Conservation Of Heritage Buildings Research Articles

Exploratory study: Conservation practices and the role of architect

Conservation practices are comprehensive and multidisciplinary, both in substance and process. Based on a review of 30 randomly selected conservation writings, the papers review revealed that 3% of the articles discussed the development of heritage buildings conservation, 23% of them described the roles of stakeholders related to conservation practices, 13% discussed scientific or multidisciplinary in conservation practices, 54% explained several techniques in conservation practice, and 7% identified several challenges and obstacles in conservation. The previous research result indicated that specific research on architects’ role in conservation practices was still lacking, while this is partly useful for formulating conservation education programs. This paper aims to present the results of exploratory research on the role of architects in preparing, planning, and implementing conservation. The research used a qualitative-exploratory approach through precedent studies and in-depth interviews with conservation practitioner architects. The information units were inductively classified into themes and formulated into conceptual models. The research found that architects’ roles in conservation practices were flexible, either as the main actor (leader) or as a technical assistant involved in parts or all stages of activities: recording and documenting, analysis, decision making, and drawing work.

Cultural ecology of heritage building adaptation in tropical cities

The colonization left some buildings which still used by the cities until now. Rapid urbanization puts pressure on the sustainability of heritage buildings. Heritage buildings have not only historical-cultural values but also reflect the relationship between the building and its location or occupants. This article aims to identify the cultural ecology concept in the form of heritage building adaptation in tropical cities, as a part of heritage building conservation efforts. This research conducted a literature review method to specify the concept of cultural ecology and to find tropical cities’ characteristics related to environmental aspects that affect the form of building adaptation. The results show that climate elements, topography, and vegetation conditions are important characteristics that affect the heritage building adaptation in tropical cities. The adaptation efforts that have been carried out on heritage buildings are the existence of additional elements in buildings that function to overcome the adverse effects environment conditions. The existence of heritage buildings for long periods is evidence that adaptation is an essential point in protecting and preserving heritage buildings. Building adaptation in the cultural ecology concept provides opportunities for heritage buildings to survive in a dynamic environmental condition and increasingly varied human needs.

Fuzzy systems in the digital management of heritage timber buildings in South Chile

ABSTRACT In the protection of heritage buildings, computational models are an innovative technology for the implementation of effective preservation strategies. These models can manage both data obtained from the buildings and data from the knowledge base of professional experts. The preventive conservation of heritage buildings requires cooperative efforts, where the professional experts’ opinions are paramount, to analyse multidisciplinary knowledge. In this respect, the incorporation of new protocols, which can help decision makers prioritize interventions and avoid restoration actions that are unnecessarily invasive or might cause irreparable loss of the properties, is urgently needed. The aim of this study is to establish a new approach concerning a digital management system that is based on artificial intelligence (fuzzy logic). Application of the model reveals that the sample (42 buildings) was classified into two vulnerability conditions: (i) medium-level affections and (ii) high-level vulnerability affections. The results obtained in this study will be useful to stakeholders who are responsible for the maintenance of heritage buildings, since this methodology allows reducing their probability of failure. This new digital management tool will help in the establishment of possible mitigation strategies that are focused on preventive future maintenance programmes of a set of heritage buildings in South Chile.

Technology measuring buildings’ quality for cultural heritage palaces in Cirebon, Indonesia

Kanoman Palace and Kacirebonan Palace located in Cirebon, Indonesia still show their existence until today. The form of the existence is shown through the appearance of the palace building, the king, and all the activities. Although both palaces are similarly a palace space, but there are some differences on the quality of the buildings. The differences are considered as the initial stage of cultural heritage building conservation. Palace or keraton is an initial formation of a city space. The structure of the palace space shows the development of civilization and culture that is served as a knowledge. The aim of this study is to describe the quality of the material and the building of Kanoman Palace and Kacirebonan Palace. The approach method used is a comparative technique for the two palace buildings by collecting reference of conservation technology on materials in the building of cultural heritage that can be applied to the buildings of the palace. Furthermore, the quality of buildings is obtained from the results of fieldwork and research reports conducted previously. The results of this study can be found to take technological steps in the conservation of cultural heritage buildings in the Kanoman Palace and Kacirebonan Palace. The implication for the local government of the city of Cirebon is to help making strategic policies in the procurement of conservation technology for the palace buildings.

