An assessment of timber dwellings typical of the Queenslander era, and constraints associated with their relocation, component and adaptive reuse when considering 'regeneration'

This paper presents an explanation of why the reuse of building components after demolition or deconstruction is critical to the future of the construction industry. An examination of the historical cause and response to climate change sets the scene as to why governance is becoming increasingly focused on the built environment as a mechanism to controlling waste generation associated with the process of demolition, construction and operation. Through an annotated description to the evolving design and construction methodology of a range of timber dwellings (typically 'Queenslanders' during the eras of 1880-1900, 1900-1920 & 1920-1940) the paper offers an evaluation to the variety of materials, which can be used advantageously by those wishing to 'regenerate' a Queenslander. This analysis of 'regeneration' details the constraints when considering relocation and/ or reuse by adaption including deconstruction of building components against the legislative framework requirements of the Queensland Building Act 1975 and the Queensland Sustainable Planning Act 2009, with a specific examination to those of the Building Codes of Australia. The paper concludes with a discussion of these constraints, their impacts on 'regeneration' and the need for further research to seek greater understanding of the practicalities and drivers of relocation, adaptive and building components suitability for reuse after deconstruction.

Newstead House : the social history, culture and architecture of a bygone era

Historic house museums form a significant component of the built heritage and social history of a country. They vary from the elaborate mansions of the wealthy to modest dwellings of the working class. Regardless of the original owner's status in society these house museums are vital to an understanding of architecture, culture and society from a bygone era. The Newstead House, the oldest surviving residence, in Brisbane, is the first house to be designated a 'Historic House Museum' in Queensland. It is a representative example of a house that demonstrates the British colonial heritage of 19th century Australia. Originally a modest cottage, on 34 acres of land, the Newstead house was built by a Scottish migrant. The ownership of the house and land changed many times, during the period from 1847 to 1939. During this period a series of prominent residents of Brisbane either owned or rented this residence. They included, an officer of the Royal Navy, politicians, magistrates, merchant ship owners, and a Consul General of the United States of America. As a result, the house went through a series of renovations and extensions to accommodate the needs of its owners and their position in society. This paper aims to investigate the significance of historic museum houses in educating the community on aspects of social history, culture and architecture of 19th century Australia. It will focus on the heritage listed Newstead House as a case study to demonstrate the significance of the house as an artefact and an educational tool.

Architecture in the South Pacific : the Ocean of Islands

Architecture in the South Pacific: The Ocean of Islands recounts the recent developments of the South Pacific and its fascinating architecture. This volume traces the European architectural overlay onto this scattered group of islands as well as the transition of these same islands towards a regional identity that has been fashioned by the remoteness of each location, the incomparable setting, and the distinctive ethnic mix of its inhabitants. A series of themed essays present the story of architectural development in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Samoa and American Samoa, and French Polynesia. Recent architecture typifies the evolution of the islands as they have been subjected to the transformative waves of alien trade, religion, colonization, war and tourism, followed by post-colonialism and revived nationalism. As with the Pacific region itself, the most prominent characteristic of the architecture is its diversity. The blending of the universal and the local sets the stage for a fresh vision of the South Pacific across a wide range of building types, from spectacular mission churches to sensational resorts in paradise. This book, in full colour, will appeal to architects, armchair-tourists, students and all those for whom the South Pacific is the idyll of their dreams.

Overview of design concepts of traditional Iranian architecture and its reflections in Iranian contemporary architecture

This article has attempted to investigate the patterns of traditional architecture in Iran's warm and dry climate and whether these patterns have been attended to in Iran's contemporary architecture or not. Since the two elements of culture and climate are much significant in Iran's traditional constructions, this article aimed at dealing with subjects such as the causes of the shapes of traditional buildings in Iran's warm and dry climate in constructions like houses, schools, mosques and bazaars, and why they were constructed in those shapes, and also considering their patterns in these places in the light of cultural and climatic aspects, and their cultural and climatic relationships and investigating cultural-climatic causes of the directions and situations designed for the spaces present in these buildings and finally it is intended to classify the conceptual patterns of the traditional architecture of Iran's warm and dry climate. The article is going to consider the amount of using these patterns in Iran's contemporary architecture. The study has been conducted using library and field method.

