The Study of Historical Indoor Microclimate (HIM) to Contribute towards Heritage Buildings Preservation

Abstract

Knowledge of building techniques, materials and their decay is nowadays quite vast, as well as on the solutions and methodologies of a restoration project, which depends on the goal of the restoration itself. Even the choices on the new usage of historic buildings are often well considered. In the last few years, we have conducted some monitoring campaigns to obtain data related to four distinct buildings, differing in construction times, typology, location, current and historical uses. What has been discovered is that these buildings appear to be able to guarantee historical microclimates surprisingly overlapping to the parameters nowadays considered appropriate to conserve them and the historical patrimony they contain. In this article we show some explanatory results of four case studies from our research. The monitoring control, moreover, allowed us to develop the analysis further, from survey to virtual simulation. In this way it was possible to verify the effects of minimal variations in the architectural characteristics, such as opening or closing a window, covering an open yard, or else removing a cover, reducing the source of light etc. All of these managerial and architectural interventions have a significant effect on the indoor environment of buildings and can improve the conservation status of architecture, sometimes to such an extent that more costly and invasive restorations become unnecessary.

Retrofitting Historic Walls: Feasibility of Thermal Insulation and Suitability of Thermal Mortars

“…When a thermal retrofit intervention is required because of the original poor indoor comfort conditions in the building, the indoor climate should be documented following standardized procedures [36]. Measurements on site are, in this case, needed to evaluate current conditions, identify the causes of discomfort and define a viable strategy for the retrofit [28,37,38], as well as suitable target environmental conditions [39][40][41].…”

Widespread Difficulties and Applications in the Monitoring of Historical Buildings: The Case of the Realm of Venaria Reale

“…As mentioned in the introduction, the approach of this research follows the concept of HIM [30,31] and highlights the difficulties and the usefulness of studying the indoor microclimate for preventive conservation.…”

Microclimatic Effects on the Preservation of Finds in the Visitor Centre of the Archaelological Site 1a Imperial Palace Sirmium

“…in closed protective structures. As opposed to the extensive number of papers discussing optimum microclimatic conditions for museum collections on display [8][9][10][11][12] or those in historic buildings repurposed as museums [13][14][15][16][17], depots [18], and archives and libraries [19], scientific research on monitoring microclimatic regimes inside protective structures and visitor centres on archaeological sites, presented and published in a paper, are quite rare [20][21][22]. What makes archaeological sites specific is primarily the impact of the environmental conditions (ground waters, for example).…”