Construction Of Cultural Heritage Research Articles

Automated Surface Crack Detection in Historical Constructions with Various Materials Using Deep Learning-Based YOLO Network

ABSTRACT Cultural heritage (CH) constructions involve the use of diverse masonry materials. Under natural and human influences, masonry materials can undergo various types of damages, with crack damages being most prevalent. Developing a robust model using deep learning (DL) capable of detecting cracks in various CH materials is crucial. In this study, we compared the performance of the DL method You Only Look Once (YOLO) object detection network based on images in different masonry materials (stone, brick, cob, and tile) with that in a modern material (concrete). The dataset used in the study comprised 1213 bricks, 1116 concretes, 955 cobs, 882 stones, and 208 tile images. YOLOv5 architecture, transfer learning, and object detection models were utilized for detecting cracks and compare their performance in different materials. This study represents the first comparison of this kind using an original dataset. The DL model achieved mean average precision values of 94.4%, 93.9%, 92.7%, 87.2%, 83.4%, 81.6%, and 70.3% for concrete; concrete and cob, cob; stone; stone and brick; brick; and tile, respectively. The findings of this study indicate considerable potential for the widespread use of DL techniques in identifying cracks from images across various CH materials and assisting inspection professionals in damage surveys.

A critical-discursive investigation of smart heritage politics in China from macro-political, meso-institutional and micro-user perspectives

ABSTRACT The emerging concept of ‘smart’ in the field of cultural heritage in China is shaping new relationships between cultural representation, production, consumption and regulation. The study conducted an urban anthropological exploration of the transformation and construction of smart cultural heritage in Hangzhou, China in 2022–2023. Over 40 stakeholders were interviewed, including officials, heritage experts, museum curators and directors, technicians, and museum visitors. The paper explores the smart heritage politics in China from the macro-political, meso-institutional and micro-user perspectives. This study illustrates the role of smart cultural heritage as a ‘social technological imagination’ and highlights the existence of intercultural communication deficits and disparities between stakeholders. It reveals inconsistencies between the official Chinese technological narratives and the reality of the perceived impacts. The top-down proliferation of smart heritage discourses in China, driven by the authoritarian bureaucracy and leading-edge ICT companies, has overshadowed the voices and experiences of grassroots practitioners and users.

DunHuangStitch: Unsupervised Deep Image Stitching of Dunhuang Murals.

The digital construction of cultural heritage promotes communication and sharing of digital cultural resources across time and space. Digital storage serves as the foundation for the digital construction of cultural artifacts. In the digital storage of Dunhuang murals, image stitching plays a critical role in restoring the complete image of the cave murals. Traditional image stitching methods are constrained by the detection accuracy of feature points and are not fit for stitching low-texture murals. Despite deep learning-based image stitching methods, parallax misalignment and ghosting are still prevalent issues. For this reason, we perform the first Dunhuang mural stitching based on deep learning in this paper. This is in response to the need for digitizing and storing Dunhuang murals. Two mural stitching datasets are constructed, and we design a progressive regression image alignment network and a feature differential reconstruction soft-coded seam stitching network. We also introduce a soft-coded seam quality evaluation method. The algorithm presented in this paper achieves state-of-the-art alignment and stitching performance in the mural stitching task through unsupervised learning with a smaller number of model parameters, which provides technical support for the digitization and preservation of Dunhuang murals. The codes and models will be available at https://github.com/MmelodYy/DunHuangStitch.

Legal Certainty on Sanction of Regional Regulation of Bandung City No. 7 of 2018 on Cultural Heritage Management Regarding The Renovation of Cultural Heritage in Bandung City

Historical buildings that spread out all over Bandung City become silent witness of the city’s establishment until the present day. Some of them currently still last in the good shape and well-maintained, while the others fall apart by modernization. It is not infrequently happening that renovation of the old building becoming the new building done without neither license nor regulation. This research aims to analyze and understand the legal sanction related to renovation of historical building as a part of cultural heritage in Indonesia, specifically Bandung City, West Java. The purpose of this research is to engage all elements of society’s concern and involvement in cultural heritage preservation. The method of this research is library research as a research in literature or an activity to compile information relevant to topic or object of research and received from books, scientific paper, thesis, dissertation, encyclopedia, internet and other resources. The research shows the result that the consequence of a construction being established as cultural heritage is maintaining the values of history, culture, knowledge, religion, even architecture. People, especially in Indonesia worry about cultural heritage construction because the citizen minds that the construction cannot be modified, tumbled down or hard to sell.

