Building Heritage and Conservation

Ceramic material is certainly a key element in the cultural heritage, particularly in historical buildings. This material involves specific problems when addressing preservation, as well as conservation and restoration interventions.
This course is coordinated by International Association YOUTH IN CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE-YOCOCU Spain, co-organized by Geosciences Institute IGEO (CSIC, UCM), Spanish Society of Ceramics and Glass (SECV) and the Ceramic and Glass Institute (ICV-CSIC) and sponsored by ECerS, the JECS Trust and SECV.
The main goal of the course is to offer a training program of short duration focused on the ceramic material used in architectural heritage, including structural and decorative elements. Raw materials and technologies used for manufacturing, alteration and decay processes, characterization techniques for study and analysis, as well as new trends in conservation treatments will be addressed.

Chapter 3 presents empirically informed analyses of a number of new public
space projects initiated first as counter-projects and counter-spaces
by a variety of community and historic preservation society interests.
It demonstrates further that, Vancouver City Council (VCC) proved
receptive to the counter-projects and provided an overarching strategic
spatial framework within which the projects on the ground were
devised and implemented. This chapter also introduces the importance
of the social animation of public space, whether through politicised
collective action or ludic enjoyment. Changing representations of space
through time are shown to have implications for spatial practice on the ground, based on differences in the way social behaviour in public
space is understood and interpreted.

Abstract
Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) is a novel prototype library of parametric objects, based on historic architectural data, in addition to a mapping system for plotting the library objects onto laser scan survey data. The HBIM process begins with remote collection of survey data using a terrestrial laser scanner. This is then followed by the processing of the laser scan survey data to generate ortho-image and segmented point cloud data for mapping of library objects. The next stage involves the design of new shape and parametric rules for the construction of a library of objects that are based on 18th century architectural pattern books. In building parametric objects, the problem of file format and exchange of data have been overcome by using Geometric Descriptive Language (GDL). The final stage in the HBIM process is the development of a mapping system for plotting of the parametric objects as building components onto ortho-image and segmented point cloud data to create or form the entire building. The final HBIM product consists of building full 3D models including detail behind the object’s surface, relating to its methods of construction and material make-up. HBIM can automatically generate conservation documentation in the form of survey data, orthographic drawings, schedules and 3D CAD models for both the analysis and conservation of historic objects, structures and environments. HBIM was evaluated through an end users’ scenario test and through consultation with an expert group working in the architectural heritage sector. The expert group carried out a review of conservation documentation produced from HBIM. In addition, the accuracy of HBIM was measured by comparing a sample of data from HBIM with related ground truth data. The outcome of the software testing indicated that HBIM was effective in producing conservation documentation. Additional design inputs were identified to improve the accuracy of the system expanding the parameters of the library objects and upgrading the mapping system.

