Historic Climate in Heritage Building and Standard 15757: Proposal for a Common Nomenclature

Research on the relationship between microclimate and heritage buildings or historic buildings has increased dramatically in the last few decades. Research has focused on indoor climate or indoor microclimate or the environment or micro-environment, and the field of these studies regards several variables, physical—air temperature, air speed, relative humidity—or chemical, dust, CO2, pollution, etc., all of which can have an effect or damage buildings or artifacts inside buildings. Moreover, all these variables should be monitored in a monitoring campaign following the standard EN 15757; in spite of this, scientific literature contains mistakes with regard to the words and objects of study. In this short contribution, the author proposes a common nomenclature in the research field of climate and microclimate in heritage buildings and heritage artifacts. A new nomenclature should be useful for the community of heritage scientists working on preventive measures to distinguish between climate and environment, or the object of study, e.g., the room (wall, wood structure, fresco, etc.) where the artifacts are or the air around them (painting, canvas, statue, piece of furniture, documents, books, etc.).

ALTERNATIF MODEL PENILAIAN NILAI PENTING PADA BANGUNAN DIDUGA CAGAR BUDAYA DI KOTA DONGGALA, SULAWESI TENGAH [THE ALTERNATIVE MODEL OF SIGNIFICANT VALUES ASSESSMENT ON SUSPECTED BUILDINGS OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN DONGGALA CITY, CENTRAL SULAWESI]

Bangunan tua di Kota Donggala adalah bangunan bersejarah yang berasal dari periode kolonial. Akan tetapi, bangunan-bangunan ini hingga sekarang belum ditetapkan sebagai cagar budaya karena terbatasnya tenaga ahli cagar budaya di instansi kebudayaan Kota Donggala. Selain itu, metode asesmen penilaian bangunan diduga cagar budaya yang ada umumnya rumit dan tidak komperehensif. Tulisan ini bertujuan memberikan alternatif metode penilaian nilai penting yang sederhana untuk bangunan-bangunan yang diduga cagar budaya, dan dapat dipraktikkan pekerja bidang kebudayaan di instansi pemerintah lokal. Terdapat enam nilai penting yang diamati pada bangunan yaitu nilai sejarah, arsitektural, estetika, sosial, ilmu pengetahuan dan pendidikan. Metode penilaian menggunakan pemberian skor pada masing-masing nilai kriteria yang ditentukan. Pemeringkatan bangunan diklasifikasikan menjadi tiga peringkat yaitu utama, madya, dan minor. Bangunan yang diobservasi ialah Kantor Pusat Koperasi Kopra Daerah (PKKD) Donggala dan Gudang PKKD Donggala, dua peninggalan dari masa kolonial yang berhubungan dengan perdagangan kopra. Dari penilaian yang dilakukan diperoleh hasil yakni Kantor PKKD Donggala memiliki total skor 21 dan berperingkat madya. Gudang PKKD Donggala memiliki total skor 29 dan berperingkat utama. Dengan adanya alternatif model penilaian nilai penting yang lebih sederhana, maka diharapkan pemerintah lokal, dalam hal ini Dinas Kebudayaan yang berwenang, dapat lebih mudah melakukan asesmen awal terhadap bangunan-bangunan yang diduga sebagai cagar budaya meskipun tanpa bantuan tenaga ahli. Some old buildings in Donggala City are historical heritages from colonial period. Thus far, these buildings have not been designated as cultural heritage due to the limited number of experts in the field. In addition, assessment methods for indicated cultural heritage buildings are generally complex and not comprehensive. This research aims to provide an alternative assessment method that can be practiced by cultural workers. There are six important values observed in buildings i.e. history, architecture, aesthetic, social, scientific, and educational. This method used a score for each of those specified criteria values. Building ratings were classified into primary, intermediate, and minor. Based from the assessment, the Donggala PKKD office has a total score of 21, middle ranked. While PKKD Donggala Warehouse has a total score of 29, top ranked. This alternative model as a simpler assessment of significant values can be easily carry out by local government without the help of experts.

