCO World Heritage site of Doñana. Our analysis revealed an increasing evapotranspiration (ET) trend in intensified agricultural areas and rice fields surrounding the National Park (R = 0.3), contrasted by a strong negative ET trend in wetlands (R < −0.5). These opposing patterns suggest a growing diversion of water toward irrigation at the expense of natural ecosystems. The impact was especially marked during droughts, such as the 2011–2016 period, when precipitation declined by 16%. In wetlands, ET was significantly correlated with precipitation (R > 0.4), highlighting their vulnerability to reduced water inputs. These findings offer crucial insights to support sustainable water management strategies that balance agricultural productivity with the preservation of ecologically valuable systems under mounting climatic and anthropogenic pressures typical of semi-arid Mediterranean environments. Full article

Cultural landscapes in World Heritage cities are attracting a growing global tourist population. Given the limitations of self-report methods in capturing tourists’ immediate and deep perceptions, and the lack of comprehensive investigation into the cultural types and naturalness of landscapes, this study aims to investigate how cultural landscape types influence tourists’ recommendation intention through the mediating roles of place attachment and perceived restorativeness while examining the moderating effect of landscape naturalness. Integrating Place Attachment Theory (PAT), Attention Restoration Theory (ART), and the Associative–Propositional Evaluation Model (APE), three studies were conducted using behavioral and neurophysiological approaches. Study 1, a scenario-based experiment, revealed that high-culture landscapes enhance recommendation intention via place attachment, with the effect of perceived restorativeness being stronger under low naturalness conditions. Study 2, an event-related potential (ERP) experiment, showed that landscapes with low culture and low naturalness elicit stronger emotional responses, as indicated by heightened P2 and LPP amplitudes. Study 3 demonstrated the efficacy of a Decision Tree model in classifying landscape naturalness based on EEG features. This study deepens the understanding of the complexity of tourist experiences in cultural heritage sites, provides new evidence for the application of Place Attachment Theory in tourism contexts, and offers scientific foundations and practical implications for optimizing landscape design in heritage sites, enhancing tourist experiences, and exploring brain–computer interface applications in the tourism field. Full article

Service-Learning (SL) is an innovative educational methodology that integrates academic learning with active community engagement, fostering both technical and transversal competencies. This pilot study explores the implementation of an SL-based experience within the Physiotherapy Degree at the University of Extremadura. The primary objective was to design and deliver therapeutic exercise programs targeting patients with cardiorespiratory conditions, utilizing local community resources. A total of 44 third-year physiotherapy students participated in the design and simulated the implementation of community-based interventions targeting muscular strength, postural control, balance, and endurance. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining descriptive statistics (SPSS v23) and thematic analysis of student reflections to assess the impact of SL on the development of specific professional competencies, including clinical reasoning, patient communication, therapeutic planning, and adaptation of interventions to diverse environments. The results show a significant improvement in students’ theoretical and practical understanding, with over 70% of participants rating their learning experience between 8 and 10 (on a 0–10 scale) in aspects such as pathology description, clinical assessment, and exercise planning. Additionally, 92% reported improved teamwork, 89% noted better adaptability, and 87% reported enhanced decision-making skills. The findings suggest that SL can enhance perceived learning in musculoskeletal rehabilitation and support the transition from academic training to clinical practice. However, the study is exploratory and based on perceived outcomes, and future research should include validated tools and real patients to assess its impact more rigorously. This pilot study highlights the value of integrating musculoskeletal-focused training—targeting strength, balance, and endurance—into physiotherapy education through Service-Learning methodology. The study highlights SL’s potential to enrich physiotherapy education while leveraging community spaces—such as those in Extremadura, a region with three UNESCO World Heritage Sites—as dynamic learning environments. Full article

This study examines the cultural landscape of the Sondondo Valley in the Andes Mountains range of Peru, highlighting its significant ecological, landscape, and architectural worth. The valley’s representativeness of Andean culture and worldview, the lifestyle of its inhabitants, and the sustainability inherent in the connection between the population and the territory render it a space of universal values. The distinctive attributes of scale, conservation, continuity, and the remarkable landscape resulting from specialized territorial management dating back to pre-Hispanic origins provide the foundation for its inclusion, supported by our study, in the UNESCO indicative list of World Heritage. Through an extensive research initiative, both in time and intensity, and residence in the site as the source of essential research material, we accomplished a cross-scalar analysis that connects territory to architecture, providing tools for landscape intervention through planning and design, aimed at its enhancement and preservation. This document presents the findings of the investigation and the significance of this remarkable cultural landscape. Full article

