Author Archives: Angharad Hart

Call for Papers – New Insights Conference: The 15th New Insights into C16th and C17th British Architecture Conference

Submissions close: Saturday, 31 August 2024

The 15th New Insights into C16th and C17th British Architecture conference will take place on Saturday 18 January 2024 at the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House, London.

We warmly invite proposals in the form of short abstracts (no more than 250 words) for papers of 30 minutes in length.

The emphasis is on new research on architectural subjects, but we also welcome proposals on related themes, including decorative arts, gardens, sculpture and monuments.

Material should be current or recent original research and should not have been previously published.

Please include a short biography with your proposal. 

Proposals should be submitted by Saturday31 August 2024 to the organisers, Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner and Dr Jenny Saunt, at info@newinsightsconference.co.uk

The final programme will be announced in September 2024 when booking will also open.

For further information please visit www.newinsightsconference.co.uk

You may be interested to know that the website includes an archive section, which lists papers given in past years as well as publications arising from them. If you have previously presented at a New Insights Conference and wish to update us with details of any related publications, please email us: info@newinsightsconference.co.uk 

Call for Research – Tree Root Damage to Historic Boundary Walls

Responses before the 31st of July 2024.

Invitation to complete a short (less than 5 min) survey on the topic of tree root damage to historic boundary walls. The aim of the research is to develop guidance to improve outcomes for trees and walls where mitigation of root damage is required in the historic environment.

Link to survey: https://forms.gle/6Qe2UD1E2HhZpGA49?

About the researcher: Duncan Woolsmith

I completed my MEng in Civil Engineering from the University of Surrey in 2006, and have since worked as a structural engineer gaining Chartered Civil Engineer status in 2013 and Chartered Structural Engineer status in 2017. Over the last ten years I have been increasingly specialising in conservation and am currently completing my MSc in Historic Conservation at Oxford Brookes University, with the kind support of my employer Stantec. The study considered herein forms part of the research for my dissertation and I believe will provide a valuable contribution to the field.

Call for Abstracts – The Ecology of Place: Learning from Nature, Culture and History, IMCL

DEADLINES: 

Abstracts are due July 31, 2024
Notifications will occur by August 15, 2024
Speaker registration is required by September 15, 2024
Papers must be submitted for the e-reader by October 1, 2024

​SUMMARY: The Lennard Institute for Livable Cities, a public benefit educational corporation and producer of the venerable International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference series, invites you to submit a no-obligation abstract for the upcoming 61st conference in our long-running series begun in 1985.  The IMCL is a premier gathering of city leaders, researchers, practitioners, educators and other urban stakeholders, who meet in intimate, instructive and inspiring locales to explore case studies and share peer-to-peer knowledge on frontier urban challenges.

Following our successful April, 2024 conference in Newport, Rhode Island, we have opened the Call for Abstracts and registration for the next conference, to be held in beautiful and instructive Cortona, Italy, October 29-November 1, 2024. The previous Newport conference concluded with an overall attendee evaluation of 4.81 out of 5. Attendee comments included:

“A wonderful conference and stunning venue.”

“It was brilliantly organized!”

“I left the conference encouraged – there are many challenges ahead of us, but I am so invigorated by the tenacity of those stepping up to face them.”

“This is the best conference I’ve ever attended. There was much to take in; so many people with exceptional experience.”

We invite researchers, city officials, educators, practitioners, and NGO leaders to share their knowledge on the topic(s) of the conference, by submitting a 300-word abstract. Accepted abstract authors will also be invited to submit full papers for the conference e-reader (optional). The e-reader will be published on Academia.com with a DOI number. Authors may also elect to submit papers to partner journals for peer-reviewed publication, following reviews, comments and modifications during the conference. 

THEME: “The Ecology of Place: Learning from Nature, Culture, and History”

As humanity confronts multiple historic challenges, our settlements and their characteristics are set to play a central role – especially so in a time of historic rapid urbanization.  Our cities, towns and suburbs are where we interact, move about, consume resources, develop and deploy our technologies, and create most of the impacts we are having on Planet Earth. In that sense, our settlements are major contributors to our challenges – but they also offer an important platform for joining up key issues of emissions and contamination, resource use and depletion, and ecological destruction, as well as opportunities for equitable human development, health, and well-being.

