Värdefullt förfall
om ruiner i förändring
This essay deals with ruins from the perspective of their cultural values ??and the impact of add-ons, protective add-ons and caring actions affect these values. The issues in the essay are; What are the cultural values of a ruin? How have ruins been used? How are ruins treated today?Initially the definition of the concept ?ruin? is discussed, what is a ruin? A building has an architectural biography: the creation, destruction, change and the decay. The concept of ruin is considered to be a state of this decay, rather than a dead building. This leads to that if a ruin is added or rebuilt, once again it becomes a building.Ruins has meant a lot to people even long ago, the history of the caring of ruins goes long back, in Italy to the 5th century AD. In the Nordic countries the protection of ancient remains came a bit later, in Sweden the first legislation is from the year 1666th. The ruins were preserved to show the greatness of ancient societies and the changes that led to the decay of the buildings. During the 18th century a cult grows around ruins, which later have been called the romance of ruins. This ideology is developing into constructing "new" ruins in the castle parks, ruins become a status symbol.The essay deals with three case studies as reference objects in a discussion regarding their cultural value. The ruin of the dome in Hamar, Norway, over-built with a protective roof that directly affects the cultural environment. The arguments for this operation are the task of conservation, but the goal is to use the building as a cultural arena. The castle ruin on Visingsö in the lake Vättern has an action plan with a clear cultural value description. The age of the ruin and bearer of abstract memories are emphasized values. The last example is the rebuilding of St Nicholas church ruin in Visby and how designers are taking into account its cultural value.Finally, the definition of the general cultural values ??of a ruin is presented, in comparison with the reference objects included in the paper. The age of the ruin, structural engineering in past societies, the use of the ruins and the changes of extensions or restorations are the values ??that occur in the examples. The conclusion is that the change is perhaps the value of most importance. Since the "ruin" is a stage rather than a fixed object the change is a fact. To freeze a moment of decay may remove one of the most important cultural values of a ruin.