Established by Professor Raymond Lemaire († 1997) in 1976, at the initiative of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), within the framework of the College of Europe in Bruges, the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC) is now part of the post-initial-master’s programme of the Faculty of Engineering of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
The RLICC is dependent upon two departments of the Faculty: the department of Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning and the Department of Civil Engineering. The education programme of the Centre leads to the degree of Master in Conservation of Monuments and Sites and is a two year ManaMa programme (Master after Master Programme). The Centre offers an advanced international and interdisciplinary two-year study programme in the conservation and restoration ot historic monuments and sites.
The Raymond Lemaire International Center for Conservation (RLICC) has more than 30 years of experience in training, research and consulting in the field of the preservation of the built heritage. Its founder, the late Professor Raymond Lemaire, was one of the authors of the Charter of Venice that established the doctrine for the conservation of the architectural and urban heritage in 1964. He was a well-known advisor to the European Union, the Council of Europe and UNESCO regarding the preservation of the architectural and urban heritage. He established the institute to disseminate the interest in the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide through interdisciplinary training and to promote further reflection on the best possible integration of heritage in today’s society for tomorrow’s generations. In this spirit more than 600 students have graduated from the institute. Many of them have leading positions in national or international organisations; they own a private consultancy office or work for public authorities.