We will focus in particular on the lessons of historic regions like Tuscany, with its remarkable polycentric structure of cities and towns, and its combination of planned and informal urban morphologies. Using Cortona as a case study and inspiring locale, we will examine similar regions’ deep cultural roots as well as their ecological relationship to the land. We will consider food quality and security, markets and public spaces, placemaking and place management, walkability and low-carbon living, urban resilience and climate readiness, affordability, equity and opportunities for all, and other topics of urban health, well-being and livability.   

The conference will gather internationally prominent policy leaders, practitioners, community leaders and top scholars, to share lessons and discuss potential collaborations.  A major aim of the conference will be to serve as a “springboard” toward new research, new collaborative action, and new ways of communicating and driving the necessary transition ahead.

Partners in the conference will include The King’s Foundation (UK), UN-Habitat, the Congress for the New Urbanism, INTBAU, The Seaside Institute, HealthBridge, the Urban Guild, and others to be announced. 

ABOUT THE VENUE: 

The historic hill town of Cortona has a rich history going back to Etruscan times and beyond, with splendid and instructive examples of urban space and place. The city and the region offer many lessons about contemporary challenges of health, economic well-being, agriculture, food, climate adaptation, viable small-town and rural life amid rapid urbanization, and new models of economic diversity and resilience.

Cortona is approximately 1.5 hours from Florence and 2.5 hours from Rome, accessible by train, bus or car, with an assortment of historic hotels, inns and home rentals.  The city is famous as the setting of Frances Mayes’ autobiographical 1996 book Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy.  Cortona is the Sister City of our 2021 venue, Carmel, Indiana. 

The venue is the City of Cortona’s Conference and Event Centre, located in the historic convent of Sant’Agostino in the city center. There are many small hotels and rental homes nearby. Late October is an excellent time to travel affordably and find ample accommodation in central Italy, with generally very good weather. 

TOPICS: You may contribute an abstract describing your work (to be presented at the conference, and also developed into a full conference paper if you wish) on any one or a combination of the following topics, or others related to our theme:

•    Great Public Spaces for ALL: Learning from Italy, and Elsewhere

•    Cities on Foot: The Power of Urban Walkability and Public Transportation

•    The Place of Beauty: Neuroscience, Health and Sustainability in Placemaking

•    Slow Food, Slow Cities: Food Quality, Health, and Urban Well-being

•    Markets and Marketable Local Products: Viable Small-Town Businesses

•    The Next Renaissance? Rebuilding Homes, Neighborhoods and Towns

•    Zoom Towns, Livable Places, and the New Economy

•    Jane Jacobs and the Power of Diversity, Equity, and Web-Networks

•    Christopher Alexander and the Power of Patterns, and Timeless Ways of Building

•    Building Better: Tools, Strategies, and Design Ideas

•    Rapid Urbanization: Implementing the New Urban Agenda

•    Climate Change and Urban Form: Mitigation, Adaptation, Resilience

•    Financial Tools and Externality Feedbacks: Making It Pay

•    Sustainable Infrastructure: Complete Streets, Regenerative Utilities and Transit

•    Access For Everyone: Bringing the Benefits of Livable Cites to ALL

•    The Ecology of Place: Concepts, Metrics, Practices

•    Learning from Nature, Culture, and History for Contemporary Challenges

DEADLINES: 

Abstracts are due July 31, 2024
Notifications will occur by August 15, 2024
Speaker registration is required by September 15, 2024
Papers must be submitted for the e-reader by October 1, 2024

REGISTRATION FEES:

Accepted speaker registration is $595.00 (Approx. EUR 553.00)
Early Bird registration (non-speaker) is also $595.00 (through July 31)
Discount registration (non-speaker) is $695.00 (Through September 30) 
Full participant (non-speaker) registration is $795.00 (after October 1)
Student (non-speaker) registration is $295.00 (ID required)

Find out more here

Call for Papers – Destruction by Design: The Legacies of Damage to Cultural Heritage, V&A Dundee, Scotland

The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Culture in Crisis Programme, in partnership with the University of Stirling and V&A Dundee, are pleased to announce an international conference, taking place on 20 September at V&A Dundee, Scotland.

