The Roles of Stewardship and Public Participation in the Conservation of Architectural Heritage from the Perspective of the Theory of Complex Property Rights: The Cases of Farnsworth House and the Buzludzha Monument

This article examines the roles of stewardship, ownership, and public participation in the conservation of architectural heritage from the perspective of the Theory of Complex Property Rights (TCPR). The analysis addresses three research questions: (1) What is the role of property rights and private owners in the conservation of architectural heritage? (2) Who can be the best-suited owner or serve as the best steward of architectural heritage, how should such an owner or steward be selected, and how should rights and responsibilities be allocated? (3) What role should advocates of architectural heritage play in its conservation? The study applies TCPR to two case studies involving threatened heritage assets: Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in the United States and the Buzludzha Monument in Bulgaria. The findings demonstrate that successful conservation depends less on formal ownership status than on the allocation and exercise of management and control rights. Effective conservation is most likely when such rights are exercised by actors who place a high value on architectural heritage and possess the capacity to mobilize financial, organizational, and professional resources. The article introduces the concepts of the best-suited owner and the best steward and argues that property rights should be allocated through Coasian processes that favour actors capable of ensuring the long-term preservation and sustainable use of heritage assets. The analysis also highlights the important role of heritage advocates and non-governmental organizations in heritage governance and conservation.