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92-638: Conservation of cultural property involves protection and restoration using "any methods that prove effective in keeping that property in as close to its original condition as possible for as long as possible." Conservation of cultural heritage is often associated with art collections and museums and involves collection care and management through tracking, examination, documentation, exhibition, storage, preventive conservation, and restoration. The scope has widened from art conservation, involving protection and care of artwork and architecture, to conservation of cultural heritage, also including protection and care of

184-406: A 2015 detail report on UK universities, Durham academic Vikki Boliver placed Oxford and Cambridge in the first tier, and included Heriot-Watt in the second tier made of the remaining 22 Russell Group universities and 17 other "pre-92" universities. In 2020, Heriot-Watt was ranked at 314 by QS World University Rankings and at 251–300 by Times Higher Education World University Rankings in

276-677: A Masters in Strategic Project Management jointly with Politecnico di Milano ( Italy ) and Umeå University ( Sweden ). Students in the program study at all three institutions over two years and at the conclusion receive degrees issued by all three. The program ranks number 11 in the Eduniversal Bests Masters Ranking and number 25 in the QS World University Rankings worldwide. The Student Union at Heriot-Watt

368-413: A book. Ethical standards within the field require that the conservator fully justify interventive actions and carry out documentation before, during, and after the treatment. One of the guiding principles of conservation of cultural heritage has traditionally been the idea of reversibility, that all interventions with the object should be fully reversible and that the object should be able to be returned to

460-403: A broad set of other cultural and historical works. Conservation of cultural heritage can be described as a type of ethical stewardship . It may broadly be divided into: Conservation of cultural property applies simple ethical guidelines: Often there are compromises between preserving appearance, maintaining original design and material properties, and ability to reverse changes. Reversibility

552-512: A building located in the tropics) or the financial circumstances of the organisation. This has been an area of particular debate for cultural heritage organisations who lend and borrow cultural items to each other - often, the lender will specify strict environmental conditions as part of the loan agreement, which may be very expensive for the borrowing organisation to achieve, or impossible. The energy costs associated with cold storage and digital storage are also gaining more attention. Cold storage

644-567: A document: "Understanding the Future: Priorities for England's Museums". This document was based on several years of consultation aimed to lay out the government's priorities for museums in the 21st century. The document listed the following as priorities for the next decade: The conservation profession response to this report was on the whole less than favourable, the Institute of Conservation (ICON) published their response under

736-778: A fashion communication course. It was ranked 11th place in the UK for art and design in the 2013 Complete University Guide, produced a winner and five other finalists for the Scottish Fashion Awards Graduate of the Year in June 2012. While the Scottish Borders Campus shares some facilities and administrative functions with Edinburgh, it is largely self-contained. As well as its own library, accommodation and catering facilities, it has its own branch of

828-587: A highly publicized interventive conservation effort would be the conservation work conducted on the Sistine Chapel . Recognising that conservation practices should not harm the environment, harm people, or contribute to global warming , the conservation-restoration profession has more recently focused on practices that reduce waste, reduce energy costs, and minimise the use of toxic or harmful solvents. A number of research projects, working groups, and other initiatives have explored how conservation can become

920-481: A major £65 million film studio and a £2.5 million academic partnership with the oil and gas firm Total . However, in 2017 it was also announced that a major budget shortfall and the impact of Brexit would result in Heriot-Watt shedding 100 jobs by voluntary redundancies. Heriot-Watt currently has five campuses, and also runs distance learning programmes through 53 approved learning partners to students around

1012-694: A more environmentally sustainable profession. Sustainable conservation practices apply both to work within cultural institutions (e.g. museums, art galleries, archives, libraries, research centres and historic sites) as well as to businesses and private studios. Conservators and restorers use a wide variety of materials - in conservation treatments, and those used to safely transport, display and store cultural heritage items. These materials can include solvents, papers and boards, fabrics, adhesives and consolidants, plastics and foams, wood products, and many others. Stability and longevity are two important factors conservators consider when selecting materials; sustainability

