Authenticity in the Conservation of Modern Architectural Heritage: A Critical Reading of International Conservation Documents

This chapter examines how the concept of authenticity has evolved in international conservation doctrine and how this evolution can inform the conservation of modern architectural heritage. Its purpose is to identify how changing understandings of authenticity can guide decisions about material retention, technical adaptation, continued use, and the preservation of cultural significance in twentieth-century buildings. The study uses a comparative document analysis of seven texts: Carta del Restauro (1931), the Venice Charter (1964), the Declaration of Amsterdam (1975), the Nara Document on Authenticity (1994), the Riga Charter (2000), the Madrid Document (2011), and the Madrid–New Delhi Document (2017). The analysis is supported by modern heritage literature and UNESCO World Heritage guidance. The findings show that authenticity cannot be reduced to the survival of original fabric, nor can material continuity be disregarded. For modern heritage, conservation decisions should relate heritage values to the material and non-material attributes through which those values are credibly expressed, including design, materials, technology, use, setting, and social meaning.