Jac. Ahrenberg ja historian perintö : Restaurointisuunnitelmat Viipurin ja Turun linnoihin 1800-luvun lopussa

Jac. Ahrenberg and Patrimony Restoration Plans for Viipuri and Turku Castles at the End of the 19th Century This dissertation examines the unrealized restoration plans for two castles in the Grand Duchy of Finland one located at Viipuri (Vyborg, nowadays in Russia), the other at Turku (in Swedish, Åbo) during the last decades of the 19th century. Both castles were used as prisons, barracks and warehouses. From the middle of the 19th century on, their restoration and transformation into museums and "national monuments" were demanded in the newspapers. The prison reform in the 1860s stimulated the documentation and debate concerning their future, but it was only at the beginning of the 1880s when their restoration became an official state-run project. The undertaking was carried out by Johan Jacob (Jac.) Ahrenberg (1847 1914), architect of the National Board of Public Buildings. By combining written sources with drawings and photographs, this dissertation examines the restoration projects, the two castles' significance and the ways in which they were investigated by scholars. The plans are analyzed in connection with restoration practices in France and Sweden and in the context of contemporary discussions concerning national art and patrimony. The thesis argues that these former castles of the Swedish crown were used to manifest the western roots of Finnish law and order, the lineage of power and the capacity of the nation to defend itself. However, because of their symbolism, their restoration became a politically delicate question concerning the role of the Swedish heritage in Finland's nation-building process. According to Jac. Ahrenberg's plans, the two castles were to be restored to their assumed appearance at the time of the Vasa dynasty. Consequently, the structures would have resembled castles in Sweden. It is suggested that one aim of the restoration plans was to transform the two buildings into monuments testifying to the common history of Sweden and Finland. They were meant to consolidate the Swedish basis of Finnish culture and autonomy and thus to secure them against the threatening implications of Russian imperialism. It seems that along with the changing ideals of architectural restoration and the need for an original Finnish architectural heritage, the political connotations associated with the castles were one reason why Jac. Ahrenberg's restoration plans were never realized.

Arqueología de la Arquitectura en España

[ES]En esta ponencia se traza un cuadro general sobre el concepto actual de la arqueología de la arquitectura en España, y se plantea una serie de propuestas y de elementos de reflexión que la disciplina tendrá que abordar en un próximo futuro. Para ello se analizarán las fases formativas de la disciplina como resultado de la adquisición en los años 80 de un bagaje conceptual y metodológico aprehendido de la tradición italiana, y como se ha aplicado a la situación de la investigación y la gestión del patrimonio edificado en los 90. Concretamente se prestará una atención específica a los marcos institucionales, académicos y administrativos que han condicionado hasta el momento su desarrollo. Por último, se prestará una atención particular al uso que se realiza de la información producida por las investigaciones arqueológicas en las intervenciones de rehabilitación y restauración del patrimonio edificado, analizando críticamente algunos ejemplos significativos.

Virtual Reconstruction of the Ancient State of a Ruined Church

Contributed to: 4th International Conference, EuroMed 2012, Limassol, Cyprus, October 29 – November 3, 2012.

Assessment of the settlement vulnerability of masonry buildings

Excavation works in urban areas require a preliminary risk damage assessment. In historical cities, the prediction of building response to settlements is necessary to reduce the risk of damage of the architectural heritage. The current method used to predict the building damage due to ground deformations is the Limiting Tensile Strain Method (LTSM). In this approach the building is modelled as an elastic beam subjected to imposed Greenfield settlements and the induced tensile strains are compared with a limit value for the material. These assumptions can lead to a non realistic evaluation of the damage. In this paper, the possibility to apply a settlement risk assessment derived from the seismic vulnerability approach is considered. The parameters that influence the structural response to settlements can be defined through numerical analyses which take into account the nonlinear behaviour of masonry and the soil-structure interaction. The effects of factors like material quality, geometry of the structure, amount of openings, type of foundation or the actual state of preservation can be included in a global vulnerability index, which should indicate the building susceptibility to damage by differential settlements of a given magnitude. Vulnerability curves will represent the expected damage of each vulnerability class of building as a function of the settlement.

Coupled analysis of building damage due to tunnelling

Excavation works in urban areas require a preliminary risk damage assessment. In historical cities, the prediction of building response to settlements is necessary to reduce the risk of damage of the architectural heritage. The current method used to predict the building damage due to ground deformations is the Limiting Tensile Strain Method (LTSM). This method is based on an uncoupled soil-structure analysis, in which the building is modelled as an elastic beam subject to imposed greenfield settlements and the induced tensile strains are compared with a limit value for the material. This approach neglects many factors which play an important rule in the response of the structure to tunneling induced settlements. In this paper, the possibility to apply a settlement risk assessment derived from the seismic vulnerability approach is considered. The parameters that influence the structural response to settlements can be defined through numerical coupled analyses which take into account the nonlinear behaviour of masonry and the soil-structure interaction.

