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No building is properly conserved if it is not structurally sound. Consequently architects, engineers and conservation officers need an adequate grounding in the technology as well as in the materials and the historic origins of the building.
Structural interventions to historic buildings are however an integral part of the effort to select and update their design, historic and cultural values. Structural Design in Building Conservation deals with such design issues and shows how technical choices integrate with the planning and architectural outcomes in a conservation project. It brings together theory with current conservation technology, discussing the possibilities of structural details and strategies in architectural expression and is particularly directed at students of architectural conservation technology and practising engineers and architects.
Central to this outline is the discussion of case studies, which is organised around themes like addition of roofs, requalification of space, strengthening and re-use of fabric, repristination, additions, completions, stiffness adjustments, correction of past mistakes etc. and the reader is encouraged to appraise directly the solutions.
The book introduces the philosophy of structural interventions within the range of conservation theories and discusses practices in various European countries. It then outlines the main types of strengthening, repairs and interventions in terms of building types and the structural nature of the main elements to be strengthened (linear structures, frames, plates and shells). Significant case studies are presented that cover a very wide range of historic types and conversions, not only monumental masonry structures like neoclassic buildings, major temples, churches, public buildings, and museums, but also more utilitarian structures like historic mills, early reinforced concrete structures and vaulting types.
