Conservation Of Architectural Heritage Research Articles

Three-dimensional deformation monitoring and simulations for the preventive conservation of architectural heritage: a case study of the Angkor Wat Temple, Cambodia

ABSTRACT Architectural heritage has important historical, artistic, and technological value. However, these sites are subject to long-term degradation and are sensitive to disturbances from the surrounding landscape, resulting in the potential deterioration of the architecture. Deformation is a quantitative indicator of the vulnerability of architectural heritage. The extraction of three-dimensional (3D) deformation via existing geodetic approaches, such as global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), proves to be a challenging task. In this study, we proposed an adaptable methodology for the preventive monitoring of architectural heritage by integrating differential SAR tomography (D-TomoSAR) and a finite element method (FEM) to overcome the limitations of current geodetic approaches in cultural applications (i.e., sparse measurements in space; time- and labor-intensive). The Angkor Wat Temple, a well-known monument at the Angkor World Heritage site, Cambodia, was selected as the investigation target. We used D-TomoSAR to calculate the deformation, height, and thermal dilation of the structure using 46 TerraSAR-X images acquired during 2011–2013. InSAR deformation measurements were used as the constraint for the 3D deformation simulation and structural monitoring using an integrated approach to diagnose the soundness of the architectural structure. The experimental results demonstrate the following: 1) the integration of InSAR measurements prevented the underestimation of structural instabilities and linked the simplified physical model and mechanical parameters to the FEM simulation. 2) The Angkor Wat Temple appeared stable; however, structural instabilities were detected with an absolute deformation rate of up to 3 mm/yr. 3) Daily changes in thermal-related deformations caused by incoming frontal and posterior solar radiation-induced the bending of the architecture and the risk of structural defects. Our study reveals the defect mechanism of the Angkor Wat Temple and demonstrates the potential of the proposed method for the health diagnosis and preventive safeguarding of architectural heritages across the globe.

Evaluation of Refunctioning/Adaptive Reuse in terms of Cultural Tourism in the Conservation of Architectural Heritage: The Example of Diyarbakır Ferit Köşk (Mansion)

Evaluation of Refunctioning/Adaptive Reuse in terms of Cultural Tourism in the Conservation of Architectural Heritage: The Example of Diyarbakır Ferit Köşk (Mansion)

Research on the sustainable use of Zhenjiang’s industrial building heritage under the green concept

The industrial architectural heritage of Zhenjiang has unrepeatable technological and cultural art values. This paper fully understands and scientifically evaluates the characteristics and values of industrial architectural heritage, analyzes different sustainable utilization strategies for industrial architectural heritage under the guidance of green concept, and gives corresponding design and measures for conservation and utilization of industrial architectural heritage.

Evaluation of Authenticity in the Conservation and Development of the Jameh Mosque of Urmia

ABSTRACT Authenticity is a fundamental concept in the conservation of architectural and urban heritage. It has a very close relationship with cultural heritage values as well as being a conveyor of such values. This paper identifies the factors of recognition in relation to this concept by qualitative research methods and content analysis of international documents and theories. It also sets out the main research questions to be considered in relation to the concept of authenticity in the conservation and development of the Jameh Mosque complex in the city of Urmia, West Azerbaijan province, north-western Iran. Based on this premise, the paper evaluates the conservation and development of the Mosque at different periods, where the evaluation indicate that the measures of 1988 failed to consider the notion of authenticity. Then, establishing the correlation between the explanatory factors of authenticity and the actions taken in 1988 the impact of development is assessed by quantitative research methods. The result is that from the point of view of the specialists and the local people, socio-cultural factor has been neglected to a greater degree than other factors; so much so that the ‘socio-cultural’, ‘historical-evidential’ and ‘aesthetic’ values have been neglected in a downward trend. The findings are confirmed for both groups of local people and specialists.

