Conservation of monuments and historic sites is one of the most challenging problems facing modern civilization. It involves various cultural, humanistic, social, technical, economical and administrative factors, intertwining in inextricable patterns. The complexity of the topic is such that guidelines or recommendations for ntervention techniques and design approaches are difficult to set.
The Technical Committee on the Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites (named TC19) was established by the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) in 1981, is supported by the Italian Geotechnical Society (AGI), and was renamed TC301 in 2010.
This book assesses the role of historic towers as symbols of community identity and how to best preserve this special cultural heritage. Well-documented, exemplary case histories highlight concepts of preservation, integrity, cultural heritage, dynamic identification techniques and techniques for long-term monitoring of historic towers, as well as provide examples of appropriate intervention measures.
The book will be of interest to professionals and academics in the wider fields of civil engineering, architecture and cultural resources management, and particularly those involved in art history, history of architecture, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, archaeology, restoration and cultural heritage management.
Introduction. A first insight on tower behavior: geotechnical and structural mechanisms, leaning instability and long term behavior. Tower of Pisa: lessons learned from observation and back analysis. Ghirlandina tower in Modena: an example of dynamic identification. Clock Tower and Westminster Palace: the behavior during protective measures. Frari bell tower in Venice: a complex soil-structure interaction. Carmine bell tower in Naples: predictive soil-structure interaction under seismic actions. San Marco Bell Tower in Venice: an example of strengthening of foundations. The tower of the Admiralty in St Petersburg. The tower of St Stephen Cathedral in Vienna. Mechanical behaviour of leaning masonry Huzhu pagoda. The Leaning Tower of St Moritz: a structure on a creeping landslide. Safeguarding the leaning minaret of Jam. The 5th Minaret in Herat (Afghanistan): from emergency intervention to final stabilisation.
This book assesses the role of historic towers as symbols of community identity and how to best preserve this special cultural heritage. Exemplary case histories highlight concepts of preservation, integrity, cultural heritage, dynamic identification techniques and long term monitoring techniques of historic towers, as well as providing examples of appropriate intervention measures. It will be of interest to professionals and academics in the wider fields of civil engineering, architecture and cultural resources management, particularly those involved in art history, history of architecture, geotechnical or structural engineering, archaeology, restoration and cultural heritage management.
[...] this book shows the great attention paid by the authors to the historic background of the studied towers, built upon the analysis of its distress state and the need for preservation works. The story of the ten towers and of the events that have accompanied their construction and later life is fascinating, while offering a culturally interesting view of the monuments preservation issues. In conclusion, the book features a range of interesting suggestions, not only to engineers and architects but also for all who are in charge of providing directives, or making decisions, on saving heritage buildings."
Excerpt from review in Rivista Italiana di Geotecnica (1/2018)