The crystallization of soluble salts is one of the most significant agents of deterioration affecting porous building materials in historical architecture. This process not only compromises the physical integrity of the materials but also results in considerable aesthetic, structural, and economic consequences. Soluble salts involved in these processes may originate from geogenic sources—including soil leachate, marine aerosols, and the natural weathering of parent rocks—or from anthropogenic factors such as air pollution, wastewater infiltration, and the use of incompatible restoration materials. This study examines the role of capillary rise as a primary mechanism responsible for the vertical migration of saline solutions from the soil profile into historic masonry structures, especially those constructed with calcareous stones. It describes how water retained or sustained within the soil matrix ascends via capillarity, carrying dissolved salts that eventually crystallize within the pore network of the stone. This phenomenon leads to a variety of damage types, ranging from superficial staining and efflorescence to more severe forms such as subflorescence, microfracturing, and progressive mass loss. By adopting a multidisciplinary approach that integrates concepts and methods from soil physics, hydrology, petrophysics, and conservation science, this paper examines the mechanisms that govern saline water movement, salt precipitation patterns, and their cumulative effects on stone durability. It highlights the influence of key variables such as soil texture and structure, matric potential, hydraulic conductivity, climatic conditions, and stone porosity on the severity and progression of deterioration. This paper also addresses regional considerations by focusing on the context of Spain, which holds one of the highest concentrations of World Heritage Sites globally and where many monuments are constructed from vulnerable calcareous materials such as fossiliferous calcarenites and marly limestones. Special attention is given to the types of salts most commonly encountered in Spanish soils—particularly chlorides and sulfates—and their thermodynamic behavior under fluctuating environmental conditions. Ultimately, this study underscores the pressing need for integrated, preventive conservation strategies. These include the implementation of drainage systems, capillary barriers, and the use of compatible materials in restoration, as well as the application of non-destructive diagnostic techniques such as electrical resistivity tomography and hyperspectral imaging. Understanding the interplay between soil moisture dynamics, salt crystallization, and material degradation is essential for safeguarding the cultural and structural value of historic buildings in the face of ongoing environmental challenges and climate variability. Full article

Gastronomy is an essential element in the visitor’s experience in a given destination, being even more important in those destinations with an important cultural heritage. The study focused on the city of Córdoba (Spain), known for its extensive cultural heritage and for being the city with the most World Heritage declarations in the world, with four of them. Based on a total of 467 valid questionnaires, a structural equation analysis (PLS-SEM) was carried out. Of a total of four hypotheses proposed, the influence of all of them was confirmed except for the one that hypothesized an influence of perceived gastronomic value on loyalty to a gastronomic destination, thus confirming the overall mediating effect of gastronomic experiences between the two variables mentioned above. Furthermore, the influence of gastronomic satisfaction on loyalty to a gastronomic destination was evident, with no mediating effect of gastronomic experiences in this case. The results obtained can be of great help to decision-makers, both public and private, in establishing gastronomic proposals that are genuine, sensorially rich, and strongly culturally rooted, thus enhancing the cultural experience. Full article

This study reviewed the benefits of outdoor activities and educational programs that take place in nature in terms of the cognitive and mental development of children. Research has highlighted the benefits offered to children by their participation in experiential activities that take place outdoors and are related to natural phenomena. These activities help children realize how important it is to conserve nature and protect sites of world heritage, thus becoming active citizens in the future. In this study, the uniqueness of Syros Island is presented, emphasizing the need for the world-renowned geological heritage of Syros to be preserved and promoted, both for the scientific community and for the public, with the aim of establishing a geopark in Apano Meria, as proposed by local authorities, along with a local museum. In this context, a working methodology was developed involving the design and implementation of a pilot educational program combining field-based activities, guided interpretation, and interactive learning tools. An indicative educational program was piloted with primary and secondary school students, as well as postgraduate students from the University of Athens. Recognizing the important role of geoparks in school education, the program focused on the rare geological phenomena on the northern side of Syros and was adapted to the characteristics of each participant age group. Full article