Architectural Heritage Preservation: An Application of Historic Building Quality Assessment Criteria for World Heritage Sites in Ghana

Author : K. Twumasi-Ampofo, R. A. Oppong, F. Kwarayire

Abstract :There are World Heritage Sites in Ghana comprising of the Asante Traditional Buildings (ATBs) and the Forts and Castle. The ATBs were built around the 16th century and can be found in and around Kumasi while the Forts and Castles were built in the 15th and 16th century and are located along the coast from Keta to Beyin. These buildings constructed with different materials have stood the test of time and form significant part of Ghana’s Architectural Heritage and it is imperative to preserve these historic buildings. Currently, assessment of these heritage sites is done based on experts’ opinions. To ensure effective and timely preservation of these heritage assets, there is the need to set a criterion for efficient assessment of the building fabric. This research utilizes interpretivist approach and theoretically studies some existing criterior for assessing heritage buildings through review of literature. Literature reviewed revealed low publicity concerning criteria for assessing heritage sites in Ghana to improve Ghana’s Architectural Heritage preservation. Therefore, this study recommends Historic Building Quality Assessment Criteria (HBQAC) for effective assessment of the condition of the World Heritage Sites in Ghana. The HBQAC grade values can be used by the mandated authority to establish regulations for timely restoration of historic buildings and sites

Keywords :Assessment criteria, Architectural heritage preservation, Ghana, Historic buildings, World Heritage sites.

Conference Name :International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Studies, Philosophy, Anthropology, History and Archaeology (ICISSPAHA-25)

Conference Place Dubai, UAE

Conference Date 12th Mar 2025