The aim of this conference is to critically examine politically motivated intentional damage and destruction of cultural heritage. Such acts become part of the ongoing biographies of heritage objects, monuments and places, creating difficult and contentious dilemmas about their future lives for those involved in caring for them. Should politically targeted heritage objects be restored to their original condition? Or should the damage be preserved as part of an object’s ongoing biography to some degree? How should damage be recorded and should documentation practices extend to the wider social and political contexts in which an object and decision-making about its future, is situated? What is the role of replicas and reconstructions? Above all, who gets to decide, how and with what consequences? The conference will provide an important forum for comparing historical and contemporary examples and reflecting on the consequences of difference conservation, restoration and documentation policies and practices with a view to shaping future directions.

We invite submissions from speakers that explore the themes of the conference and encourage vibrant debate and thoughtful dialogue. We welcome papers from a diverse range of geographical settings and regions, cultures, languages, and research areas. The sessions aim to be thought provoking, informative and relevant to the work of museums and heritage organisations, Speakers could come from museum, heritage management, conservation, media or academic backgrounds and be at any stage of their career.

Speakers are invited to deliver a presentation of 20-30 minutes and participate in a moderated panel discussion and audience Q&A.

If you are interested in presenting at this years conference, please submit an expression of interest including a short biography (100 words) and an abstract (150-200 words) to cultureincrisis@vam.ac.uk. The conference will provide each speaker with a set speaker’s fee in addition to a grant for travel and accommodation.

Deadline for submissions: Midnight, Sunday 21 July

Successful submissions will be contacted by Friday 26 July

Call for Proposals – INTBAU 5th International Conference on Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism

The Fifth International Conference on Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism, organised by the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation with the collaboration of INTBAU Spain and INTBAU Portugal, will take place from 15 – 17 November 2024 in Úbeda, Spain.

The Conference will have both in-person and online modalities. The former will include a series of lectures delivered by international architects, various demonstrations by masters of traditional construction and technical visits to the town of Úbeda.

Registration for the Conference, both for the on-site and online modalities, is free but necessary and can be done HERE.

The call for proposals is open until September 6, 2024. All proposals will undergo a selection process and may be accepted for presentation at the Conference in its online or on-site modalities, and/or published in the Journal of Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism.

More information about submission of proposals.

Visit the official website of the Traditional Building Cultures Foundation More information about the conference.

Call for Research – The use of nanolime for limestone consolidation

Responses before the 6th of June 2024.

Invitation to complete a short 4-question survey on the topic of the use of nanolime for limestone consolidation, relating to the following research aims:

  1. Development of eco-friendly hydro and hydro/alcoholic nanolime dispersions synthesised from the valorisation of inedible food-wastes.
  2. Development of a stone conservation assessment tool for assessing superficial (i.e. near-to-the surface) and mass (i.e. in-depth) consolidation performance based on the use of non-destructive techniques.
  3. Development of “green” protective coatings/treatments to make the stone heritage (historical buildings and monuments) more resilient to climate change and help in the prevention of biodeterioration, salts weathering, and damage induced by pollution/acidic rain.

Complete the survey HERE

About the researcher: Cyril Maucourant

I graduated at UCL in 2018 where I did a MSc Conservation for Archaeology & Museums. In December 2022, I completed my AHRC-funded PhD at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) which was in collaboration with the British Museum, the Heritage Consortium, and Canterbury Cathedral. I started my job as postdoctoral researcher at SHU in September 2023, where I use the fields of stone conservation, materials science, and engineering, to develop innovative nanolime-based consolidation techniques designed to make the stone heritage more resilient to climate change. We are currently collaborating with Cliveden Conservation Ltd; The Commonwealth War Graves Commission; and the Victoria & Albert Museum and are hoping to expand our network and collaborate with more partners in the heritage sector.