Fragility Curves for Historical Structures with Degradation Factors Obtained from 3D Photogrammetry

The influence of the effects of the degradation of materials on the seismic fragility of Cultural Heritage buildings in Granada (Spain) is investigated. The degradation of the material, which mainly happens at the lower levels of the façades, is obtained by using 3D photogrammetry data. Fragility curves for three cultural heritage constructions in Granada are calculated by using FE nonlinear dynamic analyses for both non-deteriorated and deteriorated geometries. The Finite Elements (FE) models, based on the macro-modelling technique, are subjected to ground motions for the city of Granada, which were selected by considering Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) methodology with their probability of occurrence. The response of each model is analyzed for different seismic Intensity Measure (IM) levels, which, in this study, correspond to average pseudo-acceleration. The procedure is applied to three monuments in Granada that were built with two different constructions materials: calcarenite and rammed earth. The damage mechanisms considered are roof displacement or maximum compressive principal stress, depending on each case. The results show that the restoration works that have been carried out has prevented structural failures in the rammed earth construction studied, and that, during future seismic events, special attention must be paid to the level of compressive strengh reached in the Santa Pudia calcarenite used at the San Jerónimo monastery.

Spatial Structure and Corridor Construction of Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Case Study of the Ming Great Wall

Exploring the spatial structure of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and constructing heritage corridors are conducive to the adaptive reuse of heritage and the improvement of the surviving environment, which is of great significance to the living inheritance of ICH. Guided by the concept of the heritage corridor, this study took the ICH along the Ming Great Wall as the research object. Kernel density estimation and a standard deviation ellipse analysis were used to explore the spatial structure and then combined with a suitability analysis of heritage corridors to further explore the spatial locations of corridors. A multifactor spatial superposition was carried out with the minimal cumulative resistance (MCR) method. The resistance factors, including land use type, elevation, slope, road system, river system, and the heritage corridors, were constructed. The results show that: (1) ICH along the Ming Great Wall forms a spatial pattern of “three cores and one belt”. The high-density core areas exist in Beijing and Liaoning, and the secondary core areas exist in northern Ningxia and southwestern Inner Mongolia. This results from the joint action of the natural, economic, and social environment. (2) On the whole, all kinds of ICH are distributed from southwest to northeast, among which folk art is particularly obvious. (3) The distribution trend of suitability is “high in the east and low in the west”. The high-suitability areas are mainly concentrated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Liaoning regions, while the low-suitability areas are concentrated in Gansu, Ningxia, and northern Inner Mongolia. Finally, this study discusses the appropriate development mode of the heritage corridors of the Ming Great Wall from the macrolevel to the mesolevel.

Construction of Heritage Digital Resource Platform Based on Digital Twin Technology

In order to preserve and inherit material cultural heritage, the author proposes a method for digital construction of the Great Wall’s cultural heritage based on digital twin. This method discusses the connotation of the whole life cycle of the Great Wall digital twin, proposes the research path and content of the digital twin construction of the Great Wall cultural heritage, and conducts the application of the Great Wall digital twin to evaluate the application effect. The evaluation results show that users’ overall satisfaction with Great Wall’s digital twin application is relatively high, and the average score of each indicator is above 4, and the functional experience is slightly poor. Conclusion. This method can provide full life cycle visualization services for the digital archiving, application, and decision-making of the Great Wall cultural heritage and provide theoretical and methodological references for the preservation and inheritance of material cultural heritage.

A Technical Tool for Urban Upgrading: An Application for Cultural Heritage Preservation and Planning for Affordable Housing

A technical tool to support projects for urban reforms and the implementation of current land policies is presented together with an example for its application in a project concerning the preservation of privately-owned residential buildings listed as “protected” cultural heritage (CH) constructions, urban planning and planning for affordable housing provision. The projects should be based on the voluntary participation of current property owners and an agreement signed between them and the private developer (team of professionals), so that the project will be self-financed through value capture measures to be decided by the state. The application presented here is based on the assumption that the state, by example, has set the rules for an increase in FAR in order to apply affordable housing policy and the preservation of listed CH residential private constructions. The state also provides the rules for identifying the target group of beneficiaries for affordable housing. Current property owners contribute the land, while the developer’s team undertakes all project costs. New property units are shared accordingly with the developer, the current owners and the beneficiaries for affordable housing. No additional public funds for the “affordable housing” units or for expropriation of the protected CH buildings is required.