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1104-486: A quantity of air to a narrow temperature range (20-22 °C) than to a broad range (18-25 °C). In the past, conservation recommendations have often called for very tight, inflexible temperature and relative humidity set points. In other cases, conservators have recommended strict environmental conditions for buildings that could not reasonably be expected to achieve them, due to the quality of build, local environmental conditions (e.g. recommending temperate conditions for

1196-437: A range of damage-limiting levels. For example, watercolour paintings usually require shielding from sunlight to prevent fading of pigments . Collections care is an important element of museum policy. It is an essential responsibility of members of the museum profession to create and maintain a protective environment for the collections in their care, whether in store, on display, or in transit. A museum should carefully monitor

1288-441: A scientific approach to the care of objects in the collections, but disseminated this approach by publishing a Handbook of Conservation in 1898. The early development of conservation of cultural heritage in any area of the world is usually linked to the creation of positions for chemists within museums. In British archaeology, key research and technical experimentation in conservation was undertaken by women such as Ione Gedye both in

1380-544: A significant role in developing conservation science theory. In recent years ethical concerns have been at the forefront of developments in conservation. Most significantly has been the idea of preventive conservation . This concept is based in part on the pioneering work by Garry Thomson CBE , and his book Museum Environment , first published in 1978. Thomson was associated with the National Gallery in London; it

1472-471: A small number of postgraduate students and is host to eight members of research staff. Heriot-Watt is divided into six schools and one institute that coordinate its teaching and research: From 1 August 2016, the former School of Life Sciences was merged with other schools, with programmes transferred to the School of Management and Languages, the School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society and

1564-784: A sports centre and a postgraduate centre on the site. The institution also expanded beyond Edinburgh, merging with the Scottish College of Textiles to create a campus in the Scottish Borders in 1998, and opening a campus in Dubai in 2006 and a campus in Putrajaya , Malaysia , in 2012. In recent years, the university's campus in Edinburgh has benefited from major infrastructural projects worth £60 million, with another £68 million worth investment announced. These include

1656-420: A statue of James Watt outside the institution, local jeweller J.E Vernon proposed that "[a club should be formed] whose object would be to sup together on the anniversary of the birth of James Watt…and also to promote the interests of the School, by raising a fund each year to provide prizes. " Watt Club Medals are still awarded by the organisation each year to Heriot-Watt's most highly achieving students, while

1748-484: A transitional period for the organisation, as its curriculum broadened to include several subjects beyond mathematics and the physical sciences. While the School of Arts had catered almost exclusively to working-class artisans and technical workers, the Watt Institution admitted a large number of middle-class students, whom it attracted with new subjects in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. By 1885,

1840-434: A week in rented rooms and it had a small library of around 500 technical works. It was also oversubscribed, with admissions soon closing despite the cost of 15 shillings for a year's access to lectures and the library. The school was managed by a board of eighteen directors and primarily funded by sponsors from the middle and upper classes, including Robert Stevenson and Walter Scott . It first became associated with

1932-650: Is a public research university based in Edinburgh , Scotland . It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute , and was subsequently granted university status by royal charter in 1966. It is the eighth-oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom . The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot . The annual income of

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2024-406: Is a major factor in the complexity of preserving digital heritage such as video games , social media , messaging services, and email . Other areas where energy use can be reduced within conservation and restoration include: Heritage Preservation, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services , a U.S. federal agency, produced The Heritage Health Index. The results of this work

2116-593: Is a student-led organisation headed by individuals elected from the student population. The association has represented students both locally and nationally since its foundation in 1966, and is a member of both the Edinburgh Students' Forum and the National Union of Students (NUS). It is also responsible for running the university's Student Union, which runs events for students and supports student societies. Over 50 societies currently exist, including

2208-406: Is a very effective strategy to preserve at-risk collections such as cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate film, which can deteriorate beyond use within decades at ambient conditions. Digital storage costs are rising for both born-digital cultural heritage (photographs, audiovisual, time-based media) and to store digital preservation and access copies of cultural heritage. Digital storage capacity

