Textile shelters for archaeological or heritage areas: design references (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2017
The paper deals with the measurements of thermal, optical and mechanical properties for aged textiles. The use of textiles for building temporary shelters is a widespread common practice for the protection of archaeological sites. Temporary shelters often become long-term structures, because of the necessity of prolonged excavation and the need to gather sufficient resources to design and build a permanent shelter. Materials and structures of temporary shelters are often less expensive (and, unfortunately, less durable) than permanent ones: their major advantages consist in their flexibility, modularity, easy and fast assembly and dismounting, reversibility, low impact on the soil and ruins and impermeability. Therefore, the authors studied the effects of ageing on a very common and low cost textile for temporary shelters in a polluted environment through the heating test, reflectance spectrometry, colorimetry and uniaxial mechanical tests, with the aim of exploring the potential applications of fabrics that usually do not fit with high mechanical stress but have a widespread use for small structures. The authors used an integration of non-destructive tests in three ageing conditions and, due to their destructivity, they applied the mechanical tests only in the initial and final ageing condition.
With the construction of coverings in the Valle dei Templi of Agrigento, the management of the Park Agency is carrying out an experimental action which can produce innovation in the context of lightweight and temporary structures. The "Architecture X Acheology" workshop explored the state of the art in terms of works protecting archaeological landmarks, with the goal of identifying new modular and flexible structures which are adaptable to the diverse needs of archaeological sites. Parametric and computational strategies are the bases used for the design of the shelters.
Modular, Adaptable Shelters for Environmentally Sensitive Archaeological Sites
The Valle dei Templi Park, located in the Italian island of Sicily, extends over a surface of 1,300 hectares and preserves an extraordinary monumental heritage and landscape, dating back to Greek times and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997. Though visited by millions of tourists, the archaeological sites are not appropriately equipped for tourist use: this is why the Park Agency is promoting actions to improve facilities that are appropriate for today's visitors and cultural standards. The "Architecture X Archaeology" workshop, that took place in 2013, explored the design and construction of lightweight, temporary structures to shelter archaeological sites and excavations otherwise exposed to the weather. The workshop was promoted by the Valle dei Templi Park Agency and was supported by the JSB programme, where Toyo Ito is one of the jury members. The interdisciplinary design of different types of shelters was based on locally available materials, but mixed the construction cultures of Italy and Japan through the participating universities. A Building and Information Modelling (BIM) process was adopted to control parameters related to the temporality of the shelters, their maintenance and their adaptability to the different local landscapes. The teams of Politecnico di Milano and the University of Tokyo developed two distinct solutions for specific applications. The "AkragaShelter" was designed to protect archaeological remains and, based on a mix of local stones, wood and plastic, is not intended to move, but can be dismantled in the future. The "Molecular Shelter" was instead designed around a single timber section to shelter temporary excavation sites, moving with the archaeologists in time; four persons are enough to displace the structure without dismantling it. The shelters were then constructed on site and they now represent the first step of a plan to introduce in the Valle dei Templi Park architectural elements that are at the same time contemporary and respectful of the sensitive heritage and landscape. The purpose is to prove that contemporary architecture, structure and archaeology can coexist harmoniously.
Shelters are encountered on many archaeological sites of the Mediterranean Their presence is mostly related to the need to protect specific architectural or decorative features exposed during excavation and believed to be too fragile to be left exposed. Consequently shelters tend to be isolated or randomly scattered within the archaeological site. The process of planning designing and building shelters usually follows the period immediately after excavation. If the area to be covered or the setting is particularly complex a provisional shelter is often provided while funds are raised for the design and construction of a permanent one. If these do not become available then provisional shelters themselves often become permanent. Sheltering on an archaeological site brings formidable challenges and contradictions. On the one hand a shelter should confer good protection to the archaeological remains below by reducing the rate of deterioration from environmental causes On the other it should impose the least possible aesthetic impact on the site and harmonize with the archaeological and natural landscape. It also needs to provide quality in the visitor experience in presenting the protected remains.
New procedures and materials for improving protection of archaeological areas
Materials Evaluation
This paper explains the role of nondestructive testing (NDT) in the protection of archaeological sites, as well as research activity and a pilot project in Sardinia, an island region of Italy. Microclimate, surface temperature and sun irradiation, as well as wind direction and speed were monitored for two years by means of infrared thermography, psychrometry and probes to determine requirements for a new shelter. In addition, several technical aspects were analyzed, highlighting how traditional covering solutions can often contribute to damage instead of offering protection. To overcome the limits of typical protective building systems, the project for new shelters needed to combine the requirements for preservation (compatibility and reversibility of new materials, as well as protection from environmental aggression) and new issues for use (flexibility, feasibility, lowest maintenance and easy deconstruction to allow reuse of the shelter in different locations and/or seasons). This...
