The Institute

The Institute was founded by the Faculty of Architecture together with Academy of Fine Arts and Design and Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana to establish a framework for a successful collaboration by interdisciplinary teamwork and develop new knowledge needed for the responsible protection and renovation of one of the essential values of our independence and connectedness - cultural heritage. The Institute is designed as an open research platform, which connects and empowers researchers dealing with heritage protection within the University of Ljubljana.

Cultural heritage is the foundation of Slovenian independence and as such inseparable from the University of Ljubljana's mission. Since its establishment our university has been the lead research and educational institution ensuring the development of knowledge in the fields of study, protection and management of heritage, thus playing an essential part in the foundation of heritage disciplines in Slovenia. As the questions concerning the protection of cultural heritage in the contemporary society grow ever more complex, the need to connect disciplines and researchers from the field is growing evident. At the same time the interdisciplinary consideration of heritage topics based on sustainable principles has become a key paradigm in higher education at our university.

The focus of our research is heritage research, an interdisciplinary research field connected to the protection of cultural heritage. This research whose objective is the implementation of its' own results into the practice of heritage protection, is based on inclusive interdisciplinary collaboration. Management by the disciplines whose primary subject is heritage is needed (archaeology, architecture, anthropology, ethnology, conservation, landscape architecture, cultural and political geography, museology, restoration, sociology, art history, history); these disciplines, supported by others, natural and technical science in particular, allow for a comprehensive understanding of heritage and material processes and develop appropriate approaches to implement the research results and heritage interpretation in collaboration with artist-researchers.

The most exciting results can therefore be expected from the research involving all three above mentioned groups, and for the heritage research to be successful, researchers from at least two groups must be involved.