Preserving Europe's built heritage

The three-year research project on Global Climate Change Impact on Built Heritage and Cultural Landscapes will investigate the effects of climate change on Europe's historic built environment. Hadrian's Wall, Trafalgar Square, the Charles Bridge in Prague, Cologne Cathedral and the Temples of Agrigento in Sicily are among the structures considered to be under threat.

The Centre for Sustainable Heritage has a distinguished track record investigating the impact of climate change on the historic environment, having been responsible for a scoping study on the subject for English Heritage and winning a substantial grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to coordinate the national research project, 'Engineering Historic Futures'. Professor Cassar said: "This is an extremely timely project for Europe. Climate change over the next 100 years will have a range of direct and indirect effects on the historic built environment. Alterations in temperature, precipitation, extreme climatic events, soil conditions, ground water and sea level changes will all play a part in accelerating or worsening a building's decay."

The project will draw together a mass of environmental data to map the future of Europe's historic built environment. The researchers will assess factors such as increases in wind-driven rain, which may accelerate the deterioration of wood and other building materials, and the impact of changing freeze-thaw cycles on stone and brick.

Ultimately the results will be published in a 'Vulnerability Atlas', which will indicate the areas at greatest risk and show how specific buildings are likely to react to future climatic conditions. UCL's Centre for Sustainable Heritage at The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies will be responsible for the difficult challenge of modelling the aftermath of a climate change disaster such as a flood, to look at optimum drying rates to rehabilitate historic structures and get them back into use. Guidelines led by Professor Cassar will be published and disseminated to help all those involved in cultural heritage management and the public, develop strategies for the future.

The project has received funding of 1.2m Euros from the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme and is being coordinated by the Institute for Sciences of the Atmosphere and Climate (ISAC) at the National Research Council in Bologna.

To find out more about the Centre for Sustainable Heritage, use the link below.

Link: Centre for Sustainable Heritage