The Database Construction of Intangible Cultural Heritage Based on Artificial Intelligence

At present, the protection of material cultural heritage is spread all over the world, but the protection of intangible cultural heritage is relatively backward. With the development of information technology, database technology provides a new retrieval method. Therefore, based on database technology, this paper constructs the database system of intangible cultural heritage, where MySQL is used as the system database, Struts 2 framework is selected in MVC to realize the separation of business logic and data display, and retrieval and query are realized through Lucene. In addition, the system takes Mongolian stringed instruments as the carrier, constructs the metadata framework, and forms the database structure. Moreover, the system is divided into six functional modules and the front and back functions of the system are managed. Finally, the system function test and performance test are carried out. The test results show that the system has good functionality, which is helpful to realize the effective protection of intangible cultural heritage.

Application of VR Technology Based on Actual Projects in the Protection of Local Historical Sites

Under the guidance of the existing design framework and norms for the protection as well as construction of historical and cultural relics, the feasibility of the application of VR technologies in the construction of historical and cultural relics is explored in this paper, relying on the protection and reconstruction project of the sacrificial space for the Li Clan of Shanggang Tujia Nationality in Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, Chongqing. While perfecting predecessors' application theory of VR in cultural heritage construction, a relatively complete design system for the construction of local historical sites with the participation of VR is formed, and public participation is increased to improve the recognition of heritage protection in China. At the same time, the project plays a positive role in inheriting Tujia traditional culture and increasing cultural identity.

Сохранение объектов культурного наследия на примере фортов Кронштадта

Kronshtadt forts are the unique fortifications, which make it possible to visually trace the interdependence of the development of defensive structures, artillery and architecture, technology and military equipment on the more than two hundred years period on the example of naval fortress, never gave up to the enemy. Monuments are important from the point of view of science and technology history, military affairs, having the potential for moral and patriotic education, civiс and regional identity. Their uniqueness and importance for the world community is emphasized by the inclusion in the list of World Heritage of UNESCO as the component of the nomination «The historical center of St. Petersburg and related groups of monuments». However, despite the federal status of protection, cultural heritage sites are destroyed under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors. It is important to preserve the fortifications of the Kronstadt fortress for future generations not in the form of ruins, but by adapting them to the modern use. As the objects of immovable cultural heritage constructions and places can be used to perform new functions, gaining a second life. Adaptation and museumification of fortifications have the potential of economical and sociocultural development of Kronshtadt and region. Directions and forms of adaptation to the modern use of cultural heritage objects are considered in the article.

Application of cloud technology in digital cultural heritage: an analysis of public culture cloud platforms in China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the significant advantages of cloud technology in digital cultural heritage construction by analyzing public culture cloud platforms in China. The authors hope to provide references for other countries and regions on the applications of cloud computing techniques in digital cultural construction.Design/methodology/approachThe primary research methods involved interview and case analysis. A comprehensive understanding of cloud technology and China’s culture cloud platforms were gained through research into extensive amounts of literature. Analyzing 21 culture cloud platforms offers a general understanding of culture clouds, while the Hunan Public Culture Cloud acts as a representative sample that gives detailed insight.FindingsThis paper explores the considerable advantages of cloud computing in digital cultural construction from four aspects: integration of decentralized heterogeneous resources, coordination and cooperation, accurately matching user needs and promotion of balanced service development.Originality/valueExisting studies fall short of comprehensive investigations of culture cloud platforms and in-depth analysis of the advantages of cloud technology applications. This paper uses the construction of public culture cloud platforms in China as the research object. Further, this paper compares the construction status of different culture cloud platforms.

