Vulnerability Index: A New Approach for Preventive Conservation of Monuments

Abstract

A new approach is developed for vulnerability analysis of monuments based on a matrix model and the relationships with static and structural factors, climatic conditions, air quality, urban planning and social agents for preventive conservation of cultural heritage in urban centers.The objective is to provide tools for decision-makers in the current recession to allow them to prioritize strategies for cultural heritage preservation in a town, where territorial policies are applied and regions where restoration budget is distributed. This new tool allow to classify monuments in order to prioritize restoration and is a useful tool in deeper analysis associated to risks assessment.The degradation of building materials and structures is mainly due to deterioration caused by structural instability, weathering, pollution and anthropogenic damage. The vulnerability approach of each monument (vulnerability indexes) were calculated, based on a Leopold matrix that depends on intrinsic variables and the life of the monuments. For the very first time, the influence of different deterioration agents has been balanced with a Delphi forecast based on architects´ opinions.The result is a new pre-Artificial Intelligence tool that enables users to reproduce human reasoning to study relations between vulnerability factors, risk factors and the historical parameters of the monuments.

The Paradigm of Circular Economy in Heritage Preservation of Southern Chile

“…Heritage attributes (A) of buildings, as defined by Ibrahim et al (12), correspond to the visible part of a country or region's history, concerning the complexity of cultural and stylistic development, conveyed over time. Vulnerability (V) of buildings is defined as the degree of loss of performance as a consequence of a natural phenomenon (30). Hazards (H) correspond to the influence of external affections that may impair a building's performance (31).…”

Fuzzy Decision-Support System for Safeguarding Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage

“…The fuzzy tool (ART-RISK 2.5 ) is fully programmed in Java, so it can be executed in most computer systems. The fuzzy adapted model is supported by 10 input variables, four related with the buildings' vulnerabilities and six associated with the risks (static-structural and anthropic risks) (Table 1) [27,28]. The fuzzy model was simplified in terms of atmospheric and anthropic risks considering two main reasons: i) the constructions are located in the same city, which presents similar atmospheric conditions; ii) some variables with low impact on the output were removed for helping non-professional users to evaluate the functional degradation of heritage constructions (thus reducing the model's complexity and the time required to apply the model).…”

Basic Protocol for On-Site Testing Consolidant Nanoparticles on Stone Cultural Heritage

“…Nevertheless, even durable stones suffer degradation processes due to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, worsened by the increment of environmental pollution due to the industrialization process and by changes in climate [1]. Powdering, sanding, scaling or alveolation are some of the most common weathering forms that decrease mechanical and aesthetical properties of our stone-built cultural heritage [2].…”

“…In 2004, the Spanish Institute for Historic Heritage published widely accepted basic criteria for interventions in stone-built cultural heritage [6]. Regarding the consolidating process, this document recommends the use of products that: (1) do not modify aesthetic and chromatic variables of stone and its physical-chemical properties, (2) are applied sustainably on stone surfaces. Furthermore, CEN (European Committee for Standardization) has edited a series of standards, highlighting the UNE-EN 41810 [7] about intervention criteria for stone materials, and others that can be adopted in different phases of the restoration process: characterization of stones [8][9][10][11], sampling [12], or the study of surface protection [13].…”