Ancient Buildings Research Articles

Applicability Evaluation of Modified Epoxy Resin in the Repair and Reinforcement of Ancient Building Timber Members

To investigate the potential of modified epoxy resin for repairing and strengthening historical wooden structures, this study utilized polyurethane and silicone-modified epoxy resin as the base, alongside a polyamine curing agent. The resin mixture was cured at ambient temperature, resulting in the creation of ten unique epoxy resin systems. Investigation into the chemical structure and alterations to the glass transition temperature were conducted. The study conducted tests and characterization of viscosity, curing rate, mechanical properties, stress failure mode, hygrothermal aging resistance, and bonding properties. The results reveal that the curing degree of the two modified epoxy resins is high after being cured at room temperature, and the chemical structure and curing rate show insignificant changes. The range of the glass transition temperature for the modified epoxy resin is between 61.31 °C and 70.51 °C. The incorporation of polyurethane and silicone molecular chains into the epoxy resin cross-linking curing system enhances the toughness of the epoxy resin. The modified resin achieves a maximum elongation at break that is 5.18 times greater than that of the unmodified resin, along with a maximum tensile strength and a compressive strength that are 7.94 and 1.74 times, respectively, higher than those in the Chinese technical specifications for the maintenance and reinforcement of ancient wooden structures. The increase in toughness changes the failure mode of the cured epoxy resin. The modified epoxy resin exhibits great bonding ability to aged wood, with a shear strength of up to 9.6 MPa along the grain. As a result, the modified epoxy resin meets the requirements for the reinforcement and repair of the timber members of ancient buildings.

Quantitative Analysis of Comprehensive Similarity in Restoration of Ancient Building Walls Using Hue–Saturation–Value Color Space and Circular Local Binary Pattern

Evaluating the effects of wall restoration on ancient buildings has been a difficult task, and it is important that the overall appearance of the restored walls of ancient buildings is similar, harmonious, and uniform. This paper used a hue–saturation–value (HSV) color space and Circular Local Binary Pattern (CLBP) to analyze the comprehensive similarity between a restored wall and the original walls in Qi Li Ancient Town. The results show that the values of the comprehensive similarity calculation of ancient buildings based on the color and texture were consistent with the actual situation. The method is suitable for evaluating the degree of matching between wall repair materials and the appearance of the original wall materials of ancient buildings, and it can also be used to assess the comprehensive similarity between the repair materials and the original building walls before carrying out the wall repair in order to select more suitable materials for wall repair and achieve the best repair effect. And it is flexible and objective compared to human judgement. Through the accurate restoration of ancient buildings, not only can we protect cultural heritage and continue the historical lineage, we can also enhance the aesthetic value of buildings and meet people’s needs for historical and cultural tracing.

Towards an Effective Architectural Form: The Composition of Squareness and Roundness Based on Scale Proportion—Evidence from the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

Investigating the mathematical and geometric principles embedded in ancient classic architecture is a significant tradition in the history of architectural development. Drawing inspiration from the modular design and creative ideology based on the geometric proportions of squareness and roundness in ancient Chinese architecture, we propose a new mode of squareness and roundness composition based on scale proportion specifically for the design of multi-story buildings. Taking Yingxian Wooden Pagoda as the case study, we not only re-evaluate the modular system and proportional rules followed in the design of the entire pagoda, but also reveal the technical approaches and geometric rules for effectively controlling the form of multi-story buildings. In particular, the mode of squareness and roundness composition based on scale proportion, utilizing a modular grid combined with squareness and roundness drawings as decision-making tools, can control the scale and proportion of buildings across different design dimensions and organically coordinate the design of multi-story buildings’ plans and elevations. Thus, it can achieve an effective balance of multi-story architectural forms. This study has potential applications in the creation of traditional multi-story buildings and heritage restoration projects, and offers valuable insights for future research on ancient multi-story buildings.

