BELVAU · Brick vaults and beyond: the transformation of a historical structural system (1830-1930)

Brick vaults and beyond: the transformation of a historical structural system (1830-1930)

Today, building vaults is no longer part of everyday building practice. However, for centuries vaults have been regarded as the ideal structure to span imposing spaces in cloisters, churches, cathedrals and palaces. Several studies have been devoted to the topic worldwide and cover the evolution of vaulting from Antiquity until its decline, typically situated around the 18th century. However, vaults were still being built in many representative buildings. Besides, the introduction of new construction materials such as iron, steel and reinforced concrete, together with changing architectural styles, growing structural insights and a better delineation of the role of building actors, ensures this later period is exciting to study. Nowadays, there is an increasing interest in the constructive aspects of historical vaults, but there remains a noticeable gap in studies on vaults built in the 19th and 20th centuries. BELVAU project aims to study the evolution of vault construction in Belgium in this period, taking into account the changing context of the young industrializing country. Technical knowledge is crucial for stakeholders involved in management and restoration and the knowledge developed by BELVAU will lead to improving the heritage value assessments of vaulted buildings and also to more appropriate and sustainable interventions. Buildings built in the 19th and 20th centuries are usually overlooked for being too recent, and in many cases, the building managers themselves are not aware of their value. Direct contact with these building managers has raised awareness of the value of these buildings and the need for proper survey and maintenance. In turn, this knowledge will be passed on to society, increasing the appreciation of these buildings. The project has developed six specific objectives: -Studying the types of vaults that were built in Belgium, considering the migration of techniques, and comparing with other European countries; -Studying innovations in vault construction prompted by new materials; -Analysing the relationship between vaults, the space they are covering and the roof they are hiding; -Studying the different actors involved in the construction; -Studying how the development of structural analysis methods influenced the techniques and shapes; -Developing the consideration of technical aspects about vaults in heritage value assessments.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз