Study of the Building Materials and Techniques of Mixed-Type Structures from the Nineteenth to the Twentieth Century

Abstract

At the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century, urban centres were enlarged in Greece, and new large-scale constructions (public buildings, residences, etc.) were built. The paper concerns the systematic analysis of the building materials and constructional techniques of five historic buildings, dated at this period and situated in the regions of Thessaloniki, Florina and the islands of Chios and Rhodes. The architectural style of the buildings varied, concerning Neoclassicism, Eclecticism, Art Nouveau and Art Deco, while in all cases the regional aspects regarding the available raw material and the traditional constructional techniques were maintained. The study included on site surveys of the structural system, mapping of pathology, analysis of building materials as well as analysis of the bearing system of the structures. From the evaluation of the results, it was concluded that there were many similarities, regarding the building materials used and the constructional techniques applied. In general, local materials were used for the construction of masonries, while the decoration of the facades and of the internal walls was based on handmade mortars (renders, plasters), applied with specific techniques.