Evolution of building materials and philosophy in construction: a process of digitalization and visualization of the accumulated knowledge

Microsoft Word - Papayianni-Pachta-revised.docprocess of digitalization and visualization of the accumulated
knowledge
1
Materials, Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract. The long-term research on the constructional materials and techniques of
monuments and historic buildings, allowed the accumulation of significant knowledge which
could be further disseminated. The masons of antiquity followed principles in designing and
building, established by their intuition and experience. The selection of raw materials, the way
they upgraded them in constructing foundations, walls, domes, is still remarkable. In the
paper, a process of using digital technology tools for making knowledge acquisition attractive
is presented. By developing a specific platform, all relevant scientific knowledge can be
sorted, while with a series of digital applications, the diachronic principles of construction,
the ancient technology and the achievements of the past can be exploited in a friendly and
interactive environment. By this way it is expected that the values of building philosophy in
the context of safety, sustainability and economy will be forwarded to new generations.
Keywords: Monumental heritage. building materials. constructions. evolution. mortars
1 Introduction
It has been well established by the history of humanity that civilization proceeds in parallel to
building materials’ innovations. From the very first time man built a shelter for protection, he
realized that he could improve his life. He slowly, by practical experience, acquired the necessary
knowledge and elementary principles of building. He used locally available materials (stone, clay)
from nearby deposits and tried to treat or mix them with straw and sand to make them more
resistant to natural environment. For centuries, masons invested in details and created some of the
master pieces of architecture and engineering, such as Pantheon and Hagia Sophia, still alive.
The selection of the topography of the place and the geometry of the buildings’ ground plan
were carefully made, so as the structure to cooperate with natural environment by arranging the
openings for ventilation and lightening.
These are some of the principles followed in the past constructions. Studying the materials of
monuments, a treasure of knowledge and masons’ dexterities is revealed. For example, in ancient
Olynthos (4th century BC) they used mud mortar for the construction of stone walls, but they
plastered the walls for functioning in moisture with thick lime-pozzolan mortar plasters (Fig. 1) [1].
Fig. 1. Macroscopic and microscopic figure of plaster from the archaeological site of Olynthos
Some writers of antiquity like Vitruvius and Plenius [2] have included in their treatises precious
practical instructions on preparing building materials and using them, but after Roman period the
knowledge transfer was limited [3].
During the recent past, for the needs of restoration, the ancient materials were studied and
analyzed systematically and many philosophical principals on which building was based were
recognized [4,5,6,]. At the same time, huge data bases have been developed at Research Centers
containing real treasures of knowledge concerning building materials, without any beneficial for
the society exploitation [6,7,8].
Nowadays, the advances in building materials (high performance and strength concrete) lead to
the construction of skyscrapers, expressing the spirit of modern society. However, under the prism
of sustainability (saving energy, reducing environmental footprint, recycling), building materials
and technology are reconsidered. The science of building materials provides the knowledge at all
levels of controlling and increasing the potential of them and allows understanding how materials
work in the structure.
While architecture in construction has drawn the interest of society, building materials and
technological evolution have not appeared in museum exhibitions at European level and all
concepts and philosophy of building have not been highlighted to gain educational value, to offer
multi-level and multidisciplinary readings and inspire new generations for a better future in
building.
On the other hand, there is an increase of research interest on the application of Information and
Communications Technology (ICT) tools in Cultural Heritage, such as Historic Building
Information Modelling (HBIM), development of virtual museums and exhibitions, visualization of
objects and artifacts, development of 3D environments and experiences [9,10,11].
Under these aspects, the paper focuses on an attempt to gather, evaluate and finally visualize
scientific results on the building materials and techniques used in constructions during the last four
millenniums, starting from prehistory until nowadays. The study aims at covering a significant gap
of knowledge, regarding the technological evolution of structures and developing a dynamic
platform by processing, disseminating and promoting knowledge regarding:
• The significant role of building materials in the development of the architecture and civilization
of an area
• The evolution of the building materials technology from the past (2nd millennium BC) until
nowadays (advances of concrete)
• The diachronically valid principles of sustainability, durability and economy in construction
• The proper materials and techniques for the restoration of monuments and historic buildings
2 Principles and Objectives
ICT (information and communications technology) is an umbrella term including many
applications and during the last decade is interrelated with multiple research sectors in order to
promote and disseminate scientific knowledge [12,13,14].
