Conceptual Urban Renewal Outlines Against Proposed Mediaspree Project at Holzmarkt Area in Berlin: A Proposal to Remodel Vibrant Urban Space

The German capital city of Berlin, amongst all European cities, is well known as one of the most freethinking center but yet historical. Its industrial historic structures and heritage elements over the spree river shore are reanalyzed and reexamined in this case study with emphasis on club culture and social recreation. The important issue is that, the structures and architectural style of these few surviving buildings have the common features and also diversities which were never brought under light and even ignored to let them became hub for unsocial activities like drug dealing and unhygienic adobes for homeless peoples. To discover and recognize their current contribution and possible social attribute over the whole city fabric, the main construct of this paper is to rethink Berlin’s so called public cohesion on the basis of recreational character and its associated urban order. The research question is: “What is the topmost role played by such built elements for formation of a distinct civic culture and keep Berlin alive?” To reveal the conceivable theoretical framework of this study will try to accentuate same facts and aspects followed by descriptive-analytical method and suggest independent and dependent variables, possible cooperative urban inventions based on the inhabitants’ interest, protest and demands against privatization of Media Spree. Documentation, field survey, associated drawings, related photographs from different time intervals and model studying was helpful for analyzing the urban morphology. The proposed design will try to indicate that the historic industrial buildings, pubs and markets, art practice and the overall landscape has tremendous bilateral relations for the wellbeing of city dwellers; which could be shaped well into a main ‘Axis’ of cultural activities, which Berlin is not posed with currently.

The Grouting Process as an Innovative Tool for the Assessment of the State of Preservation and Internal Features of the Holy Aedicule of the Holy Sepulchre

Grouting of historic structures is a common procedure in many restoration projects, as the masonry in many cases requires additional strengthening. However, grouting of complex historic structures can also provide important information regarding the construction phases and the state of preservation of the internal structure of a monument, which may not be visible by the naked eye. This requires an innovative approach in order to reveal these aspects. In the current research, the data recorded from the grouting of the Holy Aedicule are implemented and analyzed, in order to obtain information regarding the construction phases of the complex Holy Aedicule structure, as well as information regarding the state of preservation of the internal structure behind the marble cladding that encloses it. The correlation of detailed grouting data with geospatial information allows for a more detailed analysis, which, coupled with ground-penetrating radar prospections, can provide critical information regarding the features of the internal structure. The results highlight the importance of this correlation to reveal information that may not be obtained through a typical approach. Thus, this study allowed for the development of an evolved interdisciplinary approach for the management of grouting data in a 2.5D environment, which can be applied in other historic structures and buildings.

Rehabilitation of historic Shibam and Zabid, Yemen as an impulse for community and economy

Conditions in Yemen involving armed conflict and all kinds of structural challenges have also their impact on the fate of its built heritage. Yemen’s three World Heritage Sites have their particular significance, all of them representing a region with its own cultural background: Sanaa in the highlands, Zabid in the coastal Tihama, and Shibam in the remote desert valley of Hadramaut. Unlike the Old City of Sanaa, the two smaller sites struggle with the limited resources of low-developed hinterland. Both preserve a unique urban culture: Zabid with its many elements of elaborate artistry and a vernacular architecture highly adapted to tropical conditions, and Shibam as a dense structure of unique mud-built tower houses.Preservation in a background of poverty, weak capacities of official structures, and even war destruction risks can only succeed in connection with active engagement and commitment of the community, which however is heterogeneous and heritage preservation is not always their priority. Efficient strategies must therefore link local livelihood interests to preservation concerns. Market quarter and housing rehabilitation in both cities in last years had wide backing, supported income and resulted in visible upgrading of the very heart of these cities—showing locals recovery of historic structures has its potentials—even in the extreme conditions of Yemen.

Hybridity Culture: The Adaptive Reuse Concept for an Escape Place. Study Case: Gedung Antara, Pasar Baru, Jakarta

The growth of cities has an impact on society. As a result of the population’s increased bustle and activity needs, dwelling space is becoming increasingly limited. The concept of “third place in hybrid and multicultural areas” is explored in this study, which combines adaptive reuse in buildings with the idea of multicultural hybridity. By adapting historic structures into new purposes that meet current needs, we could solve escaping spaces. To put that concept into practice, we must first comprehend the region’s cultural characteristics. The heritage building in Pasar Baru is situated in an area generated by the complex hybridity of Jakarta’s numerous ethnic communities. This area’s hybridity offers an exciting place that can be used as an escape route. This study employs a qualitative research approach that includes in-depth observations in Pasar Baru. We study old buildings that have a hybrid character from the ethnicities prevalent in Pasar Baru. According to the findings, heritage structures undergoing adaptive reuse must be evaluated regularly to account for changes in spatial conditions that occur over time. Adaptive reuse transforms ancient structures into new roles in conservation and uses a cultural context approach in the surrounding area, allowing for more efficient service.

