As world leaders prepare for next month's UN climate change summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, international researchers are investigating the impact of climate change on historic architectural structures.
Bringing together 30 partners from 16 nations in Europe and North Africa, the just-launched 5 million-euro EU project "Climate for Culture" aims to establish the impact of global warming on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe and Africa.
Among the sites under close investigation are the historic towns of Wismar and Stralsund on the Baltic; Schonbrunn Castle in Vienna, Austria, the pyramids of Saqqara in Egypt, and Venice, Italy, which is in peril from rising sea levels.
"The intention is not only to generate precise and integrated assessments of actual damage cultural heritage sites caused by the influence of climate change. In fact, the goal also includes developing and implementing sustainable and preventative strategies," said project manager Johanna Leissner.
Over a period of five years, the researchers will measure the health of each cultural heritage site. Simulation models will then help develop customized early prevention strategies.
Researchers at Fraunhofer Institutes for Building Physics (IBP) are already investigating how climate change can influence the Bavarian royal castles of "Mad King" Ludwig II, such as Schloss Linderhof, the Renatus chapel in Lustheim and Königshaus in Schachen.
The researched warned that urgent measures must be taken to avoid the possibility of mold, produced by global warming, taking over historic sites.
"As temperatures rise due to global warming, more and more moisture infiltrates the building spaces. Innovative, energy-saving solutions have to be found now in order to preserve the architecture and the artwork," IPB said in a statement.
Tags: Art History, Classical Antiquity, Conservation, Current Events, History
comments ( )