Research on the Digital Preservation of Architectural Heritage Based on Virtual Reality Technology

As a representative of the scientific and technological achievements of the new era, the overall development of virtual reality (VR) technology is becoming increasingly refined, which provides new development ideas and technical support in the field of ancient building restoration and architectural heritage preservation. In this context, digital conservation and the practice of architectural heritage have become important focuses of application in the industry. This paper starts from the core concept of VR technology, analyzes the value of the application of VR technology in the protection of ancient architecture, puts forward relevant suggestions and technical application methods, and takes Red Pagoda in Fuliang County as an example. In this sense, virtual reality technology is used to restore and protect the buildings, forming a digital heritage of ancient architecture. This study first utilizes a three-dimensional laser scanning instrument to collect point cloud data, and then the plane graph is drawn by measurement. Then, an Architectural Heritage Building Information Model is created, and comprehensive information on historical buildings is integrated. Finally, VR technology is used to show the effect of digital display and preservation. This study transforms architectural cultural heritage into a shareable and renewable digital form through restoration and reproduction, interpreting and utilizing it from a new perspective and providing new ideas and methods for architectural heritage conservation.

Expressing the Spatial Concepts of Interior Spaces in Residential Buildings of Huizhou, China: Narrative Methods of Wood-Carving Imagery

Expressing the Spatial Concepts of Interior Spaces in Residential Buildings of Huizhou, China: Narrative Methods of Wood-Carving Imagery

Research on Sustainability of Property Insurance Based on LSTM Model

Losses from extreme weather events are increasing in recent years, and climate change will drive premiums higher. At present, the adjustment of insurance policies by insurance companies, as well as the protection of real estate siting and ancient buildings, are the problems that we need to solve now. To explore the circumstances under which insurance companies undergo insurance, this paper identified two severely affected areas and collected monthly insurance claims data from 2010 to 2023. Based on the collected data, an LSTM is established to derive the amount of compensation, and then determine whether to underwrite. The research centers on "how and where to choose a site and whether to build in a certain place", we determined 5 aspects of research in natural conditions, transportation conditions, infrastructure, surrounding environment and economic factors, and selected 17 secondary indicators; firstly, the paper quantified the secondary indicators into 3 parts of proximity, remoteness and Neutral factor 3 parts. Firstly, using EDA and feature engineering & insurance factor quantitative measurement to find out the required insurance factor F. Then using Kmeans cluster analysis to classify the 19 regions, and using Random Forest to find out the weights of the 17 indicators. Secondly, using TOPSIS comprehensive evaluation model to find out the scores of the 19 regions, and finally determining the highest-scoring the "leader" with the highest score is finally determined as the optimal region, For the research of developing building protection model, this paper identifies four aspects of research from basic information, economic contribution, historical contribution and architectural information. Finally, the Word to vector word embedding vector model is used to number the words after the text is transformed; then the LSTM is used to do the text binary classification to get the emotional percentage of each area, and the emotional percentage is used as a new column of indicators; the PCA is used to extract the variance contribution rate of each indicator; then the MinMax variance contribution rate is used to carry out the normalization and the sigmoid function for weighting; finally, use AHP to find out the score, and from the results, it can be seen that the regional conservation model of Yellowstone National Park is the most reasonable.

Study On The Architectural Characteristics Of Miao Nationality In PingBian, YunNan

Pingbian is the inhabitation place of the Miao people. There are many Miao culture in Pingbian, which has a long history and rich heritage. A number of ancient and ethnic characteristic buildings are preserved in Pingbian, which highlight the unique regional color of the local area, reflect the aesthetic taste of the Miao people, and have profound cultural connotation and high artistic value. This paper selects the ethnic culture of the Miao nationality in Pingbian for analysis, studies the composition characteristics of the Miao architecture in Pingbian, and puts forward the Miao architectural style in Pingbian, aiming at promoting the inheritance and development of Miao architectural characteristics.

Spatial virtual recovery design technology of ancient buildings based on 3D laser scanning technology