PROTECTIVE SHELTERS FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES - Approaches to the shelters at Herculaneum, Italy
Although Herculaneum emerged extremely well preserved at the time of excavation the archaeological site that can be seen today has been exposed to the elements for more than 60-80 years and in some cases for over a century (Insulae II and III). As is often the case, the incredible wealth of rediscovered heritage is extremely fragile: this is the case, for example, of carbonized timber left in situ, but also of frescoes, mosaic and beaten earth floors, which are continually trodden on by visitors. Site morphology is also a factor that contributes to exacerbating the conservation challenges posed by the preserved heritage: the street level of the ancient city is located approximately 10-20 m below that of the modern city, which itself was built on a ridge formed from successive eruptions of Vesuvius. This means both difficulty in ensuring that the excavated escarpments are structurally sound and maintained, as well as difficulties in draining rainwater and groundwater that accumulates within the site. Pesaresi and Massari provide examples of provisional shelters that have been trialled at Herculaneum (Italy) which were specifically designed to address immediate conservation issues but to last longer than ‘temporary’ shelters thereby reducing the additional risk that temporary shelters can cause to archaeology when left in situ too long. They contrast these with other shelter typologies at the site in particular early twentieth century reconstructions that used the original Roman floor slabs or roofs as protective shelters.
At the beginning of the st century the international conservation community gathered in the USA to take stock of the state of play with regard to protective shelters for archaeological sites to learn from a century long tradition of shelter building and draw conclusions that could be used at unsheltered archaeological sites. On the other side of the world conservation specialists wanting to assess conditions in a large Roman house in Herculaneum Italy could not safely access the building due to the risks presented by the corroded and cracked reinforced concrete beams supporting the modern roofs. Yet remedial work on the roof could not take place without first making safe the damaged mosaic floor on which scaffolding would need to rest. At around the same time an assessment of over mosaics under protective shelters within Israeli archaeological sites revealed that more than half those mosaics were deteriorating with many being entirely removed and other conservation approaches adopted. It was this context of ongoing connections and contrasts between conservation theory and site management practice together with the continuing challenge of sheltering archaeological sites that led to the Symposium on Protective Shelters for Archaeological Sites held a decade later in and with a specific focus on the Mediterranean region. This introductory chapter aims to capture within the structure that the event followed key insights from each case study brought to the symposium many of which emerged as their authors later reflected on the issues raised on return to their specific sites and further updated their papers Indeed this volume has become something more than just the proceedings of the symposium offering considerations matured over a greater period of time and through extended peer exchange something that has been at the heart of the MOSAIKON Programme since it began but also at the core of the approaches of the Herculaneum Conservation Project which hosted the symposium. It is hoped that the insights that emerge from this introductory overview from the papers themselves that follow and from the brief notes of the closing discussion session of the symposium will between them offer pointers for heritage practitioners in the field to approach sheltering at archaeological sites in a way that builds on progress to date and enhances future practice in the sector.
Textile membrane structures in refurbishment of built heritage
2019
The aim of the research is to investigate the current developments in the use of textile membranes in architecture. More precicely this research is focused on usage of textile membrane structures in refurbishment of built heritage. The main goal of the application of this type of structures is reafirmation of built heritage. The idea is based on using this space for open air theaters and music events. This research looks into options to find solutions which enable afirmation of historical places and their new further usage by aplicating textile membrane structures. This will be done through the following objectives: 1. defining textile membrane structures and other terms and concepts important for understanding the research, 2. a historical overview of the beginning of the use of membrane structures in refurbishment of built heritage, 3. defining set of requirements that these structures in refurbishment of built heritage have to carry out, 4. case studies, 5. systematization of app...
The application of free-form grid shells as protective shelters in archaeological sites
2016
The challenge of preserving archaeological sites by the adoption of grid shells is investigated in this paper. Archaeological remains often require protection from external agents, especially environmental threats. In fact, when covered by soil, they are preserved effectively under certain equilibrium conditions. Nonetheless, when exposed to the outer environment they can easily deteriorate. Therefore, a shelter or enclosure may be provided for protection. When a large area requires protection, steel structures such as portal frames or two-dimensional trusses are extensively employed. These have a heavyweight character and require deep foundations, the construction of which is substantially limited in archaeological sites, and increases the risk of damage during erection. Through the development of an extensible free-form grid shell design with a minimum weight, maximum stiffness and constructability approach, the potential application of shelters for archaeological sites is evaluat...