| CODE | BLH5321 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Environmental Assessment for Conservation | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Conservation and Built Heritage | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The emphasis of this study-unit will be on environmental assessment (temperature, humidity, light, pollution), and its effects on historic buildings and their collections. It will include explanations of the complex mixture of variables involved and their close interaction with the buildings and collections they surround. Focus will be on the role of monitoring in diagnosing problems and seeking appropriate solutions, and the role of these variables in the deterioration of buildings and collