Sustainable conservation and restoration of built cultural heritage

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101007531

This web site reflects only the author’s view and the Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Sustainable COnservation and REstoration of built cultural heritage

SCORE project contributes to the implementation of the following three research and innovation (R&I) objectives:

R&I Obj. 1. The development of “green” innovations: materials and methods for the conservation of ancient buildings based on a circular economy philosophy which would make “an essential contribution to the EU’s efforts to develop a sustainable, low-carbon, resource-efficient and competitive economy’’ (European Commission 2015).

R&I Obj. 2. Two-way assessment of impacts of the environment on materials and of materials on the environment: Climate conditions and atmosphere composition determine BCH materials’ behaviour and, at the same time, the BCH conservation process (products and techniques) impacts greenhouse gases emissions and then climate change.

R&I Obj. 3. Transfer to society: Training and knowledge transfer on both innovative and traditional materials and methods with a low environmental impact will concern consortium members, students, public and private BCH owners, restorers, manufacturers, workers and volunteers on rehabilitation sites.

In light of the R&I objectives, the SCORE project has three specific objectives:

Sp Obj. 1 Development of international, interdisciplinary and cross-sector partnerships. KPI: International research projects, joint PhD and Master’s programmes, joint conservation materials development

Sp Obj. 2 Research and innovation staff exchange. KPI: participants secondments and invited professors

Sp Obj. 3 Sharing knowledge and ideas from research to BCH conservation actors and vice versa. KPI: Training actions, Master’s/Bachelor’s courses, cross-sector workshops, Advisory Board

The organisations participating in the SCORE project contribute directly to the implementation of the defined R&I objectives through national and international ongoing and forthcoming research projects, that support achievement of the SCORE project’s expected results:

Res 1. Green restoration and rehabilitation products and methods: An Impactful project result will be new products (mortars, renders, biocides …) and methods (re-use, traditional masonry ...) proposed to practitioners, project managers, public and private owners. Business contracts (3 expected) will be concluded with industrial producers in order to commercialize the new product developed. (Expected Year 4)

Res 2. Research contributions: Five main results are expected: a) new dose-response functions to estimate the effect of continuous processes (temperature rise, relative humidity changes, mean rain, etc.), b) critical threshold for extreme events (heat wave, rain storms, dry seasons, etc.), c) future weathering maps in selected areas based on a) and b) and on climate model simulations, d) research papers in high level journals, e) dedicated workshops or special sessions in larger conference. (Expected year 2 to 4)

Res 3. Training and academic education (professional and open public): Specialized academic courses (secondary/higher education 3/year), 10 training events for professionals, stakeholders, decision-makers, private owners, etc. (see Table B.I.2 – Year 2 to 4)

Res 4. Development of a large international and multidisciplinary network dedicated to green restoration and rehabilitation projects. This network will extend from the original SCORE partners (Table B.E.1) to a larger community of cultural heritage building specialists: humanities and socio-economic researchers, different materials scientists, practitioners, building companies, researchers, climate specialists, associations, etc. Practical work camps will be an invaluable place for developing these collaborations including with young people. (Expected at the end of the project)