Significance Assessment
An evaluation of why a heritage site or building matters — its historic, architectural, social and spiritual values — which guides what should be conserved and how.
A significance assessment is a structured evaluation of why a heritage building or site matters. It identifies and articulates the values — historic, architectural, artistic, social, cultural, spiritual — that different stakeholder groups attach to the place, and weighs them against each other to establish priorities for conservation.
The concept of significance is central to the Burra Charter (ICOMOS Australia, 1979, revised 2013), which defines it as 'aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations.' The INTACH Charter (2004) adapts this concept to the Indian context, where living heritage and spiritual value are often primary rather than secondary considerations.
Without a significance assessment, conservation decisions are made without a principled basis. Understanding significance is what distinguishes conservation from mere maintenance: it identifies which elements must be retained unchanged, which can be adapted, and which are later accretions that could be removed.
Relevant Standards
- — Burra Charter (ICOMOS Australia, 2013)
- — INTACH Charter 2004