Keywords: Building heritage safety Historical theatres fire safety Evacuation in historical buildings Human behaviors in evacuation Reversible systems for human safety Intelligent evacuation guidance systems a b s t r a c t Fire risk in Architectural Heritage represents a fundamental problem for occupants' safety. Italian-style historical theatres are one of the most interesting examples because of their historic and artistic value, high fire vulnerability, fire sources and occupants' features (many people are not familiar with the architectural spaces). Current fire safety regulations approaches for similar Architectural Heritage generally suggest massive and irreversible interventions in order to improve the occupants' level of safety: main related solutions concern with interventions on building layout (e.g. introduction of fireproof elements ; increasing dimension and number of evacuation paths and exits). This really implies a conflict in preserving original architectural characteristics. Besides, experiments demonstrate how these adopted solutions can be insufficient in improving the individuals' safety level, especially in case of high occu-pants' density and people who are unfamiliar with the building itself, because of individuals' behaviours in emergency conditions. An efficient emergency evacuation layout has to be able to help evacuating occupants, especially in smoke or blackout conditions. " Intelligent Evacuation Guidance Systems " (IEGS) could monitor human behaviours (how people move) and related criticisms in the evacuation process (e.g. slowing down along paths, paths blockage). Then, they could elaborate these data through smart inducing algorithm so as to suggest dynamic evacuation paths to occupants. In this way, IEGS can effectively suggest the " best " evacuation path to occupants depending on the effective human behaviours. In this paper, an IEGS is firstly defined by introducing suggested low impact environmental components and their related requirements. In particular, occupants' behaviours are associated to evacuees' density along egress paths, doors and exits, by using indoor individuals' tracking systems (e.g. RFID, Wireless localiza-tion). A density-based algorithm based on Level-of-Service conditions is adopted for evaluating possible overcrowding phenomena and identify the best evacuation paths. Directional electrically-illumined signs are used so as to indicate the proper direction to occupants. Wireless communication between the system elements is required. Each element is provided with backup power supply. Then, the proposed IEGS is evaluated by applying it to a significant case study (the " Gentile da Fabriano theatre " in Fabri-ano, AN). Interactions between occupants and IEGS are reproduced within a validated fire evacuation simulator (FDS + EVAC), and the system effectiveness is evaluated by performing evacuation simulation for the whole building. Comparisons of evacuation times between the original scenario and the IEGS-related one are proposed. Total maximum egress time is reduced down to 26% in the IEGS scenario (40% for levels with 3 or more different possible paths). The number of people using secondary paths (that are also the less crowded ones) raises to 88%. IEGS elements correctly and fully interact with people by understanding their evacuation behaviour and suggesting them the most appropriate (clearest) path: hence, the overall evacuation efficiency can be so increased by virtue of this " behavioural design " approach. Besides, it is strongly important to underline how IEGS elements provide no architectural modifications.

L'analisi critica delle possibili opere di consolidamento, condotta nell'ottica del rispetto dei principi del restauro e della sicurezza strutturale, si pone come fase necessaria del progetto di intervento in un edificio storico in muratura. La Chiesa di Santa Maria Incoronatella della Pietà dei Turchini a Napoli, fondata nel XVI secolo e completata nel XVII, rappresenta un caso concreto sul quale è stato condotto un intervento di restauro: un attento studio storico ha giustificato alcune anomalie di carattere strutturale; un'interessante analisi geometrica ha evidenziato il rispetto di alcune regole proporzionali tipiche delle chiese della Controriforma; un originale programma di analisi strutturale, basato su un modello interpretativo in linea con l'effettivo comportamento statico delle murature, è stato applicato per comprendere al meglio il quadro fessurativo e per verificare l'efficacia di un intervento di miglioramento strutturale dell'edificio, necessario per mitigare gli effetti di un cedimento fondale.

The critical analysis of the possible consolidations, conducted from the perspective of compliance with the principles of restoration and structural safety, arises as a necessary phase of the intervention project on historical masonry structures. The Church of Santa Maria Incoronatella della Pietà dei Turchini in Naples, founded in the sixteenth century and completed in the seventeenth, is a specific case on which a restoration was conducted: a careful historical study justifies some structural anomalies; an interesting geometric analysis shows the respect of some typical proportional rules of the Counter-Reformation churches; an original structural analysis program, based on an interpretive model in line with the actual static behavior of masonry, is applied to better understand the crack pattern and verify the efficiency of a structural improvement intervention on the building, necessary to mitigate the effects of a foundation settlement.

Cities are the height of human achievement. Cities are fraught with ambivalence. We adore city life, it stimulates, entertains and excites. Conversely, urban experiences are scary, disorientating and may be physically and mentally deleterious. Cities are crucibles of democracy, yet remain cauldrons of inequality and injustice. Cities are open and tolerant, but perversely elitist and exclusionary. City streets provide unexpected encounters which can enrich our lives, or disturb deeply. Ambivalence regarding the nascent modern industrial city was captured quintessentially in the visceral eloquence of Alexis de Tocqueville's disturbingly ambivalent assertion, that 1840s Manchester was a vile, filthy cesspit from which flows pure gold, thereby allowing the attainment of civilisation while converting men of all ranks into desperate savages. Above all, it is in the public spaces of cities –  street, squares, piazzas, plazas and parks - that some of the best and the worst characteristics of urban life and society are created, observed and reproduced. These sites are the geographical focus of this book and are interrogated drawing on the spatial triad ideas promulgated by the French, Marxist, sociologist-philosopher Henri Lefebvre. Looking at history in a new light in this book means exploring the histories of shifting representations of space and ascertaining the implications for the production of space and what Lefebvre called differential spaceI seek in this book to explore the production of space and in so doing stimulate a rethinking of Lefebvre’s spatial theories and the essence of urban public space. From this overarching aim flow two research objectives: 1) to tease out the implications of the production of space for post-industrial city transformation, 2) to unravel the role of differential space in such transformation. Empirically the research is grounded in three iconic post-industrial cities: Vancouver, Lowell Massachusetts and Manchester England. Although strongly rooted theoretically, the book locates the conceptual ideas in the practice of urban policy making, urban planning and the politicised everyday use of public space, especially differential space – a surprisingly neglected concept in urban studies. The timescale is from the 1960s to 2010s.

