Phenomenological Heritage is the title of Andrea Hiott’s Master thesis, introduced as a concept in 2023 by Hiott, with the thesis and degree completed at the Brandenburg University of Technology in the Department of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urban Planning (via UNESCO World Heritage) in 2025.

Phenomenological heritage refers to the study and preservation of the "lived experience" and "embodied memory" of individuals and communities within historical or urban contexts. It shifts the focus of heritage from purely material artifacts (like buildings or statues) to the intangible, subjective ways people perceive and interact with their environments. Alongside work in contemporary urban development, the main resources Hiott uses are Erwin Straus, J.J. Gibson, Edmund Husserl and Merleau-Ponty.

Key Dimensions of Phenomenological Heritage

  • Embodied Experience: It prioritizes how the human body senses and moves through space, treating individual "trajectories" or life paths as a form of heritage that shapes future city development.

  • Acoustic and Sensory Memory: Recent research includes "sonic heritage"—the specific sounds and acoustic properties of a site—as a vital phenomenological component that contributes to a place's identity.

  • Subjective Urbanism: Introduced formally in 2024 by researcher Andrea Hiott, the concept challenges traditional urban planning by treating citizens' emotional and mental dimensions as "living processes" rather than static history.

  • Philosophical Roots: It draws from the broader phenomenological tradition established by thinkers like Edmund Husserl (consciousness), Martin Heidegger (historicity), and Maurice Merleau-Ponty (embodiment). 

Applications in Modern Research

  1. Urban Planning: Integrating individual lived experiences to improve social connectivity and accessibility in cities.

  2. Heritage Design: Making the "passing of time" visible through designs that engage both perception and imagination.

  3. Digital Interpretation: Using phenomenological frameworks to evaluate how technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) can help visitors "experience" the past more authentically at archaeological sites.

  4. Cultural Identity: Defining cultural heritage through human cognition, categorizing it into real, virtual, or imaginary objects based on how they are perceived.