Methodology of Conservation Engineering

Abstract

While engineers have long been involved with building conservation, the growth of conservation engineering as a distinct specialty is a recent development. Conservation engineering is distinguished by the application of rational analysis and design techniques to buildings containing structural elements that cannot be analysed using current methods, or were not designed using currently available materials. Such elements, defined as archaic, obsolete or undesigned, are the marks of a ‘structurally historic’ building and require specialized methods. Common methods of structural analysis and design have evolved for use in new building construction, and are not well suited to use in conservation work. Specifically, assumptions about load paths and design criteria, which are controlled by the engineer in new construction, must be discovered on a project- by-project basis in conservation work, turning traditional engineering methodology effectively backwards. This affects the scope of the engineering field and has implications for the organization of the engineering profession, both topics that must be addressed as the number and complexity of buildings old enough to be considered historic increases over time.