Numerical analyses of tunnel-induced settlement damage to a masonry wall

Settlements due to underground construction represent a risk for the architectural heritage, especially in The Netherlands, because of the combination of soft soil, fragile pile foundation and brittle, un-reinforced masonry façade. Modelling of soil-structure interaction is fundamental to assess the risk of building damage due to tunnelling. This paper presents results of finite element analyses carried out with different models for a simple masonry wall. Focus is paid on the comparison between coupled, uncoupled and semi-coupled analyses, in which the soil-structure interaction is represented in different ways. In particular, the implementation of a soil-structure interface model in the numerical analyses is analysed, in order to asses its validity. The aim of the research project is the development of a damage classification system for different building typologies.

List 229: Irish and English Dendrochronology

These results cover dating undertaken since the last published list of dated building from Ireland (Brown (2002)); one English church building is also included in the list. Thanks are due to the owners of the buildings and especially to everyone who assisted in taking of the samples: Phil Barrett, Sapphire Mussen, Charles Lyons, Jon Pilcher and Mike Baillie, Amanda Pedlow, Caimin O’Brien and Martin Timoney. Most of the descriptions of the buildings are taken from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage http://www.buildingofi reland.ie/. The correlation values were generated by CROSS84 (Munro, 1984), which provides a signifi cance level for the date to be correct; *** (extremely signifi cant), ** (very signifi cant), * (signifi cant), nsm (not signifi cant). Estimated felling date ranges are based on the Belfast sapwood estimate of 32 ± 9 years. Date ranges have been calculated by adding and subtracting 9 years from the calculated estimated felling dates. Timbers from the following buildings could not be dated. Cork: St Finbarre’s Cathedral (W 675 715); Dublin: Christchurch Cathedral (O 152 341); Galway: Cloghan Castle (M 972 119); Kilkenny: Rothe House (S 506 563); Offaly: Boveen House (S 075 956); Waterford: Christchurch Cathedral (S 616 121). Generally only single oak samples were recovered from these structures. References: D.Brown, ‘Dendrochronological dating building from Ireland’, VA 33 (2002), 71–3; M. Munro, ‘An improved algorithm for crossdating tree-ring series’, Tree-Ring Bulletin 44 (1984), 17–27.

Spatial characterization of salt accumulation in early stage limestone weathering using probe permeametry

This research characterizes the weathering of natural building stone using an unsteady-state portable probe permeameter. Variations between the permeability properties of fresh rock and the same rocks after the early stages of a salt weathering simulation are used to examine the effects of salt accumulation on spatial variations in surface rock permeability properties in two limestones from Spain. The Fraga and Tudela limestones are from the Ebro basin and are of Miocene age. Both stone types figure largely in the architectural heritage of Spain and, in common with many other building limestones, they are prone to physical damage from salt crystallization in pore spaces. To examine feedbacks associated with salt accumulation during the early stages of this weathering process, samples of the two stone types were subjected to simulated salt weathering under laboratory conditions using magnesium sulphate and sodium chloride at concentrations of 5% and 15%. Permeability mapping and statistical analysis (aspatial statistics and spatial prediction) before and after salt accumulation are used to assess changes in the spatial variability of permeability and to correlate these changes with salt movement, porosity change, potential rock deterioration and textural characteristics. Statistical analyses of small-scale permeability measurements are used to evaluate the drivers for decay and hence aid the prediction of the weathering behaviour of the two limestones.

An Gaelaras, by O'Donnell and Tuomey:The Building blocks of Language: Review by Rick LeVert and Tarla MacGabhann

The opening of An Gaelaras - the Irish language cultural centre in Derry designed by O'Donnell + Tuomey - is the most significant architectural addition to the symbolic landscape of the Walled City in recent times. It marks nothing less than a physical re-surfacing and a normalisation of the Irish language in this long fragmented city. This alone places An Gaelaras in a delicate historical arc that spans over 1500 years of architectural heritage and links it with the now invisible ruins of St Columba's original 6th century monastery.