A Digital-based Integrated Methodology for the Preventive Conservation of Cultural Heritage: The Experience of HeritageCare Project

Abstract

A sustainable conservation strategy for cultural heritage protection is not feasible without a systematic documentation, registration and management of the information. The adoption of integrated inspection protocols and regular tracking processes, based on standardized procedures and uniform criteria, are the basis to successfully replace actual curative strategies with proactive conservation approaches. The opportunities brought by the digital tools can offer tremendous advantages in this regard. This paper explores the leading role that digitization is assuming in the context of heritage conservation through the experience of the HeritageCare project-Monitoring and preventive conservation of historic and cultural heritage" (SOE1/P5/P0258). The project has developed a digital-based integrated methodology aimed at providing enhanced tools and services to properly document cultural heritage buildings and engage directly owners in the conservation process of their legacy. The structured digital workflow on which the HeritageCare protocol relies is described in detail, encompassing different levels of information. Finally, the full application of the protocol is presented with reference to one of the most emblematic case studies of the project, the Ducal Palace of Guimarães, Portugal.

Web-GIS approach to preventive conservation of heritage buildings

“…exceptional integrated objects; iii) main movable objects; iv) exceptional movable objects. Each of these groups includes a total of twelve categories, as exposed by Masciotta et al [4].…”

“…This form is conceived for the inspector to upload the whole 3D point cloud of the heritage building/site. The PlusCare protocol allows the use of different recording strategies depending on the complexity and size of the cultural heritage site that needs to be digitalized [4].…”

“…The Library was first inspected by an equipped team of HeritageCare professionals who applied the StandardCare protocol foreseen for SL1. This protocol allows a rapid condition screening of the conservation status and uses a 4-colour grading scale to associate a degree of severity to each observed damage [4]. This modus operandi permits to rank the overall building condition based on the average grade scored by each inspected building item, thus assisting in the definition of priorities of intervention or, alternatively, additional inspection and diagnosis works (Figure 10a and Figure 15) [4].…”

“…The selection of the service level depends on the conservation needs of the building as well as on the owner's requirements/financial availability. For a thorough description of the workflow and tools required to implement the first and third levels of service (SL1 and SL3), the reader is referred to Masciotta et al [4].…”

Using Citizen Heritage Science to monitor remote sites; a comparison of two methods

“…Digital documentation is a vital part of preventative conservation and offers a sustainable and scalable approach to the registration and management of conservation information [28]. While pioneering activities such as the RAE project in Scotland [29] and HeritageCare [30] in southern Europe are leading examples of large-scale digital conservation methodologies, they rely heavily on professionals providing all documenting and monitoring data. Using this methodology heritage institutions can capture long-term trends and one-off events between site visits from conservation professionals.…”