Due to the persistent advancements in science and technology, the implementation of digital technology in the preservation of cultural heritage is progressively expanding. One of the focal points of research lies in the spatial virtual restoration design technology of ancient edifices, which is based on three-dimensional laser scanning technology. The study initially outlines the process of obtaining point cloud data via 3D laser scanning technology and subsequently executes denoising, splicing, and simplification processing on the point cloud. Subsequently, the pre-processed data undergo 3D mesh model construction. Finally, an effective repair technique is implemented to address the void phenomenon present during the modeling process. To construct the implicit surface, the RBF method is employed and new vertices are adjusted, resulting in a more accurate spatial virtual restoration of ancient buildings (ABs). The study found that using the radial basis function based void repair method resulted in a mean void repair accuracy of 92.38% in the west wall, an improvement of 3.08% compared to the Liepa-based method. In addition, this method achieved the highest accuracy of 98.94% on the north wall, improving by 6.37% compared to the Poisson grid editing algorithm. Meanwhile, the RBF-based method repaired cavities in the west wall model with an average runtime of only 20.613 s, resulting in a 19.16 s reduction compared to the Liepa-based method. In addition, the method’s average repair time for the north wall was only 5.364 s, a decrease of 13.28 s compared to the Poisson grid editing algorithm. This shows that combining 3D laser scanning technology and cavity repair technology can acquire high-quality point cloud data of historic structures, create precise 3D models, and achieve spatial virtual restoration. This offers a new and efficient technological approach to preserving and passing down ABs.

Improving non-destructive testing methods for detecting cavity damage and internal defects in stone cultural relics: A focus on ultrasonic testing and acoustic tapping technology

This study employs advanced ultrasonic tomography and Grasshopper software to investigate the internal anomalies within stone materials. We aim to enhance the non-destructive testing (NDT) methods with potential applications extending to modern architecture and stone engineering. Cavity damage and internal defects threaten the structural stability of stone cultural relics. Traditional non-destructive testing methods, while practical, have limitations in assessing these relics comprehensively. This paper proposes an enhanced ultrasonic testing method based on mathematical analysis to accurately detect cavity damage in stone cultural relics. We also investigate imaging techniques for internal defects, combining ultrasonic testing with Grasshopper software for efficient and accurate defect characterization. Additionally, we introduce an acoustic tapping method for detecting internal defects in ancient building stones. Verified through field tests and data analysis, this method is non-invasive, accurate, and fast. The process of detecting stone defects using this technology, along with data analysis methods, experimental results, and application effects, are detailed. This research contributes to the improved preservation and restoration of ancient buildings and extends to other fields, such as modern architecture and stone engineering, highlighting its significance in cultural heritage conservation.

MSFA-Net: A Multiscale Feature Aggregation Network for Semantic Segmentation of Historical Building Point Clouds

In recent years, research on the preservation of historical architecture has gained significant attention, where the effectiveness of semantic segmentation is particularly crucial for subsequent repair, protection, and 3D reconstruction. Given the sparse and uneven nature of large-scale historical building point cloud scenes, most semantic segmentation methods opt to sample representative subsets of points, often leading to the loss of key features and insufficient segmentation accuracy of architectural components. Moreover, the geometric feature information at the junctions of components is cluttered and dense, resulting in poor edge segmentation. Based on this, this paper proposes a unique semantic segmentation network design called MSFA-Net. To obtain multiscale features and suppress irrelevant information, a double attention aggregation module is first introduced. Then, to enhance the model’s robustness and generalization capabilities, a contextual feature enhancement and edge interactive classifier module are proposed to train edge features and fuse the context data. Finally, to evaluate the performance of the proposed model, experiments were conducted on a self-curated ancient building dataset and the S3DIS dataset, achieving OA values of 95.2% and 88.7%, as well as mIoU values of 86.2% and 71.6%, respectively, further confirming the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.

Structural Vibration Identification in Ancient Buildings Based on Multi-feature and Multi-sensor

Structural Vibration Identification in Ancient Buildings Based on Multi-feature and Multi-sensor

Research and analysis on the status quo of traditional villages in Guangxi Province based on Cite-space

There are many well-preserved traditional ancient buildings in Guangxi Province, and the visualization of the academic achievements in this field can help to form a clear understanding of the current research status and development trend, so as to provide reference value for the subsequent research work. In this paper, we use Cite-space visualization software to systematically sort out 317 CNKI journals with the theme of "traditional villages in Guangxi" from the perspectives of literature characteristics and literature content, and find that: the number of published journals on the whole shows a rising trend, but is still relatively small; the academic atmosphere of mutual cooperation among journal authors is still good; the academic atmosphere of included journals is still good; the number of published journals is still small; and the number of published journals is still very small, and the academic atmosphere is still very small. The academic atmosphere among journal authors is still good; the included journals are mainly regional and ethnic, highlighting the specialization of regional nature research; the research hotspots are focused on traditional villages, rural revitalization, tourism development, urbanization and other fields, and future research should be combined with rural revitalization and rural tourism, and more consideration should be given to the development mode of rural revitalization by virtue of the characteristics of the traditional villages and the use of the tourism industry to promote rural revitalization, which is not only in line with the strategic planning of the country but also can better protect and inherit the traditional villages, but also can better protect and inherit the traditional villages. It can also better protect and inherit traditional culture.