2300-766: Is also home to the Edinburgh Conference Centre and Europe's oldest research park, Heriot-Watt University Research Park which opened in 1971. The university's Institute of Petroleum Engineering is based at its Edinburgh campus. Heriot-Watt's Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels is home to the university's School of Textile and Design. The school began life in 1883 when the Galashiels Manufacturer's Corporation began running classes in practical courses for its workers. The institution gradually grew both in terms of student numbers and

2392-494: Is becoming an increasingly important third. Examples of sustainable material choices and practices include: These decisions are not always straightforward - for example, installing deionised or distilled water filters in laboratories reduces waste associated with purchasing bottled products, but increases energy consumption. Similarly, locally-made papers and boards may reduce inherent carbon miles but they may be made with pulp sourced from old growth forests. Another dilemma

2484-582: Is believed to be the first and the oldest continuously operating art restoration company in the United States. The focus of conservation development then accelerated in Britain and America, and it was in Britain that the first International Conservation Organisations developed. The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) was incorporated under British law in 1950 as "a permanent organization to co-ordinate and improve

2576-692: Is estimated to increase its usable life by over 100 years. Controlling the relative humidity of air helps to reduce hydrolysis reactions and minimises cracking, distortion and other physical changes in hygroscopic materials. Changes in temperature will also bring about changes in relative humidity. Therefore, the conservation profession has placed great importance on controlling indoor environments . Temperature and humidity can be controlled through passive means (e.g. insulation , building design) or active means ( air conditioning ). Active controls typically require much higher energy use. Energy use increases with specificity - e.g. in will require more energy to maintain

2668-564: Is intensive cooperation between the United Nations , UNESCO and Blue Shield International on the protection of cultural goods. The phrase was used in various contexts in the 19th century. In 1891, The Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission described various countries' relationships to their fishing-related cultural properties including Germany, England, France, Italy, and Holland. In 1899, it

2760-484: Is now emphasized so as to reduce problems with future treatment, investigation, and use. In order for conservators to decide upon an appropriate conservation strategy and apply their professional expertise accordingly, they must take into account views of the stakeholder , the values , artist's intent, meaning of the work, and the physical needs of the material. Cesare Brandi in his Theory of Restoration , describes restoration as "the methodological moment in which

2852-544: Is still cited regularly. Only a few dates and descriptions in Gettens' and Stout's book are now outdated. George T. Oliver, of Oliver Brothers Art Restoration and Art Conservation-Boston (Est. 1850 in New York City) invented the vacuum hot table for relining paintings in 1920s; he filed a patent for the table in 1937. Taylor's prototype table, which he designed and constructed, is still in operation. Oliver Brothers

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2944-563: Is that many conservation-grade materials are chosen because they do not biodegrade. For example, when selecting a plastic with which to make storage enclosures, conservators prefer to use relatively long-lived plastics because they have better ageing properties - they are less likely to become yellow, leach plasticisers, or lose structural integrity and crumble (examples include polyethylene , polypropylene , and polyester ). These plastics will also take longer to degrade in landfill. Many conservators and cultural organisations have sought to reduce

3036-609: Is the combined results of the three main UK university league tables – the Good University Guide (published by The Times and The Sunday Times ), The Guardian and The Complete University Guide . In the Table of Tables 2015, Heriot-Watt was placed 27th in the UK and 3rd in Scotland. It is ranked 28th in the UK by The Complete University Guide 2018 and 26th in the UK by The Guardian University League Table 2018. In

3128-484: Is the essential elements of a culture that allow it to determined and identified. Article 16 of the Convention describes the internationally recognized mark for cultural property as follows: The theme of the 1998 and 1999 International Museum Day was "The Fight against Illicit Traffic of Cultural Property." Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( Scottish Gaelic : Oilthigh Heriot-Watt )

