Papers by Keyword: Historical Building

Abstract: Nowadays due to the active step of urbanisation and rapid development of industry, the contamination of atmospheric air is one of the key aspects of environmental mechanics. Polluted air deteriorates the appearance of historical buildings and architectural monuments. With the help of modern methods, aimed at preservation of cultural heritage objects, it is possible to evaluate the impact of dusty air on the appearance of historical buildings in order to save them, because it is a demonstration of architectural and design features of various temporary periods.

Abstract: Courtyards in historical building of Saint-Petersburg can be normally featured with an insufficient level of light and solar exposure and poor natural airing. They are often turned into parking places causing even worse air quality there. The article deals with construction experience of atriums in the historical center of Saint-Petersburg. Possibilities to have internal yards made of glass in accordance with protection regularities for cultural heritage-listed objects of Saint-Petersburg have been analyzed herein. Glazing of secluded yards is suggested to be performed pursuing the aim to improve quality of courtyards environment.

Abstract: In reconstruction works on historical buildings, considerable expenses are spent. Therefore, it is desirable to assess durability of applied materials in the particular conditions of a specific building. This cannot be done effectively without the knowledge of their basic physical and hygric properties, which give information on materials performance within their exposure to harmful climatic conditions. In this paper, experimental analysis of five types of sandstone originally used over the Czech territory for historical buildings, monuments and ornamental parts of architecture, is presented. On the basis of obtained results, the materials behavior at real service conditions can be assessed, which is necessary information for their practical usage.

Abstract: Moisture is a major source of damage in historic solid masonry. Rising damp is a well-known phenomenon around the world and occurs when groundwater flows into the base of a construction and is allowed to rise through the pore structure. From practical experience it is known that many factors may play a role regarding permeability problems in masonry. The amount of possible causes of moisture problems in historic masonry underlines the complexity of this phenomenon. Evaporation is an important factor in rising damp. The surface of an affected wall contains moisture that has risen from the ground and this moisture is then subject to evaporation. The factors controlling evaporation include: temperature, humidity, air movement and surface.

Abstract: The use of composites in the field of architectural restoration is becoming more and more widespread, because of the great technical advantages they convey in many cases. But applying these materials to the Cultural Heritage poses not only technical issues, common to all the applications on the same materials, but also artistic, historical and, more generally, cultural ones. The present paper faces these issues, starting with some considerations on how they were dealt with in history, when the “new” materials were iron, steel and reinforced concrete. Then, the specific problems posed by the composite materials are discussed and some examples are shown in order to identify the correct approach to the many different cases that can arouse in the field of architectural restoration. There isn’t a single right solution for each problem, but there is a right approach that starts from the comprehension of the building’s behavior, passes through a comparison of all the possible solutions and aims at finding the best equilibrium among the technical and theoretical issues for the single case study.

Abstract: The problem of bridging the gap between the traditional wired monitoring systems and the wireless ones, was the objective of an innovative network architecture that elegantly combined benefits from both approaches. The monitoring focus is on historical buildings in which installing wires maybe range from difficult (e.g., fragile constructions) to impossible (e.g., prohibitive legislation). However, this innovative approach is vulnerable with respect to synchronization issues. In particular, all data sensed by different sensors need to have the correct universal time stamp. Since under this approach there is no central entity to take a synchronization role, in this paper the use of a local NTP server is proposed and as it is shown here using experimental results, this approach suffices for the particular monitoring needs. Thus, the claim that the innovative system can efficiently support the required monitoring of ambient vibrations in historical buildings.

Abstract: The study investigates the microflora of the facades of two towers of historical sacral buildings whose surface was cleaned by water blasting. Lime or lime-cement plaster in both buildings was gradually replaced by silicone facade paint in the finale of renovation work. Following the above treatment, the facades were monitored for the growth of phototrophs, heterotrophic bacteria, micromycetes, and pH levels as a sign signalling the silicone paint degradation.

Abstract: Following the rapid growth of cities and changes which are seen in the way of living, a lot of old buildings and many historical houses have become exhausted. Various needs of the modern human have affected towns and ancient monuments amazingly fast and if we neglect them, none of the values obtained during the centuries will be maintained. However, half a century’s experience shows that we have to intervene, design and develop these ancient spaces. Intervention and design with the aim of providing the newest facilities to live with respect to the principles shaping historical spaces not only would not damage the spirit of the ancient historical spaces, but also they would improve the values of our ancient monuments and historical sites. As can be seen in the rest of the paper, the methodology of this research consists of a combination of strategies. In fact, the effective factors in the success or failure of the integration and development of the historical buildings are defined and finally, applying contemporary architecture with an interactive approach in development is proposed.

Abstract: There are many western style historical buildings in China, and the old buildings need a renovation and protection for their historical value in culture and facilities. It is an important protection problem for the culture symbols and historical building renovation. In this paper, it presents a old cultural building’s renovation process following the a interior design project management guideline, as the public old building, it should consider its old structure and modern building corresponding, the project cost and the craft combine together in this case study, as the successful case and field symbolic building, it shows a new characters around that place.

Abstract: Rising damp constitutes one of the main causes of monumental heritage and old buildings degradation, especially, its thick walls with heterogeneous composition. The LFC-FEUP has been developed important research in rising damp domain. In recent years, was validated and experimentally characterized the operation principle of a technique called "wall base ventilation system" for the treatment of rising damp in monumental heritage and ancient buildings consisting of circulating air at the base of the buildings walls with high thickness and heterogeneity in its constitution, with a saturation distant relative humidity. The studies previously developed allowed the interest and viability of the proposed system, taking time to develop a methodology for optimizes it. In this paper it is presented the optimization of the wall base ventilation system based on some important physical parameters. To optimize the system, it was developed a 2D evaporation model that describes the moisture transfer between the system and the wall as well as the water vapour transport throughout the system (Evaporation and Transport Model – ETM). It was also used and adapted another 2D model, to describe the rising damp phenomenon in buildings walls, considering the wall base ventilation system (Rising Damp and Evaporation Model – RDEM). Finally, the design model was developed, using both models (ETM and RDEM) and some experimental validation was done, which allowed the comparison between the levels archived by the wet front analytically and experimentally.