Conservation requirements for concrete heritage. The case study of the buildings of the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon (original) (raw)
Related papers
This book series addresses the areas of building pathologies and rehabilitation of the constructed heritage, strategies, diagnostic and design methodologies, the appropriately of existing regulations for rehabilitation, energy efficiency, adaptive rehabilitation, rehabilitation technologies and analysis of case studies. The topics of Building Pathology and Rehabilitation include but are not limited to-hygrothermal behaviour-structural pathologies (e.g. stone, wood, mortar, concrete, etc…)diagnostic techniques-costs of pathology-responsibilities, guarantees and insurance-analysis of case studies-construction code-rehabilitation technologiesarchitecture and rehabilitation project-materials and their suitability-building performance simulation and energy efficiency-durability and service life.
Legislation and practice: the case of historic concrete buildings
Purpose-Only recently have historic concrete buildings received attention and the need for their protection has been understood. Their listing as architectural heritage in most countries is ruled by legislations. The research carried out within the framework of the CONSECH20 JPI project on the conservation of historic concrete buildings in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Italy and the Netherlands has allowed to study the legislations in the four aforementioned countries and how these are brought to practice. This paper aims at the evaluation of these legislations and of their function in practice. Design/methodology/approach-The legislations have been examined focussing on the protection of historic buildings and the guidelines to achieve a correct technical conservation. These were assessed in practical situations. The situations of the four countries were studied and the parameters used allowed comparisons. Findings-Concrete buildings are at risk and the guidelines should be further developed to meet actual conservation needs, including historical and aesthetical compatibility. The re-use of listed concrete buildings often means transforming and adapting these to a variety of modern needs and norms: the complexity of this assignment asks for a multidisciplinary teamwork. The bottom-up Dutch programme for quality in conservation, striving to bring ethical and technological principles to practice, could be a sound basis for developing respectful conservation strategies of heritage concrete buildings. Research limitations/implications-The research concerns the four countries involved in the CONSECH30 project and could be extended to include more countries. Practical implications-More stakeholders have to be involved in the process of conservation and transformation of heritage concrete buildings. This should be directed by the legislation. Social implications-No direct social implications are foreseen from the outcome of the research. However, the suggestion is made that social involvement is essential in planning concrete building transformations. Originality/value-The study focussed on the application of theory (the legislation) to practice (thus showing the limits of the legislation), which is an innovative way of contributing to the conservation of historic concrete buildings.
Conservation of 20th Century Concrete Heritage Structures in Cyprus: Research and Practice
2021
The conservation of 20 th century concrete heritage structures poses a major challenge worldwide. Whilst these structures possess a remarkable architectural value and a rather experimental character in terms of the use of materials and technologies, at the same time there is admittedly lack of recognition of their cultural and historical value by the wide public. More often than not, such buildings are left to deteriorate and often they are even demolished. This paper follows the workings of the project "CONSErvation of 20 th century concrete Cultural Heritage in urban changing environments" (CONSECH20). The aforementioned international interdisciplinary project aims to investigate concrete constructions built until 1965 in four different European countries (Cyprus, Italy, The Netherlands and the Czech Republic), in terms of their architectural, social and historical value, and to address their restoration and re-use potential. The paper initially presents the significance of 20 th century concrete heritage structures in general, and describes the methodology proposed in order to ensure the protection of such buildings from demolition, and facilitate their restoration and re-use (if and where possible) for the benefit of the society. The focus is on the structural assessment and restoration of 20 th century concrete heritage buildings in Cyprus, following the methodologies described by modern codes for the assessment and retrofit of existing concrete structures. A new practical analysis approach is described and compared to the force-control approach of the pushover analysis of Eurocode 8:3, which significantly overestimates the demands for seismic upgrading. The two aforementioned approaches are examined for a specific case study concrete heritage building in Nicosia, Cyprus.
State of Conservation of Concrete Heritage Buildings: A European Screening
Infrastructures, 2021
Historic concrete buildings are at risk. Limited knowledge of concrete technology until the 1960s led to more sensitive buildings than modern concrete buildings. In addition, the lack of sensibility regarding their heritage value and insufficient protection is leading to remorseless demolition. Still, concrete has proved to be a resilient material that can last over a century with proper care. There is not yet an estimation of the status of historic concrete buildings in Europe. Until now, a few attempts have been done to secondarily, and subjectively, gauge their conservation status. This paper is the result of a joint investigation studying forty-eight historic concrete buildings distributed in four countries. They were surveyed by expert teams according to a predefined methodology. The study aims to identify recurrent damages and parameters affecting the conservation state. It also aims to serve as the first trial for an objective and measurable methodology, to apply it with a st...
