The Instituto Universitario de Restauración del Patrimonio of the Universitat Politècnica de València (the IRP) is a public Spanish institution dedicated to promoting heritage conservation research and practice.
The IRP works to advance conservation research and practice in the fine arts -mural paintings, easel paintings and textiles, sculptures and ornaments, gildings and furniture, ethnographic and archaeological objects, graphic artworks and archival materials-, architecture and sites; to develop and to exploit new conservation techniques and approaches, to disseminate the cultural heritage conservation research results, and to train professionals.
The IRP comprises a large number of researchers and conservators from many different fields of expertise: more than 100 researchers (professors, teachers, lecturers, interns, and collaborators) of the architecture, engineering, fine arts, history, archeology, chemistry, geology and biology disciplines.
The IRP was created in 2000 as ENCI (Estructura No Convencional de Investigación) according to the UPV government committee of 21 December 1999.
Later, according to the Spanish Order 6/2006, of 13 January, of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV-núm. 5179 of 18 January 2006), the IRP was appointed as Research University Institute of the Universitat Politècnica de València.