L’arte del costruire nei primi decenni dell’800 riflette ancora la lunga
durata delle tradizioni tecniche locali e oppone resistenza alla
modernizzazione dei processi industriali. La cultura progettuale
neoclassica, integrata con la formazione politecnica, si incarica di
dare forma praticabile al cambiamento, assoggettando anzitutto il
processo progettuale ad una potente razionalizzazione. Gaetano
Cima, laureato a Torino come Architetto Civile nel 1830, per quasi
mezzo secolo occupa in Sardegna posizioni decisive: “architetto in
primo di città”, fondatore della scuola di architettura, professionista
militante. Ciò gli consente di cambiare radicalmente il profilo
architettonico e le regole del costruire. Il confronto tra le carte
d’archivio e le realizzazioni documenta la messa a punto di un nuovo
standard moderno e razionale nel quale la manualistica avanzata si
traduce nel rigore dei computi metrici. L’applicazione della
geometria neoclassica alle forme dell’architettura medioevale e
barocca fornisce una nuova immagine sociale alle classi dominanti in
ascesa. La ricerca sulle sue costruzioni “moderne”, nel vivo dei
tessuti storici di Cagliari radicalmente ricostruiti, documenta i
risultati innovativi del “modo di costruire” neoclassico.

Raising the persistence question about architectural entities consists in asking what is necessary and sufficient for a past or future architectural entity, like a building, to exist now. In this paper I investigate how the persistence question about buildings is affected by their spatial relocation. Why do we normally doubt that Notre Dame can survive its meticulous stone-by-stone transfer to Las Vegas? I argue that, since architectural plans are not capable of specifying all the constitutive properties of a building, the source of differentiation among constitutive and non-constitutive properties for buildings lies in a property’s being eligible or not eligible to be aesthetically relevant in the aesthetic judgements about them. As a matter of fact, our aesthetic judgements about buildings often concern, and are grounded on, extrinsic contextual properties. This explains why buildings can usually not survive relocation: because normally there is no basis for ruling out any extrinsic contextual feature of the building as inessential. I also try to explain why the change from thirteenth century Paris to contemporary Paris proved not to be lethal to Notre Dame’s persistence, in spite of its being more significant than other imaginary context changes that we would easily count as fatal.

A conservator work of arts as a freelancer –  a contemporary Lancelot ?

Dorota KOWALIK-KOCISZEWSKA

A qualified Conservator at University of  Nicolas Copernicus in Toruń;
Phd at the Institute of Geological Studies at  the University of Wrocław
DKKonserwacja  www.dkkonserwacja.pl