The use of ICT tools in understanding and promoting specific aspects of Cultural Heritage has
been studied by many researchers [15,16,17] and applied by various Organizations, museums and
galleries. On the other hand, the need of digitalizing and visualizing archives and collections is
increased.
The idea of developing of a dynamic platform on building materials and techniques from the
past up to nowadays emerged from the weakness of relevant museums of Architecture or
monuments’ exhibition to cover material’s aspects, the inadequacy of education on these topics, as
well on the lack of finding concentrated scientific knowledge on the evolution of constructional
technology.
The invention of cement and the continuous evolution of concrete technology of nowadays,
demonstrate the close relation of modern society with building materials and technology and lead
to the adoption of the basic environmental issues (i.e. saving energy, reducing environmental
footprint, recycling in construction).
Furthermore, it is of great importance to make people think and be conscious about building,
since construction is the sector that mostly influences the economy of natural sources and
environment, in other words the future of humanity. If people choose for building their houses
local materials of high ecological profile, the CO2 footprint of human activities could be reduced.
The proposed platform aims at managing, exploiting and disseminating a large volume of
scientific knowledge regarding the evolution, characteristics and effectiveness of different building
materials and technologies. Earth, stone, bricks, limes, pozzolans, cements, mortars and concretes
that have dominated in housing for four millenniums are addressed, showing the entity of building
the space with materials taken from the Earth.
The innovation of the platform is that such a museum dedicated to the common European
building materials and technology, does not exist either in virtual or in conventional form. In
relevant contemporary museums and exhibitions of architecture, there are very limited references
to the building materials and technology of specific historic periods and regions. Therefore, a
holistic approach on the evolution of building materials and technology is not provided to visitors.
Philosophical aspects (such as functionality, sustainability) and their diachronicity in construction
are also not revealed to visitors.
3 Process followed
The proposed dynamic platform will provide the opportunity for visitors to acquire, extend or
deepen their knowledge on building materials and techniques, through story-telling authoring tools
and digital creations such as virtual reality and 3D experiences.
Different aspects on the technology of building materials, such as structural types, selection of
raw materials, manufacture and application of materials, properties and characteristics, damages
and repair of structures, will be presented under the prism of sustainability and economy in
construction, covering a historical period of more than 4 millenniums.
Scientific knowledge on building materials will be combined with ICT technology, in order to
facilitate the access of all levels of users. Best practices will be presented, highlighting that the
science of building materials provides the knowledge of controlling and increasing their potential,
as well as understanding how materials work in each structure.
It is expected that a consciousness about cost-effective and “green” building will be developed
in the users of the coming generations.
The Process followed could be distinguished in specific tasks, including:
• Management of a large volume of scientific knowledge, regarding research analysis results of
building materials (mortars, stones, bricks, concrete technology) and critical review of relevant
literature concerning the types and characteristics of building materials used in constructions for
millenniums.
• Development of a flexible and easily comprehensive platform for the management and
dissemination of all information that could be moderated according to future needs. The
platform will have a dual performance, referring to the input of all data and the narrative and
virtual representation of the information to users, according to their needs.
• Visualization of all data through the development of architectural designs, structural
representations, 3D animations and videos. Story-telling digital tools will be used for the
dissemination of knowledge. For example, interactive maps will indicate structures of specific
type (i.e. adobe masonry) with emerging information on historic, architectural and
morphological issues (Fig. 3). Narrative three dimensional environments with specialized
information (in different forms, such as diagrams, tables, photos) regarding the characteristics
and properties of specific building materials and structural systems will be developed.