Large Scale Seismic Vulnerability and Risk Evaluation of Historical Centres and Cultural Heritage Constructions

Large Scale Seismic Vulnerability and Risk Evaluation of Historical Centres and Cultural Heritage Constructions

Lithology mapping of stone heritage via state-of-the-art computer vision

In building stones that are widely used in the construction of immovable cultural heritage, preservation efforts are necessary due to various weathering processes. The accuracy and effectiveness of the restoration works, specifically for cultural heritage, are important factors. The most basic phase of these works is determining the stone types and preparing geo-lithological maps. However, the time-consuming process and difficult field work may lead to human-induced errors. In this study, a petrographic determination of building stone and a mapping model were developed based on Mask R–CNN in order to prevent human errors. To this end, the city of Konya, Turkey, which is on the UNESCO temporary heritage list, was selected for applying the proposed method. The model was trained with a total of 1800 images collected from nine historic buildings with different ornamental and building stones that constitute the cultural texture of the city. Testing of the model was conducted on the main façade of the Matbah-ı Şerif monument, consisting of 363 building stones with seven different lithologies, for different situations (resolution, shooting distance, and angles). The average precision values for the stone types trained in the model were between 89.10% and 100%, and an accurate lithology determination and map were obtained for each case. These results indicate that the proposed model can provide important bases for restoration works, with its fast and automatic mapping capability as well as its reliable and highly precise lithology determination.

Разработка методики создания геоинформационной системы культурного наследия на примере Новосибирской области

The authors discuss the results of working at the development of methods for creating GIS of cultural heritage. A brief analysis of modern research in the field of geoinformation cultural heritage mapping had been made befor. The existing methods of creation GIS of cultural heritage objects basing upon the analysis of the performed experimental works are studied. The basic requirements to the methodology of GIS creation of cultural heritage objects are defined. The developed technique of creating GIS for cultural heritage objects on the basis of HTML, CSS and JavaScript-technologies is presented. In the course of the study, a prototype of the geographic information system “Cultural heritage of Novosibirsk region” was developed, it can be used by anyone for educational purposes, as well as by territorial agencies of cultural heritage protection, local governments, construction organizations, road enterprises, land use and subsoil use enterprises, educational and scientific organizations, as well as tour operators and other economic entities.

TEOS Modified With Nano-Calcium Oxalate and PDMS to Protect Concrete Based Cultural Heritage Buildings

Cultural Heritage constructions of 20th century consist largely of mortar and concrete substrates. These concrete structures have suffered different types of decay processes. One of the most widely used consolidants is the Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), which forms the basis of most existing commercial strengthening agents to protect porous building materials against deterioration. A novel, nontoxic strengthening and protective agent for mortar and concrete substrates was synthesized in a one-pot sol-gel procedure, incorporating in TEOS, Polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) and nanoparticles of synthesized calcium oxalate (CaOx). PDMS provided hydrophobicity and reduced surface tension that causes cracks on the surface of produced xerogel. The synthesized nanocomposite both in sol and xerogel form was assessed with a variety of analytical techniques (FTIR, XRF, SEM, Optical Microscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, Thermogravimetric analysis). The excellent physical properties of the produced colloidal solution of the nanocomposite, such as low viscosity and density, allow a penetration up to 2 cm from the surface in the treated cement mortars. This involved improvement of the mechanical and physical properties, such as the dynamic modulus of elasticity and increased water repellency. The treated cement mortars exhibited well-preserved aesthetic surface parameters and significant maintenance of the treatment. Furthermore, no harmful byproducts were identified indicating the nanocomposite compatibility to the siliceous and carbonate nature of the treated cement mortars.

A Risk-Based Approach for Assessing Social Sustainability Performance of Cultural Heritage Construction Works

ABSTRACT The multidimensional problems that archaeological sites and cultural heritage assets face demand effective multiple criteria decision-making, regarding risk impact identification and evaluation. There is a great array of risks affecting cultural heritage sites and assets nowadays, including environmental and manmade factors. Risk assessment towards decision-making always considers cultural sites’ and asset’s intrinsic values that determine their cultural significance and thus contribute to conservation planning and management through prioritization of the needs and allocation of the available budget accordingly. Therefore, the aim of this study is to support decision-making for maintenance and conservation interventions in archaeological sites and cultural heritage assets. The paper proposes a risk-based approach utilising the Analytic Network Process (ANP), a multi-criteria decision-making method incorporating both qualitative and quantitative criteria with interdependences and feedback. The proposed approach is tested and validated through an illustrative application regarding a classical monument of an archaeological site of Athens subjected to the conditions of a typical urban environment. The application of this method allows for interdisciplinary, multi-criteria analysis of risk towards interventions decision-making against complex and demanding conservation cases.