The article focuses on an ethical-aesthetic aspect of conservatory
work conducted on few chosen historical buildings. Having worked as
a freelancer in the years 2001-2015, the author of the article had a chance to take part in all forms of the cooperation that is set in the job of
a conservator  e.g. as  a general contractor, a subcontractor, a co-worker, a manager of conservatory work, a conservatory work supervisor,
a conservation educator,  an author of conservation research, projects and expert report and scientist. All the professions required interdisciplinary specialized  knowledge, educational background, diligence, conscientiousness and reliability, high esthetic and perceptual abilities as well as an individual approach using the most traditional methods, materials and historical sources, and also modern tolls. However, two of the professions mentioned above required additional abilities that can be compared with cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance), simultanously with  clearly hired employment.  This work concerned mainly big and complex restoration projects run by construction companies that aspired to expand their operations to historical buildings.
Having analysed  the great amount of  the conservatory work conducted in 14 years as a freelancer, the author like many other former and current conservators, seeks universal truth about their profession, the definition of ethics and esthetics.  Moreover, in an era of global crisis there are more and more new threats that we have to face and universal whereas simple truths always work.
To illustrate the issues of activities of conservation in the ethical, esthetical and legal aspect in the last few years, three examples were chosen: Villa of the Frankel family from the 19th century, the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Adalbert, called ,,the Church on the Hill” in Opole and the tenements in Lądek Zdrój, Rynek 1,6,7.  These examples will be shown examples of the implementation of the known definition: preventive maintenance, along with a restaurant and reconstruction, creation of conservation and their synthesis.
Gained experience and knowledge, sometimes in adverse environmental conditions, led the author to conclude that the Code Conservator of Works of Art resembles a code of chivalry, which was a collection of ethical principles, moral and professional, and the convergence of those listed and the names used (Freelancer - Lancelot) evokes analogies.
It is the voice of a Conservator of Art who works beyond the structure of three conservation-renovation universities.

Keywords: Conservator works of arts, freelancer, contemporary Lancelot,  Lancelot, ethics.

For Lefebvre, the state and its constituent institutions call for urban spaces but they do not act alone or with impunity in the production of space and their specific requirements are often contested. This was certainly the case in Lowell as the city entered a critical phase of post-industrial reimagining and transformation in the late 1960s. If we are to take seriously Lefebvre’s invocation to scrutinise the histories of the production of urban space, then of course the context in which the concept of the Lowell National Historical Park (LNHP) emerges in the 1970s becomes a critical historical moment requiring investigation. I argue in this chapter that this history was not an inevitable linear procession but rather involved a series of precursor projects and initiatives involving struggles of different spatial coalitions with greater or lesser support from the public sector. After explaining the emergence of Model Cities, in this chapter archival and interview data are used to dig beneath the surface of Model Cities to examine the importance of two neglected production of public space projects: the Western Canal beautification and Ecumenical Plaza. Lowell city council (LCC) has been criticised for its complicity in the destruction of significant historic buildings through the urban renewal programmes of the 1960s, particularly the loss of the Merrimack Mills Company factories and the boarding houses at Dutton Street. This chapter examines a positive contribution of LCC to post-industrial reimagining; the establishment of the Lowell Historic District Commission, an idea rejected initially.

This case report explores the town of Siatista (located in the Western Macedonia Region-Greece), which is designated as a "traditional settlement". The paper argues that, despite the relevant legislation that designated 400 settlements in Greece as "traditional settlements" and put them under protection, Siatista has no delimited traditional section. Through the years, new house typologies, demolitions, and alterations of its urban form have appeared, and Siatista has lost its identity. Having as an ultimate goal to identify proper planning guidelines and regulations for the preservation of Siatista's built heritage, the methodology used in the paper includes the following steps: (a) recording and codification of the key legislation for the protection of Siatista, including the official urban plans (and their revisions); (b) identification and mapping of the urban form and spatial characteristics of Siatista (existing land uses, house typology, etc.); (c) identification of the alterations of the urban form and the demolitions, mainly with the use of aerial photos (1960-2014); and (d) creation of a map presenting the remaining built heritage per degree of evaluation. Following the analysis of the existing situation and the identification of the key challenges, the paper ends by defining and delimitating the well-preserved section of the town (proposing stricter rules and regulations for its preservation).

This is the manuscript version of chapter two of the book:

http://policypress.co.uk/exploring-the-production-of-urban-space

Chatper Summary
How did an isolated, tough, masculine, nondescript logging camp
with one rough and ready pub become transformed into an iconic
world city? How did the neighbourhood ‘written off in the early
1960s as a slum’ that should be ‘cleared to make room for a highway’,
become one filled with ‘high-end restaurants, condominiums, offices,
modern furniture’ and men’s clothing stores so ‘hiply minimal that it
makes a person’s teeth hurt’ (Bula 2011). A couple of chapters in this
type of book cannot provide definitive answers to all these questions.
The more modest objectives are to explore the recent histories of the
production of urban space and ramifications for city transformation in
that most iconic of Vancouver neighbourhoods, Gastown.

