that affect the material and innovative approaches to counter the decay they cause. This is why the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU) has been a funding partner for research in this field for many years. With our funding programme “Environment and Cultural Heritage” we are supporting pioneering projects at the intersection of environmental science and cultural heritage protection. Since the foundation began its work in 1990, we have provided funding for nearly 830 cultural heritage projects. Special emphasis is placed on problems caused by anthropogenic environmental factors such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen, or climatic changes.
The contributions in this anthology present an inspiring overview of cutting-edge endeavours in the field of stone conservation. Every four years, the International Council on Monuments and Sights (ICOMOS) brings together experts from a variety of disciplines, ranging from conservators and restoration specialists to engineers and geoscientist to engage in discussion. The topics of exchange cover all relevant aspects from novel modelling and simulation techniques, to better understand environmental impacts on different stones, to original approaches in damage assessment and mitigation. Best-practice examples offer valuable insights into state-of-the-art conservation and restoration procedures and techniques.
Among the participants are several experts working in DBU-funded projects. It fills us with pride to be able to contribute to this important field of research and witness how our support furthers the discussion and understanding of stone conservation and decay.
The DBU thanks the Georg August University Göttingen (Geoscientific Center) and the University of Kassel (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) as well as the International Scientific Committee for Stone (ISCS) of ICOMOS for compiling these proceedings.
And we would like to express our gratitude towards all participating experts and researchers for their contribution to the preservation of our collective cultural heritage.
Sincerely yours,
Alexander Bonde Secretary General, German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU)
10
11
PREFACE
“Monuments Future: Decay and Conservation of Stone”
14th International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone
Siegfried Siegesmund1 and Bernhard Middendorf2
1 Geoscience Centre of the University Goettingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077 Goettingen, Germany
2 University of Kassel, Department of Structural Materials and Construction Chemistry, Moenchebergstr. 7, 34125 Kassel, Germany
Cultural heritage creates identity and promotes a sense of community even in times of globalisation. At the very latest, the devastating fire at Notre-Dame de Paris shows that a loss of cultural hertitage of this importants is painfully affecting society.
For more than hundred years, statutory monument protection in Germany has been an important part of our cultural self-image and public awareness. Fortunately, since then the protection of historical monuments has enjoyed increasing acceptance among the population. With the recognition of the cultural significance, there has been a change in the appreciation of architectural monuments as cultural monuments. Efforts are now increasingly focused not on the destruction or removal, but on the preservation of our cultural heritage. Events on the occasion of the annual “Open Monument Day” are evidence of this gratifying trend.
Natural stone was the world’s most durable and valuable building material of past millennia. This is why most of our preserved historical monuments are made of natural stone. The diversity of natural stone deposits worldwide has a decisive and unmistakable influence on the regional cultural landscapes. Environmental influences such as natural weathering and the impact of anthropogenic environmental pollutants unfortunately led to growing and serious damage to many monuments. Since the 1970s, the public has become increasingly aware of this environmentally-induced loss of cultural assets. Ever since buildings were and are constructed of natural stone, problems of stone decay have been known. The signs are alarming.
The international scientific “Committee for Stone (ISCS)” of ICOMOS organizes every four years the International Congress on the Deterioration and Conservation of Stone. After congresses in La Rochelle, Athens, Venice, Louisville, Lausanne, Torun, Lisbon, Berlin, Venice, Stockholm, Torun, New York and Paisley, the 14th Interntional Congress was planned to take place from 7th to 12th 2020 at the Universities of Göttingen and Kassel in Germany. The conference is considered the most important forum for the entire field of stone conservation and stone decay and is recognized trend-setter for innovative developments and methods. The worldwide available knowledge about stone decay and stone conservation is summarized in the proceedings presented here and reflects the current state of the art.
In recent years, many individual results have been achieved worldwide in the field of natural stone conservation which, despite increasing digitisation, 12have not been published and are therefore not publicly accessible. In the meantime, however, a new level which requires a summary of the knowledge achieved in order to be able to specialist knowledge on a broad basis in the practice of monument conservation and building maintenance can be transferred. This was also the aim and the topic of the multi-day symposium and was subtitled Monuments Future: Decay and Conservation of Stone.
The conference is aimed at monument conservators, restorers, architects, engineers and natural scientists and will be divided into several thematically different blocks. This conference is the main gathering for the dissemination of knowledge in the field of stone deterioration issues. It represents and captures the state-of-the-art in the field of stone conservation and cultural heritage conservation with regards to the following topics:
— Characterisation of damage phenomena of stone and related building materials (plaster, rendering, mortar etc.)
— Methods for the investigation of stone decay; in-situ and non-destructive testing
— Long-term monitoring of stone monuments and buildings
— Simulation and modelling of decay
— Technology and development of improved treatments and use of stone in new buildings
— Assessment of long-term effects of treatments
— Impact of climate change on stone decay of Cultural Heritage
— Reports about stone conservation: case studies and projects
— Digitalization and documentation in stone conservation
— Open Topics
It is a great pleasure for the Executive Committee to gratefully acknowledge the members of the Permanent Scientific Committee and the Local Scientific Committee for their reviews of each contribution followed by revision by the authors. The contents and accuracy of the papers are the responsibility of the authors!
Permanent Scientific Committee