The schematic diagram of the process is depicted in Figure 2.
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the process followed
Fig. 3. Interactive map with indicative structural types. Sanctuary of Dionysus, archaeological site of Maronia
(4th cent. BC)
Development of a
4 Data Input
As it has been described, the evolution of building materials and techniques has not been
adequately interrelated with the growth of civilizations and architecture, although all innovations
and achievements in building technology have been implemented with materials. Therefore, there
is a significant lack of knowledge regarding the role of structural materials in developing European
society and economy.
Moreover, the strong influence of built environment to the nature has not been sufficiently
understood by society. The comprehension of the philosophy of building in the past highlights the
principles of building, such as how the local environment was taken into account, as well as the
economy in using natural resources.
Under the prism of sustainability, building materials and technology are nowadays reconsidered,
since it has been well proved by the experience of great catastrophes due to climatic change that
the sector of constructions is the major consumer of natural resources and sustainable building is
one way road to limit these phenomena. As a result, the research on upgrading local building
materials is cutting edge technology and billions of euros are annually invested to that direction.
For example, earth structures which concern the primer constructional system found, have been
continuously used in construction from prehistory until nowadays (33% of worldwide houses are
still built with earth), due to their low cost and easy production, without high energy embodied
materials. They were constructed with local clayish materials by using techniques which depicted
the regional constructional traditions (earth-blocks in SE Europe, cob in UK and taipa in Portugal)
(Fig. 5).
Under the light of sustainability, these structures have been reconsidered and efforts are made in
order to be restored and revitalized with proper materials and techniques. On the other hand, there
is a revival of the interest on building with earth all over the world (i.e. France, Germany), due to
the constructional, economic and environmental benefits [20].
Fig. 4. Earth-block houses of N Greece
Through the platform these aspects will be highlighted in order to offer multidisciplinary
readings and inspire users for a better future in building. Apart from increasing the dissemination
potential of knowledge about the evolution of building materials, the scientific experience and
knowledge will be presented under the concepts of effectiveness, economy, sustainability and
environmental protection.
Well documented knowledge has been accumulated by the Laboratory of Building Materials of
the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki during the last 25 years of continuous work with Ephorates
of Antiquities in studying the building materials of historic structures [4], [6], [18,19].
According to a systematic evaluation of the analysis results, many conclusions can be asserted
regarding multiple aspects, such as the type of building materials used diachronically, the
constructional types encountered, as well as their correlation to the specific characteristics of each
era and region (socio-economic, cultural and environmental aspects).
In the proposed platform, the research results will be presented under specific axes, regarding:
• the main structural types found diachronically in constructions (rubble masonry, ashlar masonry,
adobe, brick masonry, contemporary concrete structures) (Fig. 5)
• the characteristics and technological evolution of building materials and techniques (Fig. 6)
• the wider historic, cultural, environmental and socio-economic aspects of each region and era
• the background and educational level of the user (general public, students, professionals,
scientists, stake holders)
Historic
period
Monument/
Date
Allatini /
1879
Fig. 6. Macroscopic and microscopic figures of mortars from various monuments of Greece
5 Conclusions
As it is formerly stated, the technological evolution of building materials has not been yet
adequately acknowledged and interrelated with the development of civilizations and advances in
construction. Therefore, there is a gap of knowledge related to the significant role of building
materials and philosophy of construction in creating the built environment in Europe.
On the other hand, under the prism of sustainability, the comprehension of the diachronic
principles of constructions could contribute to maximizing the effectiveness of the contemporary
building materials and minimizing their cost and environmental footprint.
To this direction, the development of a flexible platform providing input to many digital
applications concerning building materials and constructional techniques would contribute to
forward the messages to the next generations:
• the significant role of building materials in the development of the architecture and civilization
of a region,
• the evolution of the building materials technology from the past (2 nd millennium BC) until
nowadays (advances of concrete),
• the diachronically valid principles of sustainability, durability and economy in construction,
• the proper materials and techniques for the restoration of monuments and historic buildings.
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