Up-To-Date Challenges for the Conservation, Rehabilitation and Energy Retrofitting of Higher Education Cultural Heritage Buildings

In higher-education world heritage sites, the conservation and energy retrofitting of heritage buildings (HBs) is an important vector for their development, competitiveness and welfare. To guarantee their ongoing use, these buildings must be adapted to face current and emerging societal challenges: (i) the conservation of cultural heritage and the maintenance of their original characteristics and identity; (ii) the transformation of heritage sites into tourist centers that energize the local economy, generating revenue and jobs; (iii) the adaptation of the buildings to new uses and functions that demand energy retrofitting strategies to satisfy today’s standards of thermal comfort, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and energy efficiency; (iv) tackling impacts of climate change, particularly global warming and extreme weather events; and finally, (v) the implementation of strategies to mitigate the impact of a growing number of tourists. The combined implications of these challenges require a comprehensive approach with interrelated measures strongly reliant on the use of technology and innovation. This work aims to discuss how higher-education cultural HBs can be rethought to serve these expectations. Moreover, a multidisciplinary intervention framework is provided to discuss how HBs can respond to the challenges and risks of rehabilitation, energy retrofitting, climate change and increasing tourism.

Conservation Approach as an Architectural Instrument to reviving Historical Cities; technical analysis for multi international cases

The conservation of historical and heritage buildings depends on its ability to meet the immediate and future requirements of society, maintains the balance of system shape and values within the urban landscape and its ability to succeed economically and environmentally through the building and functional works. The research aims to uncover contemporary modern procedures and techniques to conserve historical buildings that would define historic city centres. A descriptive and analytical approach was adopted, which included building a cybernetic theoretical framework about historical buildings, extracting the most important variables and indicators for each individual and comparing these variables with selected examples from the United Kingdom, the United States and Iraq. It is recommended to take advantage of important international experiences and studies to increase awareness and understanding of the correct methods of dealing with and conserving historical buildings. That includes cooperation with international organizations in providing international expertise to identify the best means of rehabilitation in accordance with nature, quality and style of our heritage buildings in particular, and heritage of architectural centre in traditional urban centres in general.

Scan-to-HBIM for conservation and preservation of Cultural Heritage building: the case study of San Nicola in Montedoro church (Italy)

AbstractThe management of Cultural Heritage (CH) requires increasingly efficient, simple and shareable tools, methods and knowledge. In this environment, a suitable procedure was developed to transform the point cloud, generated by geomatics surveys, into parameterized objects. In order to obtain an object with precise geometric and physical characteristics, a three-dimensional modelling software (Rhinoceros) was used. This software, using the tools and specific plugins, has allowed the parameterization of objects. In particular, the use of the Grasshopper plugin allowed a two-way transformation of the objects between the modelling software and the BIM software (Revit). As a result, any changes to the model made in Rhinoceros were automatically made in Revit and vice versa. The paper shows the potentiality, simplicity and efficiency of the developed method in order to perform the scan-to-HBIM process. This approach was applied to a religious building, located in Italy, belonging to the Cultural Heritage.