Conservation of Historic Buildings
he primary motive for historical restoration is always the Education. And to let everyone visualize the culture, society and tradition of place. The preservation safeguards the community and its heritage and make it uncommitted for communal and educational activities. The preservation shows that how much far we have travelled and travelling from where towards which direction. This can be better understood if categorized under 'economic’, 'cultural', and 'environmental', although they are not mutually exclusive and indeed, they are often interlocked. The melodic theme to introduce research paper is to concentrate the attention towards the preservation of the historic buildings to save cultural and traditional values and find out the construction techniques and materials for its best survival.
Concrete Heritage Challenges in Conservation
University of Malta. Junior College, 2020
The development of concrete in the 19 th & 20 th centuries led to new possibilities and advancement in construction. Concrete was exploited to address the postwar needs for economical and faster construction. Significant reinforced concrete structures are recognized as cultural heritage. Long term durability problems present conservation challenges and the understanding of failure mechanisms is fundamental for restoration. The diagnosis of historic structures, materials investigation, monitoring and assessment are important steps towards the understanding of deterioration and appraisal of concrete heritage. Long-term effects of conservation and repair also need to be considered. The assessment of concrete heritage is addressed through military and industrial heritage concrete structures in Malta, including coastal structures in aggressive environments. A methodology for appraisal is proposed taking into consideration materials and structural performance and degradation mechanisms.
Some considerations on the preservation of 20 th century architectural heritage
Modern Building Reuse, 2014
These brief notes relate to the shared reflections and discussion that took place at a seminar held in 2011 at the Escola de Arquitectura da Universidade do Minho, which dealt with the general context on the safeguarding of 20 th century architectural heritage, with special emphasis on conservation and maintenance practices. These considerations are not intended to be conclusive or systematic, as they do no more than highlight some of the questions raised in the course of the debate. The seminar involved a discussion of both theoretical and methodological issues, followed by the presentation of concrete examples.
2011
This article stems from an ongoing research that aims primarily at designing a methodology for intervention in old buildings (in particular, in the bourgeois houses of Porto), targeted for the rehabilitation of traditional construction systems and based on "best practice" procedures in heritage conservation. A brief essay describing the usefulness of drawing in defining a constructive model that characterizes the existing buildings is presented, in particular in the context of its most frequent pathologies, emphasizing its importance in conceiving a methodology for intervention. The ongoing research that the authors has been developed on traditional construction in northern Portugal has contributed to the definition of this model, namely through studies on the ordinary housing in the city of Porto, also called bourgeois houses, and the recent research into the collection of CRUARB, the municipal office responsible between 1974 and 2002 for the urban heritage conservation o...
Concrete 2021, Architettura e tecnica. Criteri di manutenzione degli edifici esistenti e nuova progettazione nel XXI sec., 2021
The Canton of Ticino is characterised by a strong presence of architecture in exposed concrete, a material widely used for the construction of infrastructures, large buildings and single-family houses. The conservation of these buildings has been a recurring problem for several years now, and one that is not easy to solve, as shown by the many interventions that have failed even a brief test of time. Technical choices in this field are not easy because they depend on an analysis of the construction history of the works, on a complex diagnosis, on the recurrent impossibility of removing the cause of deterioration, on the choice of compatible materials and their correct application. Last but not least, the technical choices must respect the surface qualities of the building which, especially for works of cultural value and architectural significance, are an integral part of the message that is to be preserved and transmitted. This article presents the specialist consultancy work carried out by the Institute for Materials and Construction (IMC) of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) in support of designers and public bodies who have to undertake repair or restoration work on buildings in exposed concrete. The work carried out by the professionals active within the IMC aims to improve the technical culture to inform interventions on existing buildings, which still has to face some substantial difficulties. For example, there is a reduced propensity to invest in diagnostic investigations, without recognising their value for implementing design decisions, or the tendency of designers to turn directly to manufacturers for the choice of materials. In order to protect the original material as much as possible, a difficult compromise is always sought between reducing the number of samplings and obtaining the data necessary to characterize the structures and by trying to develop, as far as possible, non-destructive investigation methods. As an example, the case studies of Rino Tami's Il Cardo building (1956) and Aurelio Galfetti's Villa Ortensia (1974-75) are discussed, where the data obtained from the diagnostic activity were fundamental in orienting and defining the subsequent interventions.