3220-537: Is the first 'green campus' in the country. It is situated in a lakeside location of 4 + 3 ⁄ 4 acres (1.9 hectares) offering undergraduate as well as master's degree. Heriot-Watt's campus in Stromness , Orkney , is home to the International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT), part of the university's School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society. The Campus provides education to

3312-578: The Government of Dubai . In 2021, the university relocated its Dubai campus to Dubai Knowledge Park . The new campus was officially opened by King Charles III on 30 November 2023, accompanied by Scotland ’s First Minister , Humza Yousaf . Heriot-Watt University Malaysia's purpose-built campus opened in Putrajaya in September 2014, £35 million was invested in the Malaysian campus, which

3404-531: The Robbins Report recommended that it should be awarded university status. On 1 February 1966 the recommendation was enacted, as the institution officially became Heriot-Watt University . The first personal chair was appointed in 1974. While Heriot-Watt continued to expand in the centre of Edinburgh after attaining university status, the institution had grown big enough that relocation was felt to be desirable. In 1966 Midlothian County Council gifted

3496-557: The UAE and Malaysia . Heriot-Watt was established as the School of Arts of Edinburgh (not to be confused with Edinburgh College of Art ) by Scottish businessman Leonard Horner on 16 October 1821. Having been inspired by Anderson's College in Glasgow , Horner established the school to provide practical knowledge of science and technology to Edinburgh's working men. The institution was initially of modest size, giving lectures two nights

3588-757: The Brewing Society which organises an annual charity beer festival . In addition, the Student Union runs many services at the Edinburgh and Scottish Borders campuses including catering facilities, a nightclub, an advice centre and a student shop. The Student Union also works closely with the Heriot-Watt University Dubai Student Council and the Heriot-Watt University Malaysia Student Association. In 2018

3680-459: The Riccarton estate north of Currie to the university, and in 1969 work began on transforming the site into a future campus. The process of relocation to Riccarton continued until 1992, with teaching and facilities divided between the new campus and the city centre until then. The university has continued to grow after completing its move to Riccarton, constructing additional student halls,

3772-511: The School of Arts moved to leased accommodation on Adam Square, which it purchased in 1851 with funds raised in Watt's name. In honour of the purchase, the School changed its name to the Watt Institution and School of Arts in 1852. The statue of Watt was added in front of the Adam Square school in 1854 and has since moved as the premises moved. Heriot-Watt's time as the Watt Institution marked

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3864-419: The School of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Heriot-Watt University was named International University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. Heriot-Watt is known for the strong prospects of its students, with 80% in graduate-level jobs or further study six months after leaving the institution. In 2011, Heriot-Watt was named as The Sunday Times Scottish University of

3956-526: The Student Union which runs events on the site and is home to a collection of textile records and artefacts. A new £12M student village opened at the Campus in September 2012. The entire campus is shared with Borders College , whose students make up the majority of those who study at the site. Marillion 's 1985 song Kayleigh was inspired by an SCT student, and refers to the snow and college halls of Galashiels. Heriot-Watt's Dubai campus opened in 2005. It

4048-475: The Trust continued to pay Heriot-Watt a fixed sum each year, from then on the college was responsible for managing its own financial affairs. Heriot-Watt continued to expand after becoming independent, opening a new extension in 1935. Both World Wars impacted on the speed of the college's expansion. During World War I , student numbers dropped as young men joined the army, while teaching in engineering stalled as

4140-460: The UK's first purpose-built graduate centre (£6 million), Scotland's elite Oriam Sports Performance Centre facility (£33 million), and the UK's first FlexBIO flexible downstream bioprocessing centre (£2 million). It is also constructing a 5,000 m Watt Innovation Building supporting Global Research, Innovation and Discovery [GRID] to boost 'creativity and ideas generation' on the university's growing Edinburgh campus. The university has plans to host

4232-498: The Universities (Scotland) Act of 1889. The decision to admit women was made in large part owing to pressure from local campaigner Mary Burton , who later became the institution's first female director in 1874. In 1870, the Watt Institution was forced to move when Adam Square was demolished. After a brief period on Roxburgh Place, it relocated to the newly constructed Chambers Street near its former site. The move caused

