223-0087 – Historical building materials and technologies (HBMT)

The aim is to identify historic building materials with regard to historical technologies. This issue is related to the area of modern building materials. It highlights specific traditional, historical practices of building materials and technologies. Students will gain knowledge in the identification of substances, determination of degradation processes for the design of conservation practices for each material, identify sources of raw materials used and the possibility of identification of material and age are complemented by examples of practical applications. Students will gain practical skills of selected diagnostic methods.

Historical buildings are specific structures whose construction was influenced by the knowledge of the builders, their technical possibilities and the location of the building. The differences are mainly in used materials and construction technologies. The evaluation of objects in terms of structural, material or functional has been necessary in the past, since parts of the original structures were selected during the reconstruction for possible new use or load by new constructions. At present, the knowledge of this information is similarly necessary for the technical building assessment, but also for the design of rehabilitation. Within this subject the students will get acquainted with the specific problems of historical structures, especially the development of building technologies and the use of construction materials. The theme will also be focused on other specifics of historical structures, for example associated with a significantly longer existence of a structure that usually exceeding its lifetime, with historical use of structures, with limitations in technical building assessment and rehabilitation works.

FORSYTH, M.: Materials and Skills for Historic Building Conservation. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. ISBN 978-1-118-65866-6. FORSYTH, M.: Structures and Construction in Historic Building Conservation. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014. ISBN 978-0-470-69114-4.

FORSYTH, M.: Understanding Historic Building Conservation. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. ISBN 978-1-118-80684-5. FORSYTH, M.: Interior Finishes and Fittings for Historic Building Conservation. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. ISBN 978-1-405-19022-0. Holmes, S.; Wingate, M.: Building with lime (A practical introduction), RUgby: ITD Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-1-444-34481-3.