Revintage aimed to understand and communicate the dynamic of post-war European interiors by looking into local case studies, uncovering a network of stakeholders, and identifying practices of care and destruction that impact a part of our daily life that is key to local culture, but that is not yet formally recognized as cultural heritage. The project focused on setting up an EQF framework for preserving post-war interiors for VET courses in the fields of design, construction, and restoration. During the implementation of the project, the need for a coherent curriculum on this topic turned out to be even greater than previously thought.
Those involved in the Revintage project wanted to draw attention to the appreciation of recent interiors because they saw an explicit need for attention to them. This was confirmed by the VET sector who saw many opportunities for introducing elective components on the appreciation of recent cultural heritage into their curriculum. The project wanted to draw attention to the topic at least in the three countries involved and, through the website and the existing and new network, to other countries in the EU as well. Finally, the goal was that the VET programs we involved in the creation, through the outcomes of Revintage, would actually start implementing education in this area.
The research done during the Revintage project focused on four activities: Interiors as cultural heritage, mapping heritage and educational network, bringing those sectors together and defining the EQF framework. The research was conducted within a large group of involved stakeholders. Interviews have taken place, focus groups were organized, etc. All was very practical, aimed at the end-user, including educators with little or no contact with Europe's cultural heritage.
The results of Revintage can be summarized as follows:
- Insight into how the valuation of interiors in general takes place;
- An overview of how this is dealt with in current VET education of courses that are broadly related to this topic
(craftsmanship, restoration, architecture, interior design, tourism, etc.);
- The opinion of stakeholders inside and outside education on the issue and the possibility of including elements of this in the curriculum;
- A concrete description of an elective course on the appreciation and preservation of post-war interiors;
- In general: interest in the reappraisal of recent interiors and the role that VET education can play in their valuation and preservation. Everything is publicly accessible via the project website https://revintage.eu/