4324-485: The Watt Club Prize is awarded by The Watt Club Council to recognise student initiative and enterprise. After the establishment of Heriot-Watt as a technical college, the new management committee set about extending the institution's buildings and strengthening its academic reputation. In its new form the college was one of only three non-university institutions in the UK with the power to appoint professors, and

4416-477: The Year 2011–2012, with the paper emphasising the employability of the institution's graduates. In 2012, it was again Scottish University of the Year 2012–2013 for the second year running, and also became UK University of the Year for student experience. The same year it came 1st in Scotland and 4th in the UK in the 2012 National Student Survey . Times Higher Education ' s 'Table of Tables'

4508-530: The chemist Harold Plenderleith began to work at the British Museum with Alexander Scott in the recently created Research Laboratory, although he was actually employed by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in the early years. Plenderleith's appointment may be said to have given birth to the conservation profession in the UK, although there had been craftsmen in many museums and in

4600-538: The commercial art world for generations. This department was created by the museum to address the deteriorating condition of objects in the collection, damages which were a result of their being stored in the London Underground tunnels during the First World War . The creation of this department moved the focus for the development of conservation theory and practice from Germany to Britain, and made

4692-574: The condition of collections to determine when an artifact requires conservation work and the services of a qualified conservator. A teaching programme of interventive conservation was established in the UK at the Institute of Archaeology by Ione Gedye , which is still teaching interventive conservators today. A principal aim of a cultural conservator is to reduce the rate of deterioration of an object. Both non-interventive and interventive methodologies may be employed in pursuit of this goal. Interventive conservation refers to any direct interaction between

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4784-557: The conservation treatments to be provided to the object. The conservator's work is guided by ethical standards. These take the form of applied ethics . Ethical standards have been established across the world, and national and international ethical guidelines have been written. One such example is: Conservation OnLine provides resources on ethical issues in conservation, including examples of codes of ethics and guidelines for professional conduct in conservation and allied fields; and charters and treaties pertaining to ethical issues involving

4876-411: The conservator and the material fabric of the object. Interventive actions are carried out for a variety of reasons, including aesthetic choices, stabilization needs for structural integrity, or cultural requirements for intangible continuity. Examples of interventive treatments include the removal of discolored varnish from a painting, the application of wax to a sculpture, and the washing and rebinding of

4968-415: The department was used for the manufacture of shells and munitions. During World War II , student numbers dropped again and the electrical engineering department became involved in training the armed services in the use of radar . After the college introduced a postgraduate award in 1951, it offered awards equivalent to university degrees and doctorates in all practical respects. Recognising this, in 1963

5060-462: The energy costs associated with controlling indoor storage and display environments ( temperature , relative humidity , air filtration , and lighting levels) as well as those associated with the transport of cultural heritage items for exhibitions and loans. In general, lowering the temperature reduces the rate at which damaging chemical reactions occur within materials. For example, storing cellulose acetate film at 10 °C instead of 21 °C

5152-411: The environment" is generally well accepted within the community and is already contemplated in guidelines of diverse institutions related to the field. Many cultural works are sensitive to environmental conditions such as temperature , humidity and exposure to visible light and ultraviolet radiation . These works must be protected in controlled environments where such variables are maintained within

5244-469: The field and in archaeological collections, particularly those of the Institute of Archaeology , London. In the United Kingdom, pioneering research into painting materials and conservation, ceramics, and stone conservation was conducted by Arthur Pillans Laurie , academic chemist and Principal of Heriot-Watt University from 1900. Laurie's interests were fostered by William Holman Hunt . In 1924

5336-400: The first of these was appointed in 1887. In 1902 the college became a central institution , while in 1904 it introduced awards for graduating students which were similar to university degrees. Expansion meant that the college made increasing demands on George Heriot's Trust throughout the first part of the 20th century, which ultimately led to the independence of the two bodies in 1927. While