Multi-Camera Workflow Applied to a Cultural Heritage Building: Alhambra’s Torre de la Cautiva from the Inside

It is increasingly necessary to generate accessible and navigable digital representations of historical or heritage buildings. This article explains the workflow that was applied to create such a digital component for one of the least accessible areas of the Alhambra palace in Granada, the so-called Torre de la Cautiva (Tower of the Captive). The main goal of this process was to create affordable, photorealistic 3D models that contribute to the dissemination of cultural heritage, the decision making for its conservation and restoration, and public engagement and entertainment. With enough preparation, the time spent gathering data following a Structure from Motion (SfM) approach can be significantly reduced by using a multi-camera (low cost DSLR) photogrammetric strategy. Without the possibility of artificial lighting, it was essential to use RAW images and calibrate the color in the scene for material and texture characterization. Through processing, the amount of data was reduced by optimizing the model’s topology. Thus, a photorealistic result was obtained that could be managed and visualized in immersive Visual Reality (VR) environments, simulating different historical periods and environmental and lighting conditions. The potential of this method allows, with slight modifications, the creation of HBIMs and the adaptation to VR systems development, whose current visualization quality is below the resolution of actionable models in rendering engines.

Towards Nearly-Zero Energy in Heritage Residential Buildings Retrofitting in Hot, Dry Climates

Retrofitting “nearly-zero energy” heritage buildings has always been controversial, due to the usual association of the “nearly-zero energy” target with high energy performance and the utilization of renewable energy sources in highly regarded cultural values of heritage buildings. This paper aims to evaluate the potential of turning heritage building stock into a “nearly-zero energy” in hot, dry climates, which has been addressed in only a few studies. Therefore, a four-phase integrated energy retrofitting methodology was proposed and applied to a sample of heritage residential building stock in Egypt along with microscale analysis on buildings. Three reference buildings were selected, representing the most dominant building typologies. The study combines field measurements and observations with energy simulations. In addition, simulation models were created and calibrated based on monitored data in the reference buildings. The results show that the application of hybrid passive and active non-energy generating scenarios significantly impacts energy use in the reference buildings, e.g., where 66.4% of annual electricity use can be saved. Moreover, the application of solar energy sources approximately covers the energy demand in the reference buildings, e.g., where an annual self-consumption of electricity up to 78% and surplus electricity up to 20.4% can be achieved by using photo-voltaic modules. Furthermore, annual natural gas of up to 66.8% can be saved by using two unglazed solar collectors. Lastly, achieving “nearly-zero energy” was possible for the presented case study area. The originality of this work lies in developing and applying an informed retrofitting (nearly-zero energy) guide to be used as a benchmark energy model for buildings that belong to an important historical era. The findings contribute to fill a gap in existing studies of integrating renewable energy sources to achieve “nearly-zero energy” in heritage buildings in hot climates.

Modified Presplit Blast Design and its Implementation to Control Near Field Blast Vibrations

The development of urban infrastructure projects like metro rail projects in the major cities in India is one of the challenging tasks due to several site construction and operating constraints. These rapid transit systems (RTS) are conceived to minimise traffic congestion by providing commuters with fast and efficient transportation alternatives. One such project is the Phase-II of the ongoing Bangalore Underground Metrorail Project. The design and construction of the metro rail project require sound engineering judgment and field experience on envisaged strata conditions along the proposed route alignment. The important factors that govern the excavation cycle depend on Rock mass material properties, efficient blast design and construction performance. All these considerations needs to be evaluated for achieving safe, cost-effective excavation design layouts. Proper blast design and safe blasting operations play a key role in achieving good fragmentation, minimising over break and equipment downtime. Site-specific innovative methods on controlled blasting techniques are being experimented with and demonstrated to minimise the ground vibrations. The major challenge lies with the design of efficient and smooth wall blasting techniques to safeguard the old heritage buildings and other subsurface structures and utilities.

