Conservation of Historical Reinforced Concrete Structures

Abstract

During the 20th century, reinforced concrete brought historical structural systems back into modern times, transforming them into high-performance structures. Reflection on early reinforced concrete structures of two ancient structural systems, the dome and the girder, is presented through two Transylvanian monuments: the reinforced concrete cupola of the Hungarian Theater of Cluj, the earliest structure of this type, and the one-way hollow block slabs of Villa Tataru designed as a duet, by Gio Ponti and Elsie Lazar. Diagnosis and therapy of the hundred-year old, “new” historical structures are described. Uncovering these remarkable, but nearly unknown buildings, the paper intends to contribute to the understanding of cultural heritage and to raise public awareness towards the fundamental principle of UNESCO: “The cultural heritage of each is the cultural heritage of all”.

Full document

References

[1] Bucur-Horváth, I. and György, M. E., Cupola as a structural element and way of architectural expression. International Symposium „Building Envelopes as Architecture’s Messages”, Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, (2003), pp. 214-224.

[2] Rehm, J.: The first concrete dome in Germany? Church building using modern techniques. Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories, Volume 1: Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on Construction History (6ICCH 2018), Brussels, (2018).

[3] Bucur-Horvath, I.; Popa, I.; Bulbuk, M. and Virág, J.: Historical constructions - Authenticity and adaptation to the modern demands. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference Structural Analysis of Historical Constructions Preserving Safety and Significance, Bath UK, (2008), DOI: 10.1201/9781439828229.ch17

[4] Bucur-Horváth, I.: Reinforced Concrete Shell Structures in Romania as the 20th Century Heritage, Proceedings of IASS-APCS 2012 Symposium from Spatial Structures to Shell Structures, Seoul, Korea, (2012).

[5] Lazar, E.: Una villa in Romania, Domus (magazine) no. 136, Milan (1939)

[6] International Scientific Committee on the Analysis and Restoration of Structures of Architectural Heritage (ISCARSAH): ICOMOS Charter - Principles for the analysis, conservation and structural restoration of architectural heritage (2003).

[7] ACI 318, Building code requirements for reinforced concrete structures. American Concrete Institute, (2014).

[8] Roca, P.; Lourenco, P.B. and Gaetani, A.: Historic Construction and Conservation. Materials, Systems and Damage. Routledge, (2019).

[9] Foti, D.: Shear Vulnerability of Old Historical Existing R.C. Structures. International Journal of Architectural Heritage: Conservation, Analysis, and Restoration, vol. 9, issue 4, 2015, pp. 453-467, DOI: 10.1080/15583058.2013.800920