RECORDING, DOCUMENTATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN CULTURAL HERITAGE BUIDINGS: Athens buildings maintenance (1830-1940)

The importance of historic building recording was gradually recognized during the second half of the 20th century, as the protection ideology and the architectural heritage concept begun to develop. In general, recording provides information on the process of recognizing, understanding, interpreting and presenting the heritage process, as a permanent archive which includes all monuments, buildings and places. In this study, the architectural heritage protection of Athens buildings, between the end of the 19th until the first half of the 20th century, is of particular interest. The idea of a record-keeping program of preserved buildings in the city of Athens, which were built between 1830 and 1940, was born when MONUMENTA, a greek non-profit modern organization for preserving and highlighting architectural heritage, received a lot of complaints about old buildings demolition. In order to fulfill this significant concept, MONUMENTA for collecting information has followed in situ recording methodology, aiming, also, to create a free database accessible to everyone. It is worth noting that, culture’s promotion is a comparative advantage for the cities’ sustainable development, as Agenda 2030 supports in SDGs 17 goals, concerning the role of history and culture within the human habitat.