The Grand Central Markets; Heritage-led Regeneration through adaptive reuse

<p>There is growing acceptance that heritage buildings are an important element of New Zealand’s social capital and that heritage conservation provides economic, cultural and social benefits to urban communities. The role of building conservation has changed from preservation to being part of a broader strategy for urban regeneration and sustainability. Heritage-led regeneration through reuse presents an opportunity to encourage the enhancement and protection of both existing built heritage and New Zealand’s historic building stock. Over the years, there has been significant loss of historic heritage in the Auckland city centre, and a number of heritage buildings continue to suffer from neglect, decay, under-use or insensitive new design. There is a need to properly integrate these heritage assets into New Zealand’s future planning strategies. This thesis investigates strategic planning schemes and visions for a mixed-use development to support urban regeneration in Auckland’s City Centre. Imposing a design-led approach, this research will begin by a broad critique of building preservation, adaptive reuse and placemaking theories. In conjunction with this, internationally recognised adaptive reuse, mixed-use and urban regeneration projects will be reviewed. Utilising international literature and precedents, an adaptive research approach is applied to the former Auckland Railway Station in order to demonstrate its potential to be revitalised into a contemporary mixed-use development that reflects Auckland’s diverse cultural mix. The objective of this research investigation is to form a critical design approach to allow the former Auckland Railway Station to become the heart and soul of the community whilst establishing an ecologically sound future. The process will involve a layered response; respecting and conserving the existing fabric, harnessing the ‘sense of place’ and applying interventions that promotes occupation and community engagement.</p>

The Grand Central Markets; Heritage-led Regeneration through adaptive reuse

<p>There is growing acceptance that heritage buildings are an important element of New Zealand’s social capital and that heritage conservation provides economic, cultural and social benefits to urban communities. The role of building conservation has changed from preservation to being part of a broader strategy for urban regeneration and sustainability. Heritage-led regeneration through reuse presents an opportunity to encourage the enhancement and protection of both existing built heritage and New Zealand’s historic building stock. Over the years, there has been significant loss of historic heritage in the Auckland city centre, and a number of heritage buildings continue to suffer from neglect, decay, under-use or insensitive new design. There is a need to properly integrate these heritage assets into New Zealand’s future planning strategies. This thesis investigates strategic planning schemes and visions for a mixed-use development to support urban regeneration in Auckland’s City Centre. Imposing a design-led approach, this research will begin by a broad critique of building preservation, adaptive reuse and placemaking theories. In conjunction with this, internationally recognised adaptive reuse, mixed-use and urban regeneration projects will be reviewed. Utilising international literature and precedents, an adaptive research approach is applied to the former Auckland Railway Station in order to demonstrate its potential to be revitalised into a contemporary mixed-use development that reflects Auckland’s diverse cultural mix. The objective of this research investigation is to form a critical design approach to allow the former Auckland Railway Station to become the heart and soul of the community whilst establishing an ecologically sound future. The process will involve a layered response; respecting and conserving the existing fabric, harnessing the ‘sense of place’ and applying interventions that promotes occupation and community engagement.</p>

Overlapping Perspectives

<p>All urban sites around the world have their own unique, evolving historical identity. However, this identity can often become obscured, or even lost, over time due to the progressive changes that occur to the transforming urban context. An urban site's evolution may include newly reclaimed land, conflicting grid alignments as new roads are added, new buildings being constructed that fail to reaffirm site identity in relation to existing conditions and historic buildings that become re-purposed with a subsequent loss of their original architectural identity. The site selected for this design research investigation is Queens Wharf in Wellington. Located in the heart of New Zealand's capital city, where land meets sea at the center line of the city's skyline, Queens Wharf occupies one of the most important sites in the capital. However, the principal problem of this site is its lack of coherent place identity. This problem has arisen in relation to five main factors: 1) very large, anonymous new metal shed buildings have been added in poor relationships with historic masonry and timber ones; 2)heritage buildings have been re-purposed, and their interior programmes are no longer represented by their architectural facades; 3) enormous, contemporary, and very unattractive buildings such as the TSB Arena house programmes that change throughout the year, preventing the exterior architecture from providing identity to what is happening within; 4) a confluence of conflicting grids has developed over time at this site; and 5) Queens Wharf's important location at the edge of city and sea near the center line of the city's skyline provides a significant opportunity for this site to act as a visual gateway to the capital city, but this opportunity remains unfulfilled. The thesis proposes that architecture can play an essential role in establishing place identity for Queens Wharf by: 1) implicating historic architectural features into new architectural interventions – so that the historic buildings are fundamentally important to understanding the new and vice versa – by integrating the new and the old in ways that present all the stages of the site’s evolution as important chapters in its overall tale; 2) exposing interior programmes to the outside to establish architectural identity through programmatic visibility; 3) establishing new architectural interventions as 'pivots' to help make sense of conflicting grid alignments; 4) arranging architectural interventions as a framing device and an important liminal threshold between the opposing conditions of land and sea.</p>

