Heritage for Inclusive Sustainable Transformation - HEI-TRANSFORM

The transdisciplinary HEI-TRANSFORM project focuses on identifying the social, environmental, economic, and developmental potential of Slovenia's immovable cultural heritage (ICH) and developing approaches for its integration into the green transition process. It is based on an understanding of heritage as a resource for achieving a sustainable future and aims to define it in both qualitative and quantitative terms. The key result of the project will be the development and testing of the Cultural Heritage 4.0 model (CH 4.0), which will be created through the revitalisation of abandoned ICH via adapted reuse. The aim is to enhance the initial concept of Conservation 3.0 with a system for quantifying all values, including those generally considered immeasurable but which significantly impact the quality of life for all involved. The model will be designed to bring together all stakeholders, develop solutions acceptable to the majority through coordination, and demonstrate the level of sustainability by comparison. To achieve this, a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) system will be used as a tool for participatory decision-making and the protection of heritage values in different environments. Alongside fundamental research, this will form the basis for the gradual transformation of the sector and thus the more effective integration of ICH into the sustainable transformation of society and the environment. The model will be developed in the RevitLab experimental laboratory, which will operate in four local communities: two in urban areas (part of the historic centre of the settlement, industrial area) and two outside (archaeological and castle areas).

The project involves 33 researchers from twelve fields: architecture, economics, sociology, archaeology, ethnology, cultural anthropology, art history, urbanism, psychology, history, geography, and civil engineering. Researchers from ten research organisations, representing the three largest Slovenian universities, ZRC SAZU, and the Urban Planning Institute, are brought together by the Interdisciplinary Interfaculty Institute for Sustainable Heritage Protection at the University of Ljubljana, which focuses on developing innovative sustainable practices in the field of cultural heritage protection in Slovenia. The research planned within the project will redefine the roles of these disciplines and bring transdisciplinary solutions that are important for further research and scientific development in the field of heritage research, which has been significantly overlooked in Slovenia.