Is Holism Needed in the Diagnosis of Historical Structures?

Abstract

Introduction: A good old engineer used to say, “If you want to find the essence of a thing, put down the magnifying glass and first go as far back as possible to see what the environment near and far was and is like for that thing. If you understand the context, you are ready for detailed research.” The topic of the paper is an excuse to discuss the breadth of the spectrum of impacts important to historic buildings, structures and their elements. Is it possible to define them all? How should a failure analysis be conducted to predict what impacts will result from repairs and what resistances should be designed? The answer is impossible and unreasonable without full knowledge of the conditions under which they were manufactured, built, how they were used throughout their lifetime, how they degraded over time and under what factors.

Material and Method: 40 years of research and analysis of objects in the Medieval City of Toruń (listed as a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site), in constant contact with the rescue of monuments, is the place to collect materials and conduct analysis. To show how to approach the problem, four examples from recent years were selected. Selected elements of a frame building (wood, solid brick) from the turn of the 20th century, two masonry buildings from the mid-19th century and a newer one from the mid-20th century were analyzed to show the problems of reinforced monolithic concrete. Buildings with a main structure of reinforced concrete are infrequent examples of a monument but have begun to appear more and more often in conservation practice.

For the purpose of the analysis, specially prepared inventories of objects with some of the features taken from the conservation stratification were used. The inventories were supplemented with a structural stratification defining the time and type of technologies and materials used from the time of construction through subsequent renovations, alterations and repairs to the date of analysis. No less important was the examination of historical changes in atmospheric conditions, air, water and ground pollution, and the history of changes in the surroundings of the buildings.

This procedure made it possible to analyze the facilities on five levels: - as physical, biological and chemical creations, - as places intended for human use, - as objects of long-term attack of environmental impacts, - as part of an ongoing history forcing changes, redevelopment, - as objects of impacts related to the maintenance of an operational or non-operational state.

Results: In the presented group of analyzed objects, damages with common and unique features were found, occurring only in the studied objects. Most of the problems are due to human activity, and mainly to the cost and insufficient knowledge of those taking care of the monuments.

Conclusions: The most important thing is the dissemination of knowledge and the creation of mechanisms that require adequate preparation from people in the vicinity of monuments. Also of utmost importance is an emphasis on expanding the required spectrum of research and analysis before taking action.