Flight of the Factory

<p>New Zealand’s industrial heritage is largely forgotten and at risk of being lost. Without intervention, these buildings will continue to decay until demolition becomes the only feasible option. This design research investigates how laminated timber can be used to adaptively re-use industrial heritage buildings. Adaptive re-use allows a new programme to occur within an existing heritage site, while simultaneously acknowledging its significance. This research produces a set of design guidelines and strategies that can be used to inform future projects. Laminated timber is typically used in the construction of new buildings and is becoming an increasingly popular choice of material due to recent technological developments and its sustainable profile. This design research explores the use of laminated timber within the adaptive re-use of industrial heritage buildings as an alternative to typical strengthening materials, such as steel and concrete. The ruins of the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works is used as a design case study to explore the research question. Located 90km north of Gisborne, Tokomaru Bay is a typical example of the boom and bust experienced in the primary industries of provincial New Zealand during the 20th century. Constructed from Unreinforced Masonry (U.R.M), the freezing works opened in 1910 and initially brought prosperity and development to the region. After the factory’s closure in 1952, the freezing works was abandoned and quickly fell into disrepair and the Tokomaru Bay community sharply declined. This design case study aims to explore the contribution of laminated timber within the adaptive re-use of U.R.M in the context of a mānuka honey factory and garden nursery, within the ruins of the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works. Using strategies identified throughout the design research, this case study shows the beneficial relationship that can be achieved between the use of new (laminated timber) and existing heritage fabric (U.R.M) that is compatible with economic revitalisation of small town New Zealand. While acknowledging the limitations of laminated timber, this research identifies five design criteria; architectural character, structure, heritage significance, envelope and program, to assess the success of the design strategies identified.</p>

Flight of the Factory

<p>New Zealand’s industrial heritage is largely forgotten and at risk of being lost. Without intervention, these buildings will continue to decay until demolition becomes the only feasible option. This design research investigates how laminated timber can be used to adaptively re-use industrial heritage buildings. Adaptive re-use allows a new programme to occur within an existing heritage site, while simultaneously acknowledging its significance. This research produces a set of design guidelines and strategies that can be used to inform future projects. Laminated timber is typically used in the construction of new buildings and is becoming an increasingly popular choice of material due to recent technological developments and its sustainable profile. This design research explores the use of laminated timber within the adaptive re-use of industrial heritage buildings as an alternative to typical strengthening materials, such as steel and concrete. The ruins of the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works is used as a design case study to explore the research question. Located 90km north of Gisborne, Tokomaru Bay is a typical example of the boom and bust experienced in the primary industries of provincial New Zealand during the 20th century. Constructed from Unreinforced Masonry (U.R.M), the freezing works opened in 1910 and initially brought prosperity and development to the region. After the factory’s closure in 1952, the freezing works was abandoned and quickly fell into disrepair and the Tokomaru Bay community sharply declined. This design case study aims to explore the contribution of laminated timber within the adaptive re-use of U.R.M in the context of a mānuka honey factory and garden nursery, within the ruins of the Tokomaru Bay Freezing Works. Using strategies identified throughout the design research, this case study shows the beneficial relationship that can be achieved between the use of new (laminated timber) and existing heritage fabric (U.R.M) that is compatible with economic revitalisation of small town New Zealand. While acknowledging the limitations of laminated timber, this research identifies five design criteria; architectural character, structure, heritage significance, envelope and program, to assess the success of the design strategies identified.</p>