A functional structure for state functions of moisture transfer in heritage building elements

The good knowledge of the moisture transfer in materials used in the construction of architectonic cultural heritage is a key issue to define conservation and restoration actions. In recent years, numerical models are used in this field to improve the hygrothermal characterization of these materials. However, the structure of state functions involved in the modelization is not standardised, and they present a highly empirical parametrization. For this reason, the main objective of this work is to review the structure of the state functions corresponding to moisture transport (moisture content, liquid and vapour water permeabilities) and to suggest more compact functional structures that allow reducing the number of parameters.Two conventional tests used to characterize the hygrothermal behaviour of heritage elements, (i) water absorption by capillary test (EN 15801) and (ii) water vapour permeability test (EN 15803) have been simulated to check the capacity and quality of the moisture transfer simulation with the new functions. These numerical exercises were carried out using a moisture transport module implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics. The material selected was the limestone used in the construction of the Cathedral of Santa María and San Julián (Cuenca, Spain). The satisfactory results obtained demonstrate the utility of the functions proposed to model the hydraulic conductivity and diffusion resistance factor. A significant reduction in the number of material parameters is achieved without compromising the simulation capacity.

Climate change impacts and fungal decay in vulnerable historic structures at Svalbard

This paper emphasises on degradation of wood in cultural heritage structures at Svalbard. Nowhere else does global heating occur faster. Negative impacts of climate change will increase the strain on wooden structures and can daily be observed at Svalbard. The severe changes affect the degradation rate of wooden constructions, including cultural heritage. Certain microclimates, also in Polar areas, are favourable to fungal growth and decay. The probable enhancing effects climate change have on fungal degradation in wooden structures are however alarming. The paper displays findings of measurements from four different case study projects at Svalbard between 2009 and 2019. The results have been analysed separately, compiled and discussed in context, and towards relevant literature. We claim that impacts of climate change may not be generalized in order to predict effects in building materials. Further, that with extended knowledge on how climate change affects natural development of fungal decay, negative impacts may be reduced. Lessons learned from high Arctic areas might add longevity and sustainability to wooden cultural heritage constructions, also in different areas and environments. The paper is part of two of the authors' PhD work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Non-Destructive Tests on Carpentry Steels

Background: Industrial archaeology represents a modern branch of urbanism and architecture that studies, applying an interdisciplinary method, all the evidence inherent the process of industrialization from its origins to the actuality. Aim: Looking at the cities of our epoch, more and more are the testimonies of these historical artefacts, which in fact represent our cultural identity and are often intended to be recovered and converted into modern destinations of use. Methods: If the identification of constructive schemes is based on direct essays and surveys, the definition of material properties requires material testing and investigation. For metal structures, the standards involve destructive investigations only, with a sampling of specimens, which often conflict with the protection requirements of the artefact. This leads to the need to refine and make reliable non-destructive investigations using the Leeb method, by means of portable micro-durometers, for in-situ characterization of carpentry steels, so to suggest new regulatory guidelines for existing structures surveys. Results: In the paper, the classification of carpentry steels based on non-destructive hardness test was illustrated and discussed. Firstly, for the evaluation of the resistance class of a structural steel, it was recorded that the execution of tests required a careful cleaning of the surface of samples. Subsequently, analyzing the data obtained from the experimentation, it was clear that the best methodology of data conversion from micro-hardness (Leeb method) tests for the determination of the steel class was given by tables and formulations of the ASTM standard. In the case of a few values to be converted, the most effective method was the manual use of the tables, with an average error of 0.10%. Conclusion: In conclusion, it should be remarked that differently from the reinforced concrete structures, where the non-destructive tests are allowed by the current Italian technical code on, for metallic structures only, destructive tests are permitted, so that the use of non-destructive ones should be encouraged, especially when interventions on cultural heritage constructions are of concern.