Non-destructive testing and Finite Element Method integrated procedure for heritage diagnosis: The Seville Cathedral case study

One of the major problems faced by historic cities today involves the conservation of heritage buildings. Damage suffered by these buildings can be irreversible and fast-acting, leading to their disappearance over a short period. The study and analysis of the origin of the damage suffered by these buildings have proved themselves to be key to their conservation. Non-destructive testing (NDT) can detect problems indiscernible to the naked eye, thereby preventing potential losses. In this paper, a non-invasive method for the diagnosis of building structures integrated with the Finite Element Method (FEM) was applied to the Tabernacle Chapel; a building included in the northwest wing of the Cathedral of Seville complex. Despite the many interventions carried out to date, the issue of the chapel's deterioration has yet to be entirely solved. This research describes the results of a detailed constructive and structural diagnosis methodology for heritage buildings. The data provided from NDT methods, such as Digital Image Processing (DIP), Infrared Thermography (IRT), Laser Levelling (LL), Ambient Vibration Testing (AVT), and Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), has been verified and integrated as boundary conditions in a 3D Finite Element Method (FEM) in order to establish the critical points of the structure, including the failure mechanisms. The results led to the conclusion that the main causes of deterioration involved the settling of the grandstand built in the northwest sector of the building and the effects of the thrusts of the dome on the lateral façades. An integrated implementation methodology of NDT and FEM has enabled accurate knowledge to be ascertained of the principal damage affecting this heritage building.

Effects of Dissipative Systems on the Seismic Behavior of Irregular Buildings—Two Case Studies

Conservation of heritage buildings has become a very important issue in many countries, as it is in Italy, where a great number of existing buildings of historical–artistic importance are seismically vulnerable. To improve existing building behavior, researchers focus on the design of retrofit interventions. This paper presents the application of energy dissipation devices in the retrofit of two existing Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings, both irregular in plan and along their heights, designed for gravitational loads only. These buildings are representative of Italian public housing built in the 1960s and early 1970s. Technical information and mechanical properties of materials are presented, and non-linear analyses are carried out to evaluate the buildings’ behavior under earthquake loads. Many of their structural members do not satisfy the verifications required by the Italian Building Code. Retrofit interventions with buckling-restrained axial dampers in one building and viscous fluid dampers in the other are proposed. The verifications of the retrofitted buildings and the amount of the energy absorbed by the devices with respect to that absorbed by the unretrofitted buildings show the effectiveness of the proposed interventions. Moreover, it is demonstrated that adequate dispositions of the dissipative devices in plan and along the height increase the torsional stiffness of the buildings, improving their structural response under seismic action.

Review on structural health monitoring for restoration of heritage buildings

This study to an enormous number of heritage structures around the world. Hence, the safety of structures will be decreased due to aggressive environmental conditions and vulnerable actives. So, we can maintain and conservation of heritage buildings. The Non-destructive testing (NDT) can be used for architectural archaeology, structural stability analysis, materials characterization, durability, and we observed that structural health monitoring with the help of combined wired and wireless sensors are power and time-consuming and costly, and it needs to be replaced by the more efficient system to be used in engineering application, using different routines and the research work done by collecting data and application of the long term and short term structural health monitoring system on structures using linear and nonlinear method of Non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques.

SCAN-TO-BIM FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF HERITAGE BUILDINGS: THE CASE STUDY OF THE CASTLE OF MAREDOLCE (PALERMO, ITALY)

Abstract. Conservation and preservation of heritage buildings require the knowledge and sharing of a great deal of data and information about buildings. Such information comes from the different disciplines involved in the restoration and maintenance processes. The integration and use of all this information in a single working environment is a key factor for the success of historical building conservation and management projects. Heritage (or Historic) Building Information Modelling (HBIM) is nowadays the most appropriate tool to collect and manage all data related to Architectural Heritage. The HBIM process requires an in-depth knowledge of the historical building that can be achieved using a detailed 3D survey and adequate parametric modelling. For this reason, the Scan-to-BIM approach, which involves creating the BIM model from a laser scanner survey, is widely used. The work focuses on the application of the Scan-to-BIM process to a historical/archaeological building in Palermo (Italy), the Castle of Maredolce. The work aims to obtain an HBIM of the building but the paper deals also with the survey issues and the modelling challenges, focusing on the different modelling approach between parametric and not-parametric architectural elements. The most difficult challenge of the modelling step was to obtain parametric objects of the complex geometries of the historical building. The work has allowed achieving the HBIM of the Castle of Maredolce and has highlighted some issues and advantages of the Scan-to-BIM approach.