One of the major motivations behind the introduction of BIM (Building Information Modelling) was to mitigate the challenges of interoperability and interdisciplinary interaction between different stakeholders, this is particularly critical in the heritage buildings sector that involves more diverse stakeholders in a wide range of disciplines compared to a standard construction project. A crucial concern in dealing with heritage buildings is the longevity and safeguarding of the digital documentation data that is usually required to be kept as a digital record for the future. This is especially challenging in the digital medium due to the diversity of the software tools, and the fast-advancing and changing software market.
In order to assess the needs and challenges facing the heritage buildings sector in terms of data longevity and interoperability and to assess the interdisciplinary interaction needs of relevant disciplines, the authors designed an online survey targeting professionals and academics in the heritage buildings sector and the wider AEC industries. This paper presents the preliminary findings of this survey.

Keywords: Building heritage safety Historical theatres fire safety Evacuation in historical buildings Human behaviors in evacuation Reversible systems for human safety Intelligent evacuation guidance systems a b s t r a c t Fire risk in Architectural Heritage represents a fundamental problem for occupants' safety. Italian-style historical theatres are one of the most interesting examples because of their historic and artistic value, high fire vulnerability, fire sources and occupants' features (many people are not familiar with the architectural spaces). Current fire safety regulations approaches for similar Architectural Heritage generally suggest massive and irreversible interventions in order to improve the occupants' level of safety: main related solutions concern with interventions on building layout (e.g. introduction of fireproof elements ; increasing dimension and number of evacuation paths and exits). This really implies a conflict in preserving original archite...

Abstract Architectural Heritage is often prone to fire risk especially when many significant wooden structures with a particular historic and artistic value are present. This is the case of the Italian style historical theatres. Increasing fire safety of this architectural heritage generally clashes with preserving the original building features: massive and irreversible interventions are often needed so as to respect current severe regulations. Moreover, upgrading interventions can be insufficient so as to effectively improve occupants’ safety level, especially in overcrowded spaces and when people do not know much of the building itself. Occupants’ safety depends on their behaviours and their possibility to rapidly evacuate to a safe place. One of the most effective ways to help them to achieve this aim seems to be the adoption of a good emergency evacuation wayfinding system, especially in smoke or black-out conditions. This paper analyses the effectiveness of a reversible, easy-to-remove and low-impact system for evacuation guidance based on photoluminescent materials (PLM). The proposed continuous wayfinding system (CWS) is composed by PLM tiles along evacuation paths (both corridors and stairs). The application to a case study, the Italian style historical theatre “Gentile da Fabriano”, is then provided. Tests involve more than 100 individuals in smoke and black out conditions. CWS effectiveness was compared to a traditional punctual system in terms of motion speeds (for single pedestrians) and total evacuation time (for the whole building evacuation drill). Questionnaires filled in by involved pedestrians qualitatively evaluated the individuals’ acceptance of CWS. Tests with CWS show that individual's motion speed rises up to 50% and the total evacuation time is reduced down to 25% in respect to the traditional system. Comparisons with previous studies on PLM signs are provided. CWS can be easily introduced in this kind of historical theatres so as to increase the occupants’ safety level.

EnglishSantiago Poniente is a quarter in Santiago City, the Chilean capital, born after the Chilean Independence and the establishment of the Republic (1823), currently it represents one of the few historical areas of the center of the capital, despite not being the oldest part, nor the center of Spanish Colonial foundation Its architecture is representative of the transition from the Colonial period to "modernity" in Chile, where the colonial building culture evolves and blends with the eclectic reinterpretation of the architectural imported styles, adapted to local realities, as a result of the liberal ideas brought by the intellectuals who came to live in this part of tthe city. With the migration of people to other parts of the city from the 30s of the XX century, Santiago Poniente began to suffer a progressive process of decline, housing the poorest social classes, who began to subdivide buildings and could not afford the proper maintenance that their homes merited; b...