5428-520: The first organized attempt to apply a theoretical framework to the conservation of cultural heritage came with the founding in the United Kingdom of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 1877. The society was founded by William Morris and Philip Webb , both of whom were deeply influenced by the writings of John Ruskin . During the same period, a French movement with similar aims

5520-488: The following rankings: 2nd (of 34) – Building education, 17th (of 104) – Accounting and Finance, 15th (of 81) – Art and Design, 14th (of 30) – Chemical Engineering, 23rd (of 60) – Chemistry, 1 (of 56) – Civil Engineering, 25th (of 110) – Computer Science, 22nd (of 77) – Economics, 23rd (of 68) – Electrical Engineering, 15th (of 72) – Mathematics, 14th (of 69) – Mechanical Engineering, and 25th (of 48) – Physics and Astronomy. The university has been constantly ranked among

5612-429: The form of an apprenticeship , whereby an apprentice slowly developed the necessary skills to undertake their job. For some specializations within conservation this is still the case. However, it is more common in the field of conservation today that the training required to become a practicing conservator comes from a recognized university course in conservation of cultural heritage. The university can rarely provide all

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5704-610: The importance of collections, the role of new technologies, and cultural property issues, but this appears to have been whittled away in the present document. Concluding: When asked by the Commons Culture Media and Sport elect Committee CMS committee what he would like to see as a priority in the DCMS document arising from the 'Understanding the Future' consultation, Mr MacGregor responded 'I would like to see added there

5796-438: The institution for 2022–23 was £259.5 million of which £33 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £266.7 million. Known for its focus on science as well as engineering, it is one of the 23 colleges that were granted university status in the 1960s, and it is sometimes considered a plate glass university , like Lancaster and Warwick . The university has three campuses in Scotland and one each in

5888-424: The institution severe financial difficulties, which were compounded by a combination of declining funds from subscribers and increased costs from its growing student body. In 1873, the directors turned to George Heriot 's Trust for support and agreed to a merger of the Trust's endowment with the institution's own. The proposed merger was provisional to changes in the structure of the Watt Institution, which would see

5980-554: The inventor and engineer James Watt in 1824, as a means of raising funds to secure permanent accommodation. Justifying the association, School Director Lord Cockburn said: "[The building] shall be employed for the accommodation of the Edinburgh School of Arts; whereby the memory of Watt may forever be connected with the promotion, among a class of men to which he himself originally belonged, of those mechanical arts from which his own usefulness and glory arose. " In 1837,

6072-418: The knowledge, methods, and working standards needed to protect and preserve precious materials of all kinds." The rapid growth of conservation professional organizations, publications, journals, newsletters, both internationally and in localities, has spearheaded the development of the conservation profession, both practically and theoretically. Art historians and theorists such as Cesare Brandi have also played

6164-554: The latter a prime force in this fledgling field. In 1956 Plenderleith wrote a significant handbook called The Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art, which supplanted Rathgen's earlier tome and set new standards for the development of art and conservation science . In the United States, the development of conservation of cultural heritage can be traced to the Fogg Art Museum , and Edward Waldo Forbes, its director from 1909 to 1944. He encouraged technical investigation, and

6256-593: The necessary training in first hand experience that an apprenticeship can, and therefore in addition to graduate level training the profession also tends towards encouraging conservation students to spend time as an intern . Conservation of cultural heritage is an interdisciplinary field as conservators have backgrounds in the fine arts , sciences (including chemistry , biology , and materials science ), and closely related disciplines, such as art history , archaeology , and anthropology . They also have design, fabrication, artistic, and other special skills necessary for

6348-559: The need to conserve and research the collections, so that the collections can really play the role across the whole of the United Kingdom that they should.' So would we. Further to this the ICON website summary report lists the following specific recommendations: In November 2008, the UK-based think tank Demos published an influential pamphlet entitled It's a material world: caring for the public realm , in which they argue for integrating

