Instructions for the Conservation of Architectural Heritage in the Face of Fire Disasters; Relying on International Guidelines and Experiences

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD Student of Restoration and Restoration of Historical Buildings and Textures, Department of Restoration, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, Iran University of Science and Technology )IUST), Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 Master of Studies Iranian Architecture, Department of Architecture, School of Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

One of the most destructive disasters of cultural heritage that can quickly and widely damage these structures is fire. In recent years, fire accidents have been devastating immovable cultural assets both nationally and internationally. The crucial and irreparable damages of these accidents have emphasized the necessity of considering preventive actions and solutions to deal with the issue of fire in architectural heritage. This research aims to propose guidelines to conserve architectural heritage in fire accidents by applying an analytical approach and based on investigating existing international experiences in this field, along with studying the standards of developed countries. These conservation guidelines can be implemented to conserve architectural heritage before, during, and after fire accidents. Accordingly, the National Museum of Brazil, the Glasgow School of Art (Scotland), the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (France), and the Shuri Palace in Japan are investigated as international experiences of fire accidents in this research.
Finally, general guidelines have been proposed for international experiences with a focus on conserving architectural heritage from fire disasters. The results indicate the importance of integrated architectural heritage documentation in all stages of fire accidents in the conservation of architectural structures, including preventive actions, firefighting, and post-fire conservation plan. According to the studies conducted in previous research in the field of cultural heritage protection, international experiences, codes, and instructions, it is necessary to provide two categories of instructions appropriate to the characteristics of each building and the context in which it is well constructed. In the first category, general instructions can be used for all architectural heritage. In this category, basic instructions are used in each historical site. The second category includes instructions that are provided directly depending on the context of the building.
In this article, the goal was to provide an introduction to protecting historical monuments against fire in the form of instructions. In the private category of this recipe, it is an obligatory issue to understand each building and its specific condition. Therefore, to have a complete understanding of each building, it is recommended to prepare a database for the building. In the preparation process of the building documentation and registering it in the database, it is possible to know the condition of the building during the fire. This knowledge increases accuracy during the accident and improves the protection measures of the building during the fire. This database also increases the possibility of reconstructing the building after the fire. Also, it can increase the efficiency of reconstruction even more. If there is a lack of documentation, it may not be possible to reconstruct the building. Thus, this study suggests that a database be created for architectural heritage to protect them in such accidents and it is always possible to reduce degradation and reconstruction. The database can contain all maps, historical documents, photographs, videos and registration documents. This data is categorized in a database and provides a comprehensive source of information for any historic building. The database should be available to search in different formats and types.

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Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Fine Arts: Architecture & Urban Planning
Volume 27, Issue 2
June 2022
Pages 47-59

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