2/20/2025

ARBA MINCH INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY Contents
Faculty of Architecture and
Planning ❑ Heritage maintenance

❑ Restoration Approaches
ARCH 6311: Preservation
❑ Green Heritage Conservation
and Conservation
Lecture 04: MAINTENANCE,
RESTORATION
and
GREEN HERITAGE CONSERVATION
ቅርስ

Heritage maintenance Heritage maintenance

• As defined by the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation
Introduction of Historic Places in Canada (2004), MAINTENANCE is:

• All building materials decay eventually due to sunlight, rain and

“Routine, cyclical, non-destructive actions
wind, and therefore they require continued attention if a
necessary to slow the deterioration of a historic
building’s condition is to be maintained.
place. It entails periodic inspection; routine,
• Modest spending on regular maintenance can reduce the cyclical, non-destructive cleaning; minor repair
need for costly repairs, protect the fabric of building and save and refinishing operations; replacement of
money in the longer term. damaged or deteriorated materials that are
impractical to save.”

Heritage maintenance Heritage maintenance

Maintenance can be broken down into three categories: 1. Maintenance should be planned, and carried out on
• Corrective Maintenance: work necessary to bring a a REGULAR and TIMELY BASIS. A maintenance plan is
building to an acceptable level (often recommended a valuable tool to aid in this work.
by a conservation plan), such as treatment for moisture.
• Emergency Maintenance: work that must be done 2. Maintenance PROTECTS AGAINST DETERIORATION of
immediately for health, safety or security reasons or that the building fabric. Maintenance work keeps water
may result in the rapid deterioration of the structure or out of the building; prevents DAMAGE BY SUN, wind,
fabric if not done, such as roof repairs after a storm or dust, and all weather; protects against VANDALISM
repairing broken glass. AND ARSON; prevents damage BY INSECTS AND
• Planned Maintenance: work to prevent problems which VERMIN; and aids in protecting all parts of the
can happen predictably within the life of a building, building against deterioration.
such as cleaning gutters or painting.

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Heritage maintenance Heritage maintenance

3. Maintenance of heritage buildings shall be done in 5. The SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT of
such a way as TO NOT DAMAGE ANY PART OF THE maintenance work involves a
HERITAGE structure that is to be preserved. The comprehensive over-view of a number of
protection of the historic building's ORIGINAL trades, budget planning, and practical
MATERIALS and DETAILS IS AN IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE. training. Maintenance is a process, not a
4. Regular methodical inspections of the heritage product and thoughtful continuity of work by
building and site for both CURRENT CONDITIONS and skilled staff, technicians and tradespeople will
SIGNS OF DECAY are an important part of a protect the owner's investment in the building
maintenance plan. Referring to notes and reports and REDUCE THE NECESSITY FOR FUTURE COSTLY
from these inspections allows the planning and REPAIRS AND RECONSTRUCTION.
budgeting of future maintenance work.

PROCEDURES
1. Identify the heritage value and character defining
elements. ...
2. Review the Standards and Guidelines. ...
MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES 3. Do an inspection. ...
4. Complete corrective or emergency maintenance
FOR HERITAGE BUILDING (if necessary) ...
5. Develop a cyclical plan for maintenance. ...
- BUILDING ENVELOPE. ...
- MAINTAINING THE PARTS. ...
- FOUNDATIONS.

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MAINTENANCE OF EXTERIORS
• Keeping the Water Out
• Roofs and Gutters
• Walls
• Windows
• Doors
• Hardware
• Protecting Heritage Features

Restoration Approaches
Structural and Aesthetic Restoration
• Restoration approaches vary based on the
Restoration of Architectural Heritage condition of the structure and the intended level of
intervention.
Structural Restoration (Preserving Integrity)
• Focuses on stability and safety without altering
historical authenticity.
• Uses reinforcement techniques like steel bracing
and foundation strengthening.

Restoration Approaches Restoration Approaches

Aesthetic Restoration (Restoring Original Ethics in Restoration: Respecting Historical Accuracy
Heritage restoration requires ethical responsibility to avoid
Appearance) excessive alterations that misrepresent history.
• Key Ethical Considerations
1. Respect for Original Materials: - Avoiding the complete
• Seeks to return a structure to its original visual and replacement of materials unless absolutely necessary.
artistic state. 2. Avoiding Conjecture (No False History): - Reconstruction
should be based on documented evidence, not
• Often involves recreating missing architectural assumptions.
elements based on historical records. 3. Reversibility of Interventions: - Ensuring that modern
interventions can be undone in the future if better techniques
emerge.

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• Conservation and restoration of Cultural Heritage assets

involves the potential exposure to risk factors for worker’s
health and the environment.
Green Conservation of Cultural Heritage • From the toxicological point of view, restorers/conservators
are commonly exposed to complex mixtures of different
types of harmful substances that could be responsible for a
wide array of toxic effects, from mild effects in the upper
airways induced by harmful airborne particulate matter to
the cancer-causing effects of certain treatment product,
including (but not only) paints and pigments.

• The broad range of non-standardized (ethics

• Frequently, artworks must be restored on-site and in
require always case-by-case solutions) restoration
indoor environments, often without any adequate
techniques employed during the interventions on
ventilation. Moreover, the disposal of chemical
Cultural Heritage items often involves the use of
waste may be very expensive and it could lead to
solvent and other chemical mixtures as well as
serious consequences on the environment if it is not
biocidal products, and leads to a challenging
carried out properly, and affect people unrelated
assessment of the actual risks.
to the restoration procedure.

Recent Workshop, focused on the issue “Sustainable

Restoration”, is aimed to discuss the following topics
• It is now imperative to take ecological, a) Eco-friendly products coming by
biotechnologies and nanomaterial sectors;
economic and social aspects into consideration
b) Scientific alternative methodologies already
when looking at conservation practice and available capable to replace the hazardous
supporting conservation science solutions. products and methods for workers and
environment used in traditional restoration
treatments;
c) New researches to more sustainable methods
that take into account both the working
conditions and the easiness to use;
d) Training programs, activities or studies on the
awareness of restorers on health risks, arising
from the use of chemicals during the restoration
procedures.

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End of Lecture 04