Vulnerability and buildings service life applied to preventive conservation in cultural heritage

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present research on vulnerability and service life indexes applied to cultural heritage buildings. The construction and rehabilitation industry is concerned with the maintenance of monuments and reducing the economic costs of urgent interventions by taking preventive conservation action in historic cities. By applying a vulnerability index or analyzing the service life of buildings, it is possible to reduce risk and optimize the identification, evaluation and prioritization of urgent monument restoration tasks in a city or a region to establish preventive conservation policies. Design/methodology/approach This research sets out the concepts of vulnerability and service life, focusing on their methodologies in comparison with other techniques for building diagnosis, discussing the differences between indexes that measure the vulnerability and service life of buildings. Findings The vulnerability of three churches in Seville (Spain) was studied by means of their vulnerability index, based on Delphi analysis, and the service life of these buildings was also assessed, based on artificial intelligence tools. Delphi and artificial intelligence tools allow us to compare and dovetail different scenarios and expert opinions. The degree of each monument’s conservation is defined as its vulnerability index, which is an indirect function of deterioration levels. The service life of buildings, on the other hand, includes the assessment of vulnerability and hazards. Practical implications This study is useful for stakeholders, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and policymakers, as an important reference on diagnosis, including updated, inexpensive and sustainable methodologies to manage the conservation of monuments, which are easy to implement in developed and developing countries. The application of vulnerability and/or service life indicators is crucial to ensuring the sustainability and improvement of maintenance carried out on cultural heritage buildings. Originality/value This study details new approaches based on artificial intelligence and Delphi analysis to prioritize preventive conservation actions in a city or region.

A Methodological Approach for Assessing the Safety of Historic Buildings’ Façades

“…Previous works provided strategies for the conservation of historic buildings [1][2][3][4] and building rating systems [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. In particular, methods for building condition and risk assessment, as a first step for maintenance planning, have been retrieved from Cecchi and Gasparoli [1].…”

“…Other approaches have been proposed in order to apply vulnerability and service life indexes to the preventive conservation of cultural heritage [3]. Preventive conservation studies the risks of monuments aiming at understanding the threats and the current conservation condition to minimize further degradation and increase the service life of buildings [4].…”

“…Vulnerability is intended as the degree of health or disease of a monument, while functionality (or service life) depends on intrinsic variables (e.g., constructive system) and extrinsic variables (e.g., geological situation). These indexes aim to provide scientific criteria to develop policies for decision making regarding urgent monument restoration tasks [3,4]. Estimating building elements' service life and durability has a great impact on preventive maintenance.…”

Pathologic and Risk Analysis of the Lojuela Castle (Granada-Spain): Methodology and Preventive Conservation for Medieval Earthen Fortifications

“…In the following graph, you can see the incidence of risk on the Lojuela Castle according to hazard and vulnerability to risk factors (Figure 13). As it has been explained before, the Delphi method [117][118][119]128,129] was used for the calculation. In this method, a numeric value of between zero and five, where zero is no risk and five is the greatest risk, according to the severity of each risk and the implication that it has for the structure, was assigned.…”

“…Therefore, each hazard is evaluated in particular and its relation to the specific damage it generates in the asset, as well as the intensity with which this damage is produced. The Delphi method was used for the multidimensional evaluation of such intensity [7,[117][118][119][120][121]. Several stages were established for its application:…”