6440-465: The number of courses it offered, and it ultimately became known as the Scottish College of Textiles in 1968. In 1998 the college merged with Heriot-Watt, leading to the creation of the School of Textiles and Design in its modern form. The school is one of the few fashion schools in the world which offers a menswear course at bachelor's degree level, and the only school in Scotland to offer

6532-568: The number of students to study for a Heriot-Watt degree in the city. In April 2019, Heriot-Watt's Dubai campus was crowned 'Best University' in the Middle East at the first ever Forbes Middle East Higher Education Awards. The campus received a five-star rating for three consecutive years in 2019, 2020 and 2021 from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the supreme educational quality assurance and regulatory authority of

6624-402: The organisation become a technical college with representatives of the Trust in management positions. Accepting these changes, the Watt Institution officially became Heriot-Watt College in 1885 and was subsequently on far firmer financial ground. The Watt Club was founded at the Watt Institution on 12 May 1854, and is today the oldest alumni organisation in the UK. Following the unveiling of

6716-408: The physical items that are part of the cultural heritage of a group or society, as opposed to less tangible cultural expressions . They include such items as cultural landscapes, historic buildings, works of art, archaeological sites , as well as collections of libraries, archives, and museums. Cultural property is legally protected by a number of international agreements and national laws. There

6808-483: The practical application of that knowledge. Within the various schools that teach conservation of cultural heritage, the approach differs according to the educational and vocational system within the country, and the focus of the school itself. This is acknowledged by the American Institute for Conservation who advise "Specific admission requirements differ and potential candidates are encouraged to contact

6900-403: The preservation of cultural property. As well as standards of practice conservators deal with wider ethical concerns, such as the debates as to whether all art is worth preserving. Keeping up with the international contemporary scenario, recent concerns with sustainability in conservation have emerged. The common understanding that "the care of an artifact should not come at the undue expense of

6992-473: The programs directly for details on prerequisites, application procedures, and program curriculum". In France, training for heritage conservation is taught by four schools : École supérieure d'art d'Avignon  [ fr ] , L'École supérieure des Beaux-Arts Tours, Angers, Le Mans , L'Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne , Institut national du patrimoine . Cultural property Cultural property , also known as cultural patrimony , comprises

7084-509: The public directly into efforts to conserve material culture, particularly that which is in the public, their argument, as stated on page 16, demonstrates their belief that society can benefit from conservation as a paradigm as well as a profession: conservators provide a paradigm not just for fixing things when they are broken, but for a wider social ethos of care, where we individually and collectively take responsibility and action. Training in conservation of cultural heritage for many years took

7176-429: The skilled working class were no longer the majority in an institution that had been created explicitly for them. A shifting class make-up was not the only demographic change to affect the student body: in 1869 women were permitted to attend lectures for the first time. This move put the Watt Institution some way ahead of Scottish universities , who were only permitted to allow women to graduate 20 years later following

7268-428: The state in which it was prior to the conservator's intervention. Although this concept remains a guiding principle of the profession, it has been widely critiqued within the conservation profession and is now considered by many to be "a fuzzy concept." Another important principle of conservation is that all alterations should be well documented and should be clearly distinguishable from the original object. An example of

7360-498: The title "A Failure of Vision". It had the following to say: No sector can look with confidence to the future if its key asset is worked harder and harder across an ever broadening range of objectives while the inputs required to sustain it are neglected. It is of major concern to us that the only part of this section which makes any acknowledgement of the need for greater resourcing is the part which refers to acquisitions. The original consultation paper made quite extensive reference to

7452-664: The top 10 universities in UK for Building education since 2010. As of February 2017, approximately 13,700 students are enrolled at one of Heriot-Watt's campuses: 66.6% in Scotland, 24.2% in Dubai and 9.2% in Malaysia. In the Scotland campus, the university has a female:male ratio of 41:59. Under the framework of the European Education system and as part of the Erasmus Mundus program Heriot-Watt University offers