Call for Research Participants – Significance of Building Adaption through Sustainability

A call for survey and interview participants relating to building adaptation and sustainability, including the importance of factors which influence building viability versus demolition, from Daniel Wiley; a student in Town and Regional Planning (MA) at Leeds Beckett university.

Information/ Input Needed:

Participants will complete a survey to assess the built environment, focussing on building adaption in relation to sustainability, to assess building adaptions contribution towards sustainability. There will be an online survey and follow up short interview. This should take 30 minutes and can be conducted at a convenient time and date to be arranged online. All answers and results from the research are kept strictly confidential and the results will be reported in a research paper available to all participants on completion.

For more information, or to participate, please contact Daniel at d.wiley2427@student.leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Research Summary:

The built environment poses challenges as we move into modern times such as environmental challenges which imposes onto our lifestyle of consumption of finite resources and reliance on car culture has prompted policy interventions to find new solutions to mitigate this impact on our built environment and possibly change our lifestyle away from decentralised spatial planning towards sustainable directions of living within cities. Small scale policies aimed at improving our own inner cities and reducing impacts of vacancy of buildings represents a potential opportunity for reviving inner city living, impacts of vacancy of buildings has been noted by researchers including Bullen et al (2011,2009) on adaptive reuse of heritage buildings, this trend in building adaption has been received by many authors including Ball (1999,2002), Barlow et all (1996,1995), Kurul (2007), Heath, (2001), Remoy et al  (2010, 2012, 2011). The benefits towards building adaptive reuse are seen through the eyes of environmental and social tenants of sustainability and the drivers are cultivated through the energy efficiency benefits of using existing structures and recycling material which would inevitably be wasted through demolition. The argument against building adaption focuses predominantly on costs over longer-term economic feasibility of maintaining a building with such outdated infrastructure, hidden externalities of costs involved with demolition such as decontamination and remedial costs need to be incorporated into viability assessments, Bullen (2009). The demolition decisions should incorporate social and environmental factors into the decision-making process when considering a building for adaption as the environmental and social benefits weigh very strongly as an argument to justify the need for the adaption.

Significance of adaption through sustainability

Buildings are linked to sustainability through reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency of environmental goals of sustainable development, alongside social and economic goals. We can incorporate the social and environmental goals of sustainable development into decision making for adaption and use this as a benchmarking tool to evaluate the viability of buildings from sustainability perspectives. The drivers towards adaption have been based around sustainability goals, building adaption according to Binder (2003) saves approximately 95% of the materials of existing buildings and is a strong argument in favour of building adaption over demolition or redevelopment in contrast to the economic argument over finance, the social and environmental opportunities shine light onto adaption, (Ball, 2002). Wilkinson (2011) argues similarly that demolition is wasteful processes if materials are not reused or recycled through adaptation. Obsolescence within buildings presents two opposing factors, an opportunity to trigger buildings adaption and improve a building but also it presents a threat to the built environment through negative threat of vacant buildings being disused and prone to vandalism and graffiti, Wilkinson (2011). Bullen (2007) presents the idea of embodied energy is a key response to environmental problems and presents a sustainable solution to the problem of new build which is seen as a highly inefficient use of resources. My research aims to identify barriers and opportunities through a stakeholder analysis of perceptions and experiences of decision-making appraisal processes which buildings undergo for transformation. The need to focus on the existing stock of buildings given the rising energy costs around the world has prompted this trend, extending the lifecycle of buildings represents a new life for some buildings that undergo transformation, Remoy et al, (2007).

I’ve just given a brief summary of my research I am doing above. This is my survey I have produced through google forms which I will use to distribute my survey. (I am hoping this link will work). This is the link I will use but I will collect email addresses from participants who can access the survey. After the survey is complete, I am trying to gain a follow up 10-15 min interview into some detail about the answers given from the survey. The data and email addresses will be kept safe online through google form account, I will use my google account (wiley316@gmail.com) to send out survey request so it might not come from my university email here. The main input I am looking for is finding out the importance of factors which influence building viability versus demolition. 

