Transforming architectural heritage documentation: developing integrated European recommendations for safeguarding and preservation

The safeguarding and preservation of architectural heritage are pivotal to maintaining Europe’s cultural identity, while current documentation practices remain fragmented and unevenly applied across regions. This article critically evaluates existing standards, recommendations, and best practices to identify gaps and inconsistencies in architectural documentation methodologies across European Countries. Based on this evaluation, we propose an integrated and adaptive European recommendation for architectural heritage documentation.