Thanatographic Automatism in Michel Leiris’ Aurora (1927–1928)

Abstract In 1927, Michel Leiris embarked upon a five-month trip to Egypt and Greece. His text Aurora (1927–1928; pub. 1946), commenced during this journey, combines Surrealist approaches with fictional and documentary elements in an investigation of the ontological limits of the writing self. In Aurora, Surrealist automatism and elements of autobiography become epistemological demonstrations of being alive and facing the threat of impending death. Aurora experiments with thanatography, a written account of the death of the self. References to ancient Egyptian necropolis building and hieroglyphics inflect Surrealist automatism with a notion of the self as split between the living voice, death, and the multiplication of consciousness.

Wood utilized for wooden components in ancient buildings of Tingbao Yang’s former residence

Summary A comprehensive analysis was conducted using optical microscopy based on wood anatomy to enhance the preservation of wooden components in Tingbao Yang’s former residence. This study identified wood samples, and statistical examination of wood species, variations in their configuration, physical and mechanical properties, and natural durability were examined. The principles for wood species selection were assessed. Findings indicate that Cunninghamia lanceolata, Pseudotsuga spp., Populus spp. and Ulmus spp. are the primary choices for these wooden components. However, certain portions incorporate Larix sect. Multiseriales, Picea brachytyla, Pinus bungeana, Pinus massoniana, Castanea sp. and Quercus subg. Lepidabalanus, sect. Prinus. Pseudotsuga spp., C. lanceolata, Ulmus spp. and Populus spp. are primarily utilized for wooden columns and melon columns. However, C. lanceolata, Ulmus spp. and Populus spp. possess inadequate parallel grain compressive strength for load-bearing compression wooden components. C. lanceolata and Ulmus spp. are widely utilized in beams, lintels, purlins, and rafters owing to their exceptional bending strength. It was noted that Castanea sp. and Quercus subg. Lepidabalanus, sect. Prinus wood varieties demonstrate superior resistance to rotting and insects compared with other types of wood. The selection of wood species for the ancient buildings of Tingbao Yang’s former residence relies on crucial principles, such as the suitability of wood properties and local selection. This selection process involves analyzing the wood properties, assessing the natural durability of wooden components, and considering the distribution of forest resources in Henan Province.

A Brief Discussion on Technical Points in the Restoration of an Ancient Building in Lanzhou City

With the change and development of The Times, the existing buildings are gradually aging and damaged, coupled with external objective factors and human factors, many building structures are seriously damaged or difficult to maintain the original architectural style. This paper will adopt Revit modeling and combine the principles of ancient building restoration and protection, take the restoration project of Tianqi Temple in Chengguan District of Lanzhou City as an example, analyze the damage of ancient buildings, discuss the reasons for the damage, focus on the analysis of ancient building restoration technology, simulate the construction process of ancient buildings, and provide reference for the future restoration and protection measures of ancient buildings.

Historical Consciousness and the Uses of the Past: The Nineteenth-Century Parthenon Replicas

Abstract The idea of making a replica of an ancient building such as the Parthenon involves a complex set of emotions, historical thought processes and usages of memory. This article explores the historical process and the politics of memory involved in building replicas of the Parthenon through a set of nineteenth-century examples that illustrate crucial changes in the approaches to history. These processes are juxtaposed and compared with the restoration works on the original Parthenon itself. In doing so, it maintains that the aspects of historical consciousness that the reconstructions both relied upon and sought to manipulate should be seen through the lens of the uses of the past. Arguing against a simplistic notion of the replicas of Parthenon being simply manifestations of the nationalism and classicism of the day, it maintains that they should be seen as works of historical self-definition and the generation of meanings through historical identification.

An Analysis of the Planar Vault under the Choir Loft of the Monastery of El Escorial

Arches and vaults are typical elements of ancient buildings. They are formed by voussoirs that resist the pressure they receive and transmit them through compression forces. The transmission of these forces justifies their curved shape. For this reason, arches and vaults are omnipresent elements in ancient constructions, all of them masonry structures. However, when visitors enter the Basilica of the Monastery of El Escorial, they find a narthex with a flat or planar vault. This vault is located under the floor of the choir loft. Its geometric characteristics and its shape, with no curvature, make it an architectural anomaly and a brilliant solution within masonry structures. Therefore, this article tries to analyse the construction process and structural behaviour of this vault, to understand its operation and how it remains standing five hundred years after its construction.

Application of Femtosecond Laser Processing Method in the Sustainable Conservation of Stone Cultural Relics: An Example of Green Schist in Wudang Mountain, China

The ancient building complex in Wudang Mountain, China, is known as the “Museum of Ancient Chinese Architectural Accomplishments”. However, the valuable stone components are preserved in open or semi-open environments and environmental factors such as rain seriously threaten its sustainable conservation. In this context, a femtosecond laser processing method has been demonstrated to be able to prepare hierarchical micro-nano structures on the stone surface to regulate its wettability, achieving the purpose of sustainable conservation. In this paper, the processing mechanism and performance of the femtosecond laser on green schist, a local stone material in the Wudang Mountain, are systematically investigated. It is found that green schist, as a typical non-homogeneous material, exhibits significant differences in its absorption of femtosecond laser with different compositions. Among them, quartz, chlorite, and muscovite are the three main compositions, and they are mainly characterized by cold ablation, thermal melting, and expansion under the irradiation of the femtosecond laser (238 fs, 100 kHz, 40 μJ, 33 μm, 500–40,000 pulses), respectively, and it is difficult to achieve a uniform and stable surface structure. Based on this, we prepared grooves with a spacing of 100–400 μm by scanning the femtosecond laser. Through the characterization of surface morphology, elemental composition, and three-dimensional structure, the processing mechanism of the hierarchical micro-nano structures of green schist under the irradiation of the femtosecond laser is comprehensively revealed. Finally, the wettability modulation result of water contact angle up to 147° is achieved by processing the grooves with an optimal spacing of 400 μm. The results of this research are of guiding significance for the sustainable conservation of ancient buildings and cultural relics.

Study of the Roman theatre of Volterra: Acoustic effects based on the presence of different architectural construction elements

Roman theatres have always been the subject of research studies, from an architectural perspective and archaeology. The border lines between these and other disciplines is always difficult to be established since the interrelation of various expertise is required to achieve a complete knowledge of ancient buildings, especially when documentations and archaeological sources are limited. The present work deals with the acoustic analysis of the Roman theatre of Volterra, located in northern Italy, which has already been the subject of archaeological and architectural studies since its discovery in 1950. Acoustic measurements have been carried out in line with the standard requirements outlined in ISO 3382. After model calibration, the acoustic simulations have been carried out using four specific scenarios, highlighting the contribution that different construction elements can have on the acoustic response of this open-air theatre in comparison with the existing conditions. The results were evaluated assuming that light music (classical quartets, unamplified) and prose are the main functions of the space, as this case was in the past. The simulated results show that the values for the main acoustic parameters are better than the measured values, to be closer to the optimal ranges of the criteria borrowed from studies on enclosed spaces, since there are no criteria for Roman theatres. The good acoustic response of the Roman theatre of Volterra raises new doubts about the function of the vessels that were located under the steps of the cavea, as mentioned by Vitruvius.

Ancient residential Buildings in the northern Jordanian Badia, an archaeological and architectural study

This research deals with the archaeological architectural remains of house buildings in the northern Jordanian Badia region. It aims to identify them in terms of their designs, patterns, building materials and architectural elements. The area includes a number of archaeological sites such as Umm el-Jimal, Umm al-Surab, Sama al-Sarhan, Subha and Subhiya, al-Dafiyanah, Umm al-Quttain and other archaeological sites. The researchers used the historical descriptive analytical approach. The main results of the research were the following: --The house designs in the Northern Jordanian Badia were similar to those in the Horan area. --The houses had various shapes and sizes and, though similar to the other houses in its general features, each house had its distinct design. --The architectural type of the houses has the same features as those of the Islamic amd Byzantine architecture. Keywords: Northern Jordanian Badia, ancient residential buildings, architectural elements, archaeological architecture.