LIGHTWEIGHT COATING MORTARS FOR BUILDINGS RESTORATION

In this paper, crushed lava-based aggregate was used in mortar mix composition as a full silica sand substitution to improve thermal properties of mortar fulfilling also other physical, mechanical and technical requirements. As a binder, natural hydraulic lime was used. Workability of fresh mortar mixes was characterized by spread diameter. The casted samples were matured for 28 days in a high relative humidity to avoid cracking. For the hardened samples, structural, mechanical, and hygric properties were tested. Thermo-physical properties of the developed mortars were measured as function of moisture content, from the dry to fully water saturated state. The application of lava-based aggregate led to the mortar’s increased porosity, improved mechanical strength, lower water absorption, and significantly better thermal performance compared to the control materials with silica aggregate. The newly developed lightweight mortar met the technical, compatibility and functional criteria on rendering mortar and was found well usable for conservation and restoration of historical and heritage masonry and buildings.

From hospital to hotel – urban heritage, adaptive reuse and sustainable tourism: the case of the S. Marcos Hospital in Braga, Portugal

Built heritage has been analysed concerning sustainable tourism, particularly regarding management and conservation as monuments in face of tourism massification. However, historic buildings can have other functions and be relevant for tourism, as adaptation practices since the mid-20 th century confirm. This paper addresses the issue of sustainable tourism in relation to adaptive reuse of built heritage through a case study that illustrates urban evolution and involvement with distinct stakeholders. It regards the adaptations of the former S. Marcos Hospital, in Braga, in the north of Portugal, since its origins in the 16 th century and throughout history, focusing on the recent transformation into a hotel. The hospital underwent a major reform in the 18 th century. In the 1960s, during the Estado Novo dictatorship, it was enlarged with a modern accoupled pavilion. These facilities functioned as the city’s main hospital until the opening of a new hospital in 2011, leading to dereliction of the historical building. Recently, part of the old S. Marcos Hospital was renovated as a 4-star hotel by Vila Gale , supported by European community funds. The restoration project enhanced the historical building, adapting it to present-day requirements and considering future sustainability. The section from the 20 th century is currently being refurbished as a hospital unit. Pondering an interdisciplinary approach to this subject, the research draws on conservation and management theories of heritage buildings and contemplates its significance for the discipline of Human Geography. The analysis regards the adaptation of a historical building that held particular healthcare functions and observes its “new life”, evaluating this practice in relation to official policies, within the scope of sustainable tourism, as well as addressing the phenomenon of Medical Tourism.

Web-GIS approach to preventive conservation of heritage buildings

The effective implementation of preventive conservation approaches demands the employment of standardized and robust tools able to integrate the data coming from multiple sources, inspection and diagnosis techniques, as well as to ensure the proper information transfer between expert and non-expert users. Aiming to make a step forward in the state of the art of current conservation approaches, a cutting edge Web-GIS technology resorting to the intuitiveness of 360° panoramas and 3D point clouds in combination with the Internet of Things is presented in this work, demonstrating how physical and digital worlds can be linked for proper documentation and management of cultural heritage. To validate such a pioneering approach, one of the most representative and complex heritage buildings of Spain is used as a case study: the General Historical Library of Salamanca.

Heritage Buildings Conservation in the Light of Sustainable Built Environment: A Case Study of Few Selected Projects in Samarkand City

Samarkand, mostly known as crossroads of Cultures City has a remarkable history, Heritage buildings (HBs) with sites attracting tourists. Such HBs have undergone conservation and restoration processes due to centuries of neglect. The conservation status of a building and its durability over time relates to the components that make up the building. This paper examine the applicability of various conservation processes, approaches and or strategies employed in some selected HBs of Samarkand City in conformity with Sustainable Built Environment. The research was basically cantered on reviewed sources and materials ranging from academic journals, conference proceedings, textbooks, newspapers, photo and historical archives of conservation projects with more emphasis on Samarkand heritages. These highlights the way to understanding conservation processes, approaches and or strategies known as 10Rs employed in the selected HBs of Samarkand City. The Conservation improves the sense of magnificence, attractiveness, beautification and the awesomeness of the historical and HBs of Samarkand city in Uzbekistan.

