Heritage protection and safety requirements — a difficult relationship

Abstract

The domination of today’s construction processes by safety regulations for structures contributes to the prevention of personal injury, property loss, and environmental damage. Nevertheless, while revaluation of historic buildings, current safety requirements may collide with heritage protection interests. The purpose of the study is to show that treating each historic building as an individual case and balancing aspects of usage, efficiency, and aesthetics can help to preserve the beauty and the uniqueness of cultural heritage for posterity. During their research, the authors analyzed current German safety regulations for reconstruction of historic buildings with the focus on load bearing capacity of structural systems. Using literature studies and own experimental investigations, they provide solutions how to balance the interests of construction safety authorities, owners, and authorities for the protection of historic buildings. The conclusion is that for planning and performing construction works in existing protected structures, architects and civil engineers need specialized high-level competence. Knowledge about historic building techniques as well as about today’s safety requirements is necessary for acting in compliance with current safety regulations and building heritage interests. It should be in the interest of owners, planners, construction safety authorities as well as engineers to find individual solutions for protected historic structures to support cultural heritage protection.