January 10 (BTA) - Bulgarian and French professors will teach Bulgarian architects to preserve immovable cultural heritage in a joint course of study between the National Institute of Immovable Cultural Heritage (NIICH) and the French Institute Ecole de Chaillot, the project organizers reported here on Monday.

The cooperation agreement between the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture, NIICH and the Chaillot Institute was signed at the end of 2021.

During 700 study hours spread over four semesters, the architects will take classes of ancient to modern history, architectural photography, restoration, historical features of Bulgarian buildings, churches and monasteries, among others.

There are eighteen Bulgarian and nine French professors participating in the project. The Bulgarians are notable architects, historians, archaeologists, art critics and conservator-restorers, while the Frenchmen, highly recognized experts from the Chaillot Institute, are specialists in restoration of construction materials from different ages, research documentation methods, emergency reinforcement measures, theory of restoration and evolution of cultural heritage protection systems in different countries, park and garden art, among others.

Every applicant must have a degree in architecture. The course will start in the autumn of 2022 and will continue for two years. At the end of it, every participant will have the chance to write and defend a dissertation to obtain a certificate from NIICH and Ecole de Chaillot.

"The programme gives thorough knowledge about what it is that we preserve, why and how are we preserving it. It teaches our students to look into the buildings' marks from which they can find out about their historical, archaeological or architectural significance and their urban development importance", NIICH Director Petar Petrov stressed.

Petrov is among the first Bulgarian architects to obtain an Ecole de Chaillot certificate.

Headed by arch. Galina Pirovska, this is the ninth edition of the specialized course for Bulgaria after a two-year break. Some 100 Bulgarian architects have obtained certificates from the course since its beginning in 2000.

Established in 1887 in the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, Ecole de Chaillot is the oldest institute for conservation and restoration of cultural heritage.