Stone Works Valuation within Immovable Cultural Heritage Monuments Restoration

Historic buildings and their stone parts represent both specific functional architectural features of constructions and important aspects of the cultural heritage. They provide important and valuable proof of development, style, and architecture, level of decorative art, and material processing techniques. However, these historic buildings need restoration so that their legacy can be preserved for future generations. The quality of restoration work tends to be closely related to work price. At present, however, prices for the restoration of stone parts of historic buildings are determined intuitively, based on their complexity, uniqueness, and specificity of restoration work. The valuation of restoration work is therefore carried out mainly by the private sector, based on the experience of individual budgeters and restorers. Due to the fact that the limits of the maximum and minimum scope of individual actions are not set, incorrect valuation can occur, which, in the case of subsequent implementation, may damage, or even in fact damages, the restoration activity as such. Based on this, the article deals with valuation of stone works restoration in real historic structures. It introduces and describes the proposal for systematic classification of these types of work, the procedure for setting standards for time units and consequently the proposal of formula structure for calculating costs and prices. The aim of the article is to introduce the use of standardised procedures for pricing of stone works restoration and thereby create a comparative and cost bases in order to make a qualified choice of restoration specialists.

Learning-based classification of multispectral images for deterioration mapping of historic structures

The conservation of historic structures requires detailed knowledge of their state of preservation. Documentation of deterioration makes it possible to identify risk factors and interpret weathering mechanisms. It is usually performed using non-destructive methods such as mapping of surface features. The automated mapping of deterioration is a direction not often explored, especially when the investigated architectural surfaces present a multitude of deterioration forms and consist of heterogeneous materials, which significantly complicates the generation of thematic decay maps. This work combines reflectance imaging and supervised segmentation, based on machine learning methods, to automatically segment deterioration patterns on multispectral image composites, using a weathered historic fortification as a case study. Several spectral band combinations and image classification techniques (regression, decision tree, and ensemble learning algorithmic implementations) are evaluated to propose an accurate approach. The automated thematic mapping facilitates the spatial and semantic description of the deterioration patterns. Furthermore, the utilization of low-cost photographic equipment and easily operable digital image processing software adds to the practicality and agility of the presented methodology.

Multifunctional and Durable Coatings for Stone Protection Based on Gd-Doped Nanocomposites

The development of nanocomposite materials with multifunctional protective features is an urgent need in many fields. However, few works have studied the durability of these materials. Even though TiO2 nanoparticles have been extensively applied for self-cleaning effect, it displays a weak activity under visible light. Hence, in this study, pure and Gd-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (molar ratios of doping ions/Ti are 0.1 and 1) were synthesised, characterised, and then mixed with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), used as a binder, in order to produce a homogenised thin film on a very porous stone substrate. To our knowledge, Gd-doped TiO2/PDMS protective coatings are studied for the first time for application on historic structures. The protective coatings developed in this work are intended to reduce the surface wettability of the stone and protect the historic stones from dye pollution and microorganism colonisation. Moreover, in this study, the durability of the developed nanocomposite was deeply studied to evaluate the stability of the coatings. Results confirmed that samples treated with the lowest concentrations of Gd ions (0.1 mol%) showed acceptable chromatic variations, a good repellent feature, acceptable water vapour permeability, good durability, the highest self-cleaning activity, and good inhibitory behaviour against microbial colonisation.

Health detection techniques for historic structures

The protection of historic buildings has drawn increasing attention and usually requires a sound nondestructive testing (NDT) technique. This paper first describes the significance of and the status on the protection of historic structures followed by a summary of common damage and repair measures for such structures. Lastly, the principles, characteristics, and applications of NDT techniques for historic wooden and masonry structures, including ultra-CT testing, stress wave testing, micro-drilling resistance meter, radar detection, and X-ray diffraction, are described and compared. This study concludes by providing a guide for studying the structural damage of historic structures and for the selection of a detection technique.