16 May. ICCROM regrets to announce that Gilles Nourissier died on 6 May 2007, aged 53.

A founder of the Ecole d’Avignon, twenty-two years ago, Gilles was serving as its director at the time of his death. One of his main interests in conservation was applied research and training for craftsmen and architects, in particular in traditional construction techniques and know-how. He was the author of a number of volumes including the Manual for the Conservation and Rehabilitation of Traditional Architecture in Syria, published in 2004, on which he collaborated with professionals from Syria, France, and Spain.

Gilles was particularly active in ICOMOS, where he was a member of the International Training Committee, served as Secretary General of ICOMOS France, and most recently as a member of the ICOMOS International Executive Committee. He was also active at the European level as a member of several networks dealing with training and conservation.

At ICCROM, he collaborated with the NAMEC programme between 1998 and 2001, in particular on the Cours du Patrimoine du Maghreb. This collaboration was linked to his work on the CORPUS project, a seventeen-country partnership within the framework of the Euromed Heritage Programme dealing with traditional architecture in the Mediterranean area.

updated on: 12 July, 2007