Call for Papers – AKTLD Annual Conference: Heritage and Democracy

Submission of Abstracts: 24th March 2024

Democracy is a fragile creature. As a political system, it is characterized by citizens’ participation in the government’s decision-making processes, either directly or through elected representatives. Democracy can take various forms, but the common thread is the emphasis on the people’s empowerment in shaping the state’s policies and direction. 

Cultural heritage, its designation, interpretation and management are always affected by political circumstances. Whatever the approach taken towards heritage in democratic societies, it has to be subjected to the public’s scrutiny, including a dialogue and discourse beyond heritage professionals. There is an assumption that cultural heritage in democratic societies and the proponents of its state-driven management are acting in the interest of the public good. It is an assumption underpinned by the notion of culture as embracing a social value. This can be challenged not only by different kinds of public, but also by different state representatives. But what happens when democratic governments start to influence investigative and diverse narratives, undermining values of heritage and culture that heritage professionals have taken for granted? Where should the sovereignty of interpretation lie when populism is on the rise? Who defines, interprets, uses or instrumentalizes heritage and for what purposes? 

After the euphoria that greeted the fall of the Iron Curtain, a consensus developed that democracy is inevitable as a progressive trajectory of history. The following years were accompanied by a sense of optimism, endurance and superiority, which was pervasive across Europe and the broader democratic world. Over the last decade or so, this consensus has been shaken as we have seen resurging authoritarian tendencies and an undermining of civil liberties. Such tendencies are often based on the most simplistic understanding of democracy, the so-called ‘will of the people’, neglecting its other qualifying characteristics. In the current climate, we are sharply reminded that democracy is not a static condition, but a constant process of negotiation, and that the ‘will of the people’ can go in different ways – as illustrated by the appearance of the same slogan in connection with the fall of the Iron Curtain and the rise of new authoritarian rule. 

Democratic processes are more and more distinguished between top-down and bottom-up decision-making. There are many perceptions, not to say prejudices, of how this differs in various national contexts, specifically about cultural heritage. We aim to explore the reality behind these perceptions to gain a more nuanced picture that includes national contexts beyond those in which most experts operate in, we aim to explore the reality behind these perceptions. We thereby recognize that the notion of civil society is also embedded in democracy; for example, in the UK, civil society is embodied by the charitable and community sector, which is generally upheld as one of the great traditional pillars of British society. 

This conference will look at heritage processes that operate in conjunction with the notion of democracy. This includes heritage in democratic processes and heritage as democratic processes. It seeks to uncover the Nation State’s role in forcing heritage protection and (and defying it. The protection of heritage can happen despite the state or – under certain circumstances – against the state. However, to a large extent, heritage practices deal with the care for listed buildings, conservation areas, and other (physical) entities, supporting them in their survival and thriving. To this extent, they are not bound to democratic 2 

Institutions, as has happened and continues to happen, whether or not democratic structures are in place. What does this mean for heritage management processes within democratic structures? 

We are approaching this discourse from a perspective of the canon of cultural heritage and its protection and conservation. It has been developed over more than 200 years, initially in the context of the European Enlightenment and, more recently, of Globalisation. That perspective is generally represented by experts whose participation in decision-making processes is founded on a legal mandate. This is usually communicated based on a shared understanding of values among those experts, and is justified as being in the public’s interest. Who this public is, and how it is constituted, needs to be further explored about the various heritage processes. 

This is an international conference organized in Coventry by the AKTLD Arbeitskreis für Theorie und Lehre der Denkmalpflege e.V. [Working Group on Theory and Education in Heritage Conservation]. It will explore questions of Heritage and Democracy in national comparison, including, but not restricted to, Germany and the United Kingdom. Coventry provides the venue and the conceptual framework. As the city of peace and reconciliation, it has promoted mutual understanding, human rights, peace and security as pillars of democracy ever since it was bombed in 1940. Its iconic treatment of how to deal with the destruction of its cathedral in terms of architecture and heritage is also testimony to these ideals. 

Key questions:

  1. Notwithstanding the assumed consensus on the superiority of democracy as the least objectionable of all state models, is there an indication that heritage discourses and protection practices serve democratic societies (more so than autocratic ones)? 
  2. How can discourses and practices of heritage uphold and develop democracy? And to what extent do they depend on it? 
  3. What are the different heritage management practices of top-down/ bottom-up decision-making in national comparisons? 
  4. What roles do heritage processes play in contemporary societies – both in support of state narratives and as oppositional and alternative practices? 

