Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Historical Buildings, [Advances in Architecture Series, Volume 3]

This book contains 59 edited papers presented at the Fifth International Conference on Structural Repair and Maintenance of Historical Buildings, which was held in San Sebastian, Spain, June 25-27, 1997. Since its origin in 1989, the conference has become well established and continues to attract from around the world leading scientists, architects, engineers and building surveyors, and conservation specialists active in the repair and maintenance of historical buildings.

Also included are 5 papers presented at a Special Session on Heritage as a Factor in Development. These deal with the phenomenon of new developments which center around the renovation of historical buildings in many towns.

The conference was supported by the Tenth Directorate General of the European Commission, which is dedicated to Infrastructure, Communication, Culture, Audiovisual Culture and Audiovisual Policy.

Preservation of our historical heritage is increasingly becoming a matter of architectural concern. Repair and maintenance problems for historical buildings, bridges, aqueducts and other stone, masonry or metal structures is of great interest to many organizations in different parts of the world. The safety and integrity of the structures need to be considered, as well as the architectural aspects of repair and maintenance. New techniques are available for the assessment of these problems, such as the monitoring and surveying of the structures and simulation techniques which can be used before any physical work is undertaken.

The problem of the repair and maintenance of historical buildings, bridges, aqueducts and other stone, masonry or metal structures of historical significance is of great interest to many organizations in different parts of the world. A considerable amount of expertise exists and it is important that it is shared between those working in the field, because there is a lack of guidance in the form of textbooks, codes of practice and other publications. The objective of the conference was to bring together all those interested in the subject, whether scientists, architects or engineers, and whether their work is analytical, historical or constructional and to promote a forum for the exchange of views.