Selection of technology for the reconstruction of masonry walls of heritage buildings

Abstract

Cultural heritage is a characteristic feature of every country that tells about the past. A country seeking to preserve its history must respect, protect and restore cultural heritage objects: buildings, monuments, historical places and all things that are historically valuable. When it comes to buildings as cultural heritage objects, a problem is usually relevant: how to restore them without losing their authenticity. In order for valuable building structures not to lose value during their restoration, materiality, condition and rehabilitation technique are determined before work is carried out. This article deals with the problems of the reconstruction of brick structures of cultural heritage buildings. The authors analyze the technologies for strengthening and restoring brick walls. A decision support system (DSS) for evaluating alternative reconstruction technologies for damaged building structures is being established. The indicators for multi-criteria assessment of reconstruction technologies are determined, their importance calculated and the multi-criteria TOPSIS method selected and described. Damages to brick walls in a particular building are described and three alternative technologies are determined for their restoration. The assessment by the decision-support system shows that in a particular case the most rational technology is the “bricking up of missing wall fragments”. Developed DSS is a unique and useful tool that can be used by professionals selecting rehabilitation techniques for vulnerable building structures.