The Degrees of Conservation of Architectural Heritage

The Degrees of Conservation of Architectural Heritage

Proposing the Sustainable Investigation Model (Physical-Semantic) of Iranian Architectural Heritage Conservation

Proposing the Sustainable Investigation Model (Physical-Semantic) of Iranian Architectural Heritage Conservation

Functional mortars for conservation of cultural heritage structures

Mortar aging and deterioration are serious problem for architectural heritage conservation. The solution might be sought in advanced functional materials which could provide repair and lasting surface protection from atmospheric pollution and microbiological corrosion. In recent years, extensive studies have been conducted on the use of bacteria with biocalcification potential for self-healing effect in cements materials, but only a few publications deal with self-healing capacity of historical lime-based mortars.The main focus of our research was development of new bio-activated self-healing system and its application in laboratory conditions. The objects of the work were historical mortar samples from medieval Bač Fortress in Serbia and laboratory prepared and aged mortar models. Aiming to achieve high compatibility, laboratory models were prepared based on our previous results of historical mortars characterization. The bio-activated self-healing agent was made as two-component liquid system using bacterial cells of Sporosarcina pasteurii DSM 33 and nutrients. The components of the models were hydraulic lime, milled limestone, river sand, and crashed brick as aggregates, and water. Comparative characterization of historic mortars and aged models was performed by mechanical and colorimetric testing as well as examination of mutual interaction and cohesion between old and new material.The next step was efficiency evaluation of the external bacteria-based repair healing method in/on the laboratory samples. The detailed study of the cracks of the historical samples and the prepared models, and the bacterial suspension diffusion assessment were done by comparison of the results obtained by different complementary imaging techniques (optical and scanning electron microscopy). The experiments were performed on both samples of old and new materials treated with and without bio-activated self-healing agent.The obtained results are promising and support the development of the external bio-activated self-healing method. This solution represents functional system which could allow historical mortars and modern structures to heal themselves in the long-term, preserving their functional and aesthetic properties.

Cultural and architectural heritage conservation and restoration: which colour?

AbstractColours play a crucial role in the field of architectural heritage. Colour analysis and colour rendition are involved in several critical facets of heritage preservation, conservation and restoration. These aspects are related to accurate documentation and an accurate representation of heritage artefacts and architectural works. The aim of this paper is to describe critical issues and open problems of the processes involved in this field. Documentation is performed in multiple ways, acquiring heterogeneous data ranging from archival images, photographs, drawings using various consumer or professional instruments (eg, digital cameras and spectrophotometers). The reliability of colour acquisition might be influenced by instrumental reasons (the technology used to acquire colour information), by environmental changes (architectural heritage surveys are often performed outdoors), by morphology (complex architectural objects are characterised by concavities and convexities which complicate the reflection evaluation), or by materials (showing different reflection, porosity and transparency indexes). Identification of materials, such as colorants, pigments and dyes, is also a vital process in the heritage field. Colour information could be used as an approach to the identification of materials, but these methods are still under development, and many issues need to be solved to achieve reliable results. Visualisation techniques of a heritage artefact also present the problem of the correctness of the colour representation. Several problems need to be faced in this context: the reliability of the acquisition, colour management of the rendering software, model complexity, and fragmentation of the devices upon which the model is visualised.

Adaptive reuse of heritage architecture and its external effects on sustainable built environment—Hedonic pricing model and case studies in Hong Kong

AbstractThe integration of the sustainable development perspective into the discussion of heritage conservation by UNESCO in 2015 represents an acknowledgement of the values of heritage conservation in the agenda of sustainable development. This paper aims to provide empirical evidence regarding how heritage conservation fits into the overall sustainable development in Hong Kong by examining the external effects generated by architectural heritage conservation onto their adjacent neighborhood. By two adaptive reuse heritage case studies with respective hedonic pricing analysis on their adjacent property prices, this paper presents the results of how residential property prices have been increased as a result of heritage adaptive reuse. The analysis suggests that an established heritage grading mechanism along with a socially inclusive conservation approach with community stakeholders not only maintains the authenticity of the cultural heritage, but also brings substantial social and economic benefits to the neighboring communities. The research findings add new knowledge to the studies on sustainable development and provide practical recommendations to policymakers, urban planners, and heritage conservationists in future heritage policy and implementation.

Italian perspective on the planned preventive conservation of architectural heritage

This paper tells us a complex story on the historic evolution of preventive conservation of architectural heritage in Italy. Firstly, it introduces Cesare Brandi's Theory of Restoration, pointing out the peculiar sense of the word Restoration in Brandi's system other than the common sense in the international discourse, the limits of Brandi's theory to architectural conservation and his prophecy on preventive restoration. Then it talks about the different framework and practices of preventive conservation in the field of built heritage compared to the museum sector, the milestone of Giovanni Urbani's pilot project on programmed conservation and the leading role of the Risk Map of Cultural Heritage. Finally, based on the discussions of the durable change in the architectural conservation field after the Venice Charter, including the teaching in Milan School, the debate and re-definition of architectural conservation and the advance definitions of conservation, prevention, maintenance and restoration in the 2004 National Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape, it gives us an agenda for future trends of planned conservation with aims to conserve the material authenticity and promote the co-evolutional strategy.

EARTHEN HERITAGE, CONSERVATION PRACTICES AND COMMODIFICATION IN A WORLD HERITAGE SITE (QUEBRADA DE HUMAHUACA, JUJUY, ARGENTINA)

Abstract. Contemporary reflections on the conception and conservation of architectural heritage have led to new perspectives on certain categories, such as authenticity, within a more dynamic understanding of social facts. Historically, local communities have rethought and transformed their architecture within the framework of becoming reality. This change is inherent in their condition of existence, and necessary to consider the multiplicity of institutionalized actors that raise agendas and actions that intersect in a complex way with the dynamics of World Heritage sites. This paper will analyze the implications of these processes through the study of earthen architecture in Quebrada de Humahuaca (Jujuy, Argentina). The site is at risk due to the exponential growth of tourism and the process of transformation in different dimensions of local realities. Transformations in vernacular architecture will be analyze considering three dimensions and intersections. On the one hand, changes in practices of local builders within their own dynamics; on the other, the conservation actions on the architecture that have formal declarations of protection; finally, commodification of vernacular architecture due to tourist activities. The approach of this paper will focus on technical aspects, within a conceptual framework as social facts, based on the survey and fieldwork carried out in recent years. This case study could act as a precedent for similar researches and would be useful for guidelines in global earthen heritage conservation projects.

BALANCING TRADITION AND DEVELOPMENT? EARLY TRIALS OF A METHODOLOGY FOR STUDYING VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE AND ITS TRANSFORMATIONS

Abstract. In the age of globalization, it becomes necessary to assess the possibilities for the conservation of the characteristic identity features of vernacular architectural heritage. The changes undergone in traditional dwellings appear to be on different scales in societies that are considered developed, and in those that are developing, while the idea of development itself can be the main precursor to change. A study underway aims to identify the nature of the transformations occurring both in traditional architecture and in the society that builds it through case studies and to determine the influence of the concept of “development” in these changes, spotting the potential role of cooperation in the conservation of vernacular architectural heritage and its capacity for sustainability. The analysis of the first case study, the village of Baasneere (Burkina Faso), has made it possible to implement a methodology based on the review of literature, quantitative and qualitative research techniques and the use of three types of cataloguing fiches on three aspects (urban, typological, constructive) of dwellings under study. Although it needs to be adapted to the specific characteristics of the new case studies, the methodology proposed has been proven valid in the study of vernacular settings and their transformations and is also expected to be of use in establishing comparisons between different contexts.