Potential Sections:

▪ Heritage and the public good 

▪ Heritage interpretation as an instrument of nation-building, of creating, stabilizing or questioning democratic (or other) societies 

▪ The professional heritage community and civil society 

▪ State heritage structures, the law and democratic processes

SUBMISSIONS

We look forward to receiving your proposals for a 20-25 min talk. Although we envision the conference to be predominantly conducted in English, we will also accept German proposals and talks. 

Please send a substantial abstract of maximum 200 word together with a short CV by the 24 March 2024. Please indicate in which sections you wish to position 

MORE INFO

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Call for Abstracts – ICOMOS Scientific Symposium 2024

This year, the ICOMOS Advisory Committee will organise its Scientific Symposium in Ouro Preto, Brazil, from 13 to 15 November 2024 on the theme “Revisiting the Venice Charter: Critical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges.”

Read the call for abstracts and send your abstract before 15 May 2024!    

For more information, visit the ICOMOS website

The 60th Anniversary of the Venice Charter provides a unique opportunity to reassess it as a historical document rooted in a specific context and shaped by a particular heritage concept. This Symposium is dedicated to a critical reading, focusing on the Venice Charter’s relevance in the current discourse surrounding heritage and adopting a cross-cutting approach between conventions.

The Symposium aims to comprehensively reassess the Venice Charter in a contemporary context, emphasizing its Eurocentric origins and advocating for a critical rereading considering evolving heritage concepts. Additionally, it seeks to foster a cross-cutting approach between the Venice Charter and other international conventions, emphasizing the importance of diverse epistemologies and contributions from the Global South.

Proposed Sub-Themes for the Symposium

1. Historical Context and Heritage Concepts
An exploration of the historical context and conceptual foundations that shaped the Venice Charter, emphasizing its Eurocentric origins and the need for a critical rereading.

2. A Cross-Cutting Approach Between Conventions
A discussion linking the Venice Charter with other international documents, notably the Hague Convention of 1954, the World Heritage Convention of 1972, the Nara Document on Authenticity of 1994, the Intangible Heritage Convention of 2003, and the Faro Convention of 2005[1], exploring intersections and shared principles to address contemporary challenges.

3. Universalism and diversity: Rereading the Doctrinal Documents from Diverse Perspectives
A discussion on the importance of the Venice Charter (and other related doctrinal documents) through diverse epistemologies and perspectives, acknowledging the cultural diversity of heritage and exploring contributions from the Global South.

4. Contemporary Challenges in Heritage Discourse
A critical examination of the state of the art in heritage discussions, considering the evolving perspectives and challenges that have emerged since the inception of the Venice Charter. Examining the relevance of the Venice Charter in the current context, with a focus on challenges posed by the Western divide between nature and culture, the growing importance of metropolises, social inequities, the environmental impact of human activities, disasters and conflicts, among others.

5. Disaster and Conflict Resilient Heritage
Cultural heritage is increasingly vulnerable to disasters and conflicts and subject to rapid destruction, as evidenced by the recent fires, floods, earthquakes and escalating armed conflicts in different parts of the world. At the General Assembly 2023 in Sydney, ICOMOS Advisory Committee approved the theme of “Disaster and Conflict Resilient Heritage – Preparedness, Response and Recovery” as the theme for the Triennial Scientific Plan 2024-2027.  In keeping with the spirit of open, innovative, constructive intergenerational dialogue, and the strategic focus, this sub-theme will address the suitability of the Venice Charter with the theme of disaster and conflict-resilient heritage, emphasizing its broader implications for heritage discourse, development models, and resilience strategies.

By integrating these sub-themes into the Symposium, we aim to foster a comprehensive dialogue that not only critically reinterprets the Venice Charter but also explores its intersections with broader heritage discussions and contemporary challenges including the climate emergency, conflicts and natural disasters.

