Building restoration
Encyclopedia
Architectural conservation
Architectural conservation describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of mankind's built heritage are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator...
. According the U.S. Secretary of Interior's standards, restoration is defined "as the act or process of accurately depicting the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period."
Heritage restoration
In the field of historic preservationHistoric preservation
Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
, building restoration can refer to the action or process of accurately revealing, recovering or representing the state of a historic building, as it appeared at a particular period in its history, while protecting its heritage value. Work is often performed to reverse decay, or alterations made to the building after its initial construction. A part of heritage restoration can involve the replacement of outdated heating and cooling systems with newer ones, or the installation of climate controls that never existed at the time of building. Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
, the complex of former royal palaces outside St Petersburg in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
are an example of this sort of work. Physical materials of an earlier time, that might have been state of the art at the time of construction, might have failed and now need replacement with contemporary better functioning, but aesthetically similar materials. Restoration of buildings at the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
in Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
corrected a failed c. 1925 peat composition roof.
Exterior and interior paint colors present similar problems over time. Air pollution, acid rain, and sun take a toll, and often many layers of non-original paints are applied before an attempt at restoration is made. Color spectrum analysis of old paint now allows a corresponding chemical recipe to be produced. But this is often only a beginning as many of the original materials are either unstable or in many cases environmentally unsound. Many eighteenth century greens were made with arsenic, a material no longer allowed in paints. Another problem occurs when the original pigment came from a material no longer available. In the early to mid-19th century ground mummy parts were used in making some browns.
In this case organizations like Britain's National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
will work with a historic paint color recreator like Farrow and Ball to replicate the antique color in durable, stable, and environmentally safe materials. In the United States the National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
works similarly with Fine Paints of Europe
Fine Paints of Europe
Fine Paints of Europe, located in the U.S. state of Vermont, is the sole North American importer of paints and varnishes manufactured in the Netherlands by Wijzonol Bouwverven B.V....
a small manufacturer located in the US state of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
that uses mostly Dutch and Swedish pigments and binders. The polychrome
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
painted interiors of the Vermont State House
Vermont State House
The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier, is the state capitol of Vermont and the seat of the Vermont General Assembly. The current Greek Revival structure is the third building on the same site to be used as the State House...
and Boston Public Library
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was the first publicly supported municipal library in the United States, the first large library open to the public in the United States, and the first public library to allow people to...
are examples of this type of heritage restoration.
See also
- Conservation-restoration
- Athens CharterAthens Charter (Preservation)The Athens Charter for the Restoration of Historic Monuments is a seven point manifesto adopted at the First International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments in Athens in 1931.- Manifesto :...
- Venice CharterVenice CharterThe Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites is a treaty that gives an international framework for the preservation and restoration of ancient buildings...
- Florence Charter
- Barcelona CharterBarcelona CharterThe Barcelona Charter, in full the European Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Traditional Ships in Operation is an informal but widely accepted standard for maintenance and restoration projects on historic watercraft that are still in operation as active sailing vessels.- Background...
- Historic preservationHistoric preservationHistoric preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...
- International Union of Bricklayers and Allied CraftworkersInternational Union of Bricklayers and Allied CraftworkersThe International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers is a labor union in the United States and Canada which represents bricklayers, pointers/cleaners/caulkers, stone and marble masons, cement masons, plasterers, tilesetters, terrazzo and mosaic workers...