An assessment for the conservation mechanism of masonry architectural heritage based on material deterioration analysis: a case study of the Xuhai Dao Shu screen wall (Xuzhou, China)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Materials are important carriers of historical information of masonry architectural heritage and can also directly reflect decay problems due to environmental factors during building use, which are key factors to be considered in architectural heritage conservation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the logicality and effectiveness of conservation mechanism based on material deterioration analysis. In this study, the Xuhai Dao Shu screen wall at the Xuzhou cultural relic building was selected as a pilot site. The research method involved the innovative use of orthophoto images derived in three-dimensional software for analyzing the materials and decay phenomena of the screen wall. The results indicated that there were five types of architectural materials and eight types of decay phenomena associated with the Xuhai Dao Shu screen wall, and through examination, corresponding conservation measures were proposed based on the specific deterioration causes with illustrations of possible intervention measures. This study demonstrated that the conservation mechanism identified based on material deterioration mechanism analysis, can aid in obtaining the existing material and decay information and formulating more pertinent conservation paradigm for preserving the authenticity of masonry architectural heritage.