X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analysis in Masonry Heritage Building Conservation in Malaysia

There are many historical masonry heritage buildings in Malaysia which built during the British colonial period. Most of the masonry heritage buildings were dilapidated due to high dampness, salt contamination and other factors. The damaged original lime plaster or mortar require replacement to safeguard the masonry heritage building. According to the Guidelines on Heritage Building Conservation Malaysia (2017), the authenticity of the heritage building including the building materials should be conserved (p.70). Masonry is referred to the art and building of structures built from individual units such as brick, stone, concrete block, glass block and other unit masonry (Masonry, n.d.). However, the quality and durability of the masonry structure is depending on the materials used, the composition and quality of the mortar, the workmanship, and the construction or assembly pattern of the masonry structure. Hence, it is crucial to analyse the composition of the materials used in masonry heritage building conservation. This paper discusses the literature reviews and research on x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis conducted in masonry heritage building conservation projects in Malaysia. The data was collected from several literature reviews and documentation such as final conservation report and scientific test report of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis conducted in masonry heritage building conservation projects in Malaysia. The data was compiled and analysed to reveal the process of conducting x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis and interpret the analysis result for practical use in masonry heritage building conservation in Malaysia. This research findings outline the basic procedure in interpreting the result of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis for heritage conservation project. Furthermore, the basic procedure shall act as a reference and technical guidance for future heritage building conservation projects.

The impact of architectural conservation policies on the continuance of heritage buildings - Study of conservation in Sulaymaniyah governorate

The issue of conservation of heritage occupies an advanced place in the context of issues of general concern to the nations of the world because it is a clear indicator of the progress of civilizations, from which subsequent generations derive their culture and their architectural identity. This paper is important in terms of philosophical, cultural, economic, and educational and sustainability aspects.The main problem in the research is the deterioration of the architectural character of the Kurdish heritage in Sulaymaniyah, especially in recent decades. The objective of the research is to evaluate and find the best solutions to the policy of preserving valuable heritage buildings and improving their ability to preserve the architectural identity of the city.The research focuses on the study of the efficiency of the architectural conservation of the old heritage buildings that underwent the process of conservation and rehabilitation, the failure of the architectural conservation and neglect policies by the authorities has resulted in the removal of the architectural values and the loss of the architectural identity of the city, which led to deterioration and distortion of the architectural character of the Kurdish heritage. The research takes an analytical approach and historical survey to contribute the prevention, deformation, and degradation of heritage buildings. The selected heritage buildings are examples of the restored architectural heritage in Sulaymaniyah Governorate. The research was based on analysis of old documents, photographs, detailed indicators of heritage buildings and surveying of buildings with surrounding areas, as well as the creation of a table to evaluate the conservation policy and analyze the impact of preserving the architectural characteristics of these buildings. The research concludes with a set of recommendations that can help improve the efficiency of architectural conservation and preserve the original heritage elements of the Kurdish community and increase community awareness regarding the importance of preserving this valuable heritage that left from ancestors to remain etched in generations’ memories. The research was able to reach to the results through the analysis of the main and secondary indicators, which are considered as tools of evaluating the conservation process in Sulaymaniyah or anywhere in the world, for protecting the architectural identity and its original characteristic.