7544-442: The university is ranked highly for Planning and Building education. In 2019, the university was ranked 4th in UK and 1st in Scotland for Town & Country Planning and Landscape Design by The Complete University Guide . It was also ranked 9th in UK and 1st in Scotland for Building and Town & Country Planning by The Guardian in the same year. In the 2019 The Complete University Guide national subject rankings Heriot-Watt had

7636-536: The work of art is appreciated in its material form and in its historical and aesthetic duality, with a view to transmitting it to the future". Some consider the tradition of conservation of cultural heritage in Europe to have begun in 1565 with the restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes , but more ancient examples include the work of Cassiodorus . The care of cultural heritage has a long history, one that

7728-531: The world. Heriot-Watt's main campus is located in Riccarton in South West Edinburgh on 380 acres (150 hectares) of parkland. The campus consists of: academic buildings, student residences, a postgraduate centre, shops, several library collections, childcare, healthcare, a chaplaincy, a variety of recreational and sports facilities, and a museum, as well as the Student Union's main premises. It

7820-539: The world. It was ranked 243rd in the world for engineering and technology by QS Rankings in 2019. It was ranked 143rd in the world for technical sciences in 2018 by Round University Ranking . In 2017, Business Insider ranked Heriot-Watt the 3rd best UK university to study economics. It was ranked among 201-250 globally for Business and Economics by Times in 2019. In 2018, ARWU ranked Heriot-Watt globally among 51–75 for Telecom Engineering and 101–150 for Civil Engineering, Mathematics and Oceanography. Nationally,

7912-802: Was Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the first technical journal, Technical Studies in the Field of the Fine Arts, published by the Fogg from 1932 to 1942. Importantly he also brought onto the museum staff chemists. Rutherford John Gettens was the first of such in the US to be permanently employed by an art museum. He worked with George L. Stout , the founder and first editor of Technical Studies. Gettens and Stout co-authored Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopaedia in 1942, reprinted in 1966. This compendium

8004-690: Was also used in the context of oyster fishing in Holland. There is no universally agreed-upon definition of cultural property. One widely used definition is provided by Article 1 of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954: Cultural heritage has been described as the 'most distinguishing form of a culture's expression' and includes both tangible and intangible elements such as 'traditional dances, customs and ceremonies'. Cultural property

8096-539: Was being developed under the direction of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc , an architect and theorist, famous for his restorations of medieval buildings. Conservation of cultural heritage as a distinct field of study initially developed in Germany, where in 1888 Friedrich Rathgen became the first chemist to be employed by a Museum , the Koniglichen Museen, Berlin ( Royal Museums of Berlin ). He not only developed

8188-620: Was here that he established a set of guidelines or environmental controls for the best conditions in which objects could be stored and displayed within the museum environment. Although his exact guidelines are no longer rigidly followed, they did inspire this field of conservation. Conservators routinely use chemical and scientific analysis for the examination and treatment of cultural works. The modern conservation laboratory uses equipment such as microscopes , spectrometers , and various x-ray regime instruments to better understand objects and their components. The data thus collected helps in deciding

8280-491: Was primarily aimed at fixing and mending objects for their continued use and aesthetic enjoyment. Until the early 20th century, artists were normally the ones called upon to repair damaged artworks. During the 19th century, however, the fields of science and art became increasingly intertwined as scientists such as Michael Faraday began to study the damaging effects of the environment to works of art. Louis Pasteur carried out scientific analysis on paint as well. However, perhaps

8372-569: Was the first British university to set up in Dubai International Academic City. Offering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses similar to those found in Scotland, the campus facilitates student exchanges between Britain and the Gulf Emirates . It has facilities including a library, computer laboratory, cafes and restaurants. An expanded campus opened in the city on 3 November 2011, allowing double

8464-532: Was the report A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America's Collections , which was published in December 2005 and concluded that immediate action is needed to prevent the loss of 190 million artifacts that are in need of conservation treatment. The report made four recommendations: In October 2006, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport , a governmental department, authored

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