[1] Council of Europe’s Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society


The call for abstracts for the AGA2024 Scientific Symposium is now open!

The Scientific Symposium Committee welcomes the submission of abstracts for the ICOMOS 2024 Annual General Assembly and Scientific Symposium (ICOMOS AGA2024) to be held at the Convention Centre, Ouro Preto, Brazil from 10–17 November 2024. The Scientific Symposium offers a major research, information sharing, training and capacity-building opportunity for delegates, who will be able to present and attend papers, seminars, workshops, site visits and other sessions.

Submit your abstract for a session, paper or poster through the AGA2024 Abstract Submission Portal. The call for abstracts will close on 15 May 2024.
GO TO linkClick here to submit your abstract

Key Dates

  • 4 March 2024: Abstract online submission site opens
  • 15 May 2024: Deadline to submit an abstract 
  • 30 June 2024: Authors notified of abstract submission outcome
  • 30 Aug 2024: Author registration deadline*

*Presenters and session organizers MUST register for the AGA2024 by the above date to confirm attendance. Presenters/session organizers who have not registered by this date will have their abstracts removed from the Scientific Symposium Program.

Abstract Guidelines

  1. Participants are welcome to submit abstracts in English, French, or Spanish. Portuguese abstracts accompanied by English, French or Spanish translation will be accepted.
  2. Participants are welcome to submit more than one co-authored paper and/or poster abstracts, and session proposals.
  3. Participants may only submit one individual paper abstract and/or one individual poster abstract.
  4. The AGA2024 Scientific Committee Co-chairs reserve the right to reclassify submitted abstracts into the most appropriate theme or program.
  5. Abstracts must be submitted via the online abstract submission site.
  6. Abstracts will be reviewed as submitted by the abstract deadline of 15 May 2024.

Presenter Agreement

All presenters agree to the following conditions when submitting an abstract:

  1. Agree that if the abstract is accepted, ICOMOS has permission to publish the abstract in printed and/or electronic formats.
  2. Agree to have their papers published in printed and/or electronic formats, and their presentation broadcasted online and through the platforms used by ICOMOS.
  3. Intend to register for and attend the AGA2024 Scientific Symposium and pay the appropriate registration fee by 30 Aug 2024.

Failure to register by 30 Aug 2024 will result in the following:

  • The proposal being withdrawn from the AGA2024 Scientific Symposium.
  • The submitter will not be allowed to present their abstract at the meeting.
  • The abstract will not be citable as being part of the ICOMOS AGA2024 Scientific Symposium Proceedings.

Call for Research – The structural conservation of historic buildings

A call for research relating to the structural conservation of historic buildings, particularly in Wales, from Connor Evans; a third year BSc Civil Engineering student at the University of South Wales.

Information/ Input Needed:

I am seeking insights, expertise, and resources from IHBC members who specialize in structural conservation and have experience working with historic buildings. I am particularly interested in learning about innovative approaches, case studies, and practical considerations in the field of structural conservation, especially as they relate to load path alterations and remediation strategies. I plan to use Ruperra Castle as a case study to apply the findings of my research so any knowledge of this site would be greatly appreciated. Any other relevant literature, case studies, or contacts would be of great assistance.

Research Summary:

I am a third year BSc Civil Engineering student at the University of South Wales , conducting research for my dissertation project on the structural conservation of historic buildings in Wales. I have been conducting research looking at case studies such as Old Beaupre Castle, Llwyn Celyn farmhouse, Tintern Abbey and others. My primary objective is to investigate the considerations taken when restoring historically significant structures such as “how can changes in load paths can affect restoration works?” and “how far should restoration works alter the existing structure?”. Specifically, I aim to analyse the decision-making processes, challenges, and solutions involved in preserving the structural integrity and cultural significance of these heritage assets, while incorporating modern interventions like steel lintels and mortar repairs. I would also like to look at how some of the findings of my research can apply to historic structures that are need of restoration work.

Contact Information:

Please feel free to contact me via email at connor_evans_@outlook.com. I welcome any contributions, suggestions, or collaborations related to my research topic.

Thank you for your assistance, and I look forward to connecting with the IHBC community.