Evaluating the Performance of Daylighting Inside Interior Spaces of Historic and Ancient Buildings for Identifying Strategies of Designing Facade Openings of Future Buildings

This paper aims to evaluate the performance daylighting, using a validated simulation tool, during the day time based on reading the daylight factor of a specific room, oriented south, in three of the most distinguished buildings in AL Baha region namely, Thee Ain village, Bin Rogosh Palace and Al Dhafeer Village. Each room has been adopted sampling points along the center of the window above a working plane to predict the daylight factor. The average daylight factor of the points was evaluated versus the required daylight factor for the interior space living room, 1%, and an office space, 2%. The conservation of heritage and historic buildings can proceed beyond the its objective and progress to insight designer and engineers to reflect their values on the future and modern structures. Discussing façade criteria of these buildings can have a great effect in formalizing the identity and codes when achieving acceptable visual levels from proper daylighting performance from the aspects of space activities, weather conditions and openings sizing and specifications. The assessment revealed that for a given future building of Al Baha region, the identification of its daylight criteria must be obtained from optimization of the interior space for an average room area of 20m2 and starting WWR 3.5% with an interval of 0.4% for consecutive iterations until the space is well-lit with an acceptable level for its occupants. Due to the lack of obtaining past weather profile that can be concomitant with these structures, a most updated weather profile has been applied and revealed informative results for contemporary buildings. Thus, comfortable indoor environment can be maintained. This paper fulfils a strategy need to study how brand-supportive behavior can be enabled.

A case study of facilities management for heritage building revitalisation

PurposeHeritage building revitalisation (HBR) is gaining its popularity to intervene historic buildings/sites for their conservation and reuse. Given that multiple stake-holding situations are often involved in HBR process, coordination or managerial problem may hinder versatile facilities design for operational efficiency while preserving the heritage values. To address the coordination challenge, this paper aims to examine the relevance and relative advantages of a FM-led revitalisation strategy for HBR, which the existing literature has not yet addressed.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts a case study approach to a major HBR project in Hong Kong. This study conducted field observations and interviews, which were combined with publicly accessible policy and project information to identify stakeholders’ opinions and specifications for the role of facilities management (FM) in HBR project process.FindingsThe paper reveals the role of FM in coordinating the HBR process for the benefits of stakeholders and general community. FM allows a balanced approach to heritage building adaptation, sound user experience and broader community effects. This enables efficient decision-making, creative facilities design and effective public engagement. FM’s strength of fitting in the urban renewal context illustrates its comparative advantage for heritage conservation and revitalisation management.Research limitations/implicationsThis study develops a conceptual map to identify FM’s role in heritage building conservation and revitalisation. This will enhance process evaluation and project decision-making that are central to heritage conservation policy and HBR intervention practices.Originality/valueThis study examines relevance and advantage of FM-led business strategy for HBR, which the existing literature has not yet addressed. It discovers FM’s strategic roles and initiates a conceptual framework for evaluation of heritage conservation management.

FROM POINT CLOUD TO EXISTING BIM FOR MODELLING AND SIMULATION PURPOSES

Abstract. Many BIM experts agree that employing BIM for new construction is an easy task. However, applying BIM to existing construction will be difficult but is more suitable for heritage buildings cases. These heritage buildings have unique façades and architectural vocabulary, which are of special interest. Furthermore, studying these architecture heritages require some advanced tools in order to understand and analyse their structure, components, and design. Relying only on traditional methods is not adequate, especially for architectural engineers and experts who need digital representations of architectural heritage in order to draw a complete image of any aspect of the project. Moreover, lots of these heritage architectural elements are not documented or provided in the digital architectural libraries, which in turn requires advanced and easy access methods and tools that can extract basic information professionally and explain the essence of heritage. BIM has emerged as an efficient solution that could possibly help in analysing architectural heritage through effective learning processes. Existing BIM is characterised by their ability to create and operate within a digital database of any existing by 3-D laser through scanning the building and transforming it into point-cloud as digital data, so that engineers and experts can work on existing and buildings via the BIM software. As with many heritage buildings in the world, many of the heritage buildings in the Historic district of Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia, face serious issues in terms of conservation, restoration, documentation, managing, recording, and monitoring of these valuable heritage buildings. Therefore, this paper will examine and evaluate the use of BIM in modelling and for simulation purposes, (e.g. structure and energy simulation) with regard to one of the existing heritage buildings in the Historic district of Jeddah.