The semantic conservation of architectural heritage: the missing values

The conservation of the architectural heritage has enjoyed a long course of development over the recent decades. Conservation practice is based on the values offered by the architectural heritage resources for different individuals, groups, societies, and governments. Since there is no serious and comprehensive research on the semantic values, the present study was conducted to identify all the influential semantic values in the architectural conservation process and to determine the importance of each value based on the published literature. To this end, more than 100 scientific documents, statements, and charters were analyzed and then, 40 semantic values were identified. The snowball sampling method was used to select the papers. In this study, the qualitative content analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between the architectural heritage and conservation, and the quantitative content analysis was used to assess the relationship between the semantic values and conservation. According to the results of the content analysis, it can be concluded that the conservation of architectural heritage can be investigated and analyzed at three levels: people, experts, and governments, and the holistic conservation of the architectural heritage can be achieved only by the joint cooperation among all the three levels. Also, the results showed that the cultural value, economic value, historical value, and identity greatly influence the semantic conservation of the architectural heritage.

The Role of the National Construction Authority in the Conservation of Vernacular Architectural Heritage

Vernacular architecture is a malleable concept that encompasses structures produced by empirical/ experiential builders. It is sometimes referred to as indigenous, primitive, ethnic or even architecture without architects. Vernacular architectural heritage often found in rural areas and historic urban areas and villages represent a cultural heritage that has been handed down from one generation to the next. This heritage is under threat from modernising forces which cause deterioration in cultural and historical continuity. It is important to conserve this architecture and associated technologies for posterity. Both tangible and intangible heritage of vernacular architecture is threatened through blatant negligence, emergent and more profitable modes of construction, and lack of funds for minimum maintenance. To a large extent, this heritage is quickly deteriorating and disappearing into the hands of vandals and illegal traders due to the lack of appropriate conservation, sensitisation and training for the public and heritage professionals in the conservation of materials and practices. The paper explores the vernacular heritage in Kenya, the state of its conservation and the risks associated with its conservation. It is argued that since NCA is mandated inter alia to undertake research into any matter relating to the construction industry, it should complement the efforts of the National Museums of Kenya in the conservation of cultural heritage in so far as materials and building technologies are concerned. There is no clear legal framework for the conservation of vernacular architecture in place and it is often lumped together with other popular forms of architecture which have well-defined and documented historical trends. Emphasis has been on urban architecture in Kenya. The paper established that vernacular heritage has only been haphazardly conserved, with no clear management, documentation and preservation policies. The paper found that no resources are specifically set aside for the conservation of these heritages. The theoretical analysis concludes that vernacular architecture in Kenya has been neglected and exposed to deterioration. It also points out that the level of public sensitisation on the heritage is low and its conservation and management needs have been ignored. The study, therefore, recommends public sensitisation, preventive and interventive conservation and appropriate policies to save the heritage from imminent loss. It further suggests that detailed documentation of vernacular building materials and technology should be undertaken as a matter of urgency.

Application of 3D laser scanning technology for image data processing in the protection of ancient building sites through deep learning

To study the conservation of architectural heritage, computer algorithms are used to process the artificial field measurements and reference data maps. A 3D virtual model of traditional architecture is constructed for the direct learning and feature extraction from image data through deep learning. A set of tools and processes for pixel-level image processing labeling are proposed, and a label quality checking tool is written specially. Through the training method of transfer learning, the convergence speed and accuracy of the network are accelerated and improved. Based on the field data collection of the architectural heritage by a 3D laser scanner, the impacts of the number of stations, the number of targets, and the distance on the data scanning results are analyzed, thereby drawing the rules and principles of setting up the survey stations. While processing the point cloud data, for the redundant data and the rough difference points found in the original point cloud data, the program is written by the gross error elimination algorithm, which realizes the automatic elimination of the point cloud gross error data and provides a convenient method for data processing. The data collection, data processing, and model construction of architectural heritage are performed by the 3D laser scanner. The 3D models of traditional architecture with texture photos are obtained. The results show that through correlation error analysis and model evaluation, the requirements for the measurement of traditional architecture can be achieved. Therefore, the technology has a guiding significance for the conservation of traditional architecture, which proves that the 3D laser scanner has broad application prospects in the surveying and mapping of architectural heritage.

The innovation of accounting and certification of historic architectural monuments using BIM technology

Presented research shows Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology as a highly promising tool for architectural heritage conservation. Analyses of contemporary publications by BIM topic and HBIM (Historic Building Information Modeling), its specific division, are conducted. The usage of modern technology analysis for digitizing monuments along with the outdated ‘manual’ of accounting and passportization methods are executed, and a lack of automation of the above processes is observed. Additionally, the research reveals that during the operational period of historical objects, there was no method of fixing their architectural transformations. The necessity of automation of the abovementioned processes by the capabilities of the BIM technology is emphasized. Automation methods developed utilizing the BIM model properties as a relational database, are described. An example of the method implementation in architectural and construction software applications is given. The case uses the rules of filling in the state accounting card of Ukraine. Nonetheless, the automatic formation of a document like this by the standards of any country is underscored.

Cristina Mello and her role in the preservation of the historical buildings of Fiocruz at Manguinhos

Interview with the architect and professor Maria Cristina Fernandes de Mello, who, among other architectural heritage conservation and restoration activities, played an important role in the events that led to the creation of the Department of Historical Heritage at Casa de Oswaldo Cruz. A broader analysis of her professional trajectory could help draw links between theory and practice in the safeguarding of cultural assets in Brazil, especially in the 1980s.

Application of metareconstruction method as a means of marking traces of lost historical buildings

The article analyzes the well-known methods of conservation of architectural heritage. The international and Russian regulatory documents on the conservation of buildings are considered. The authors determine the approaches to development of ways to recreate lost historical monuments or their parts. A new method for preserving historical architectural objects is proposed. The method is based on the principle of repeated reproduction of the image of the building by marking the general contours of the lost shape with the restoration of the metaphysical properties of the object. The term “metareconstruction” is proposed to denote a new method for preserving historical objects within the existing urban environment. The method can be implemented for saving environmental objects. The main characteristic features of the method and its difference from other known methods are listed.

“A methodological assessment of the importance of physical values in architectural conservation using Shannon entropy method”

This paper investigates the typology of physical values in terms of architectural heritage conservation. In all scientific research on architectural heritage, one or more physical architectural values have been addressed as effective values in the conservation process. Considering the fact that architectural values play different roles in monuments, conservation measures are often prioritized based on the importance of values due to limitations and lack of sufficient resources. After identifying the values of the architectural heritage, relevant authorities and professionals can have an accurate understanding of what they want to lose or gain. This paper aims to identify all effective architectural values in the physical conservation process and to determine the importance of each value based on published literature. To find out the significance level of architectural values, this study implements the Shannon entropy weighting method, which is considered as part of a multiple decision-making process. The weight obtained by the entropy method indicates the amount of uncertainty in a continuous probability distribution. A total of 34 architectural values was identified by examining 188 papers. The snowball sampling method was used to select papers. As a conclusion, architectural values were classified based on Shannon weighting and their degrees of certainty on physical conservation. The highest and lowest certainty belonged to the values of building material and light, respectively, in the physical conservation.

Heritage risk index: A multi-criteria decision-making tool to prioritize municipal historic preservation projects

The current pressure on the built historical heritage requires a global evaluation to develop strategies for its preservation. A combined vision of the state of conservation of architectural heritage is essential to highlight the vulnerabilities of the structure from which harmonized measures can be proposed for its mitigation.This study proposes a multi-criteria analysis methodology that considers a qualitative and quantitative approach to organize the global conservation state of heritage buildings hierarchically. A global index can be determined on the basis of the generation of an interoperable data matrix by defining a set of indicators to assess different components of a building. This index describes the risk with respect to the stability, safety, and habitability of the building.This methodology aims to achieve the state of the building in an integral way by obtaining a simple and objective index that enables efficient comparison among different buildings. The application of this methodology to a historic area allows creating a hierarchical map of risk to stablish priorities for intervention and enable a sustainable and critical management and planning over the actions of maintenance, conservation, and restoration. In this way, a holistic vision of the complex reality of built heritage and the urban landscape is obtained to identify critical areas of priority intervention.