Preventive Conservation - From Climate and Damage Monitoring to a Systemic and Integrated Approach Proceedings of the International WTA - PRECOM3OS Symposium, April 3-5, 2019, Leuven, Belgium Reflections on Cultural Heritage Theories and Practices Series

The concept of preventive conservation has successfully introduced the knowledge that "prevention is better than cure" into the built heritage sector. The benefits of this approach are the cost-effectiveness, the improved protection of heritage values, the reduced risk for accumulating deterioration and additional damage, the prolongation of the physical service life of buildings and building parts and the empowerment of local communities in dealing with heritage. Increasingly, arguments rise against reactive treatment patterns, which result too often in postponed interventions and increasing costs for restoration.

WTA-Nederland-Vlaanderen, the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation and the Civil Engineering Department of KU Leuven jointly organised an international conference on preventive conservation approaches - including climate and damage monitoring - and how to implement these monitoring tools within a systemic approach. The conference took place in context of the international WTA days, 3-5 April 2019, and the 10th anniversary of the UNESCO Chair on Preventive Conservation, Monitoring and Maintenance of Monuments and Sites (PRECOM³OS).

The contributions meet the increasing demand for information, case studies and practical examples to support the transition towards more preventive rather than reactive conservation actions. The volume aims at academics and professionals involved or interested in the conservation of buildings, building parts and heritage.

Introduction

From knowledge background to practical applications

Monumentenwacht model and new initiatives

Damage diagnosis and monitoring of case studies

1. Aziliz Vandesande is a post-doctoral researcher at Department of Civil Engineering at KU Leuven (Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation | Building Materials and Building Technology Section). She obtained her Master of Science in Conservation of Monuments and Sites in 2012 at the University of Leuven. During her advanced studies she conducted an internship at the UNESCO office in Amman (Jordan), where she assisted in fieldwork for the development of a Risk Assessment methodology. In 2017, following 4 years of research on preventive conservation strategies for built heritage, she obtained her degree of Doctor of Engineering Science: Civil Engineering. She is a proactive researcher with strong skills in high-level (inter)national research and development projects aimed at increased quality and acceptance of present and emerging technologies for built heritage. She is the Scientific Coordinator of the H2020 project ILUCIDARE and main researcher of the UNESCO Chair on Preventive Conservation, Maintenance and Monitoring of Monuments and Sites (PRECOM³OS). As part of the project & practice-based education, she teaches on Geographic Information Systems, 3D documentation and recording techniques and contributes to international workshops. She has ample experience in international capacity building in Western Balkans, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle-East and South-America. She is (co)author of more several publications in international journals, books and conferences.

2. Els Verstrynge is assistant Professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at KU Leuven, Belgium, since 2015, and associate professor since 2020. She obtained a Master of Engineering: Architecture, Magna cum laude, at KU Leuven in 2006. She defended her FWO-funded PhD research on "Long-term behavior of monumental masonry constructions: modelling and probabilistic evaluation", in 2010. She has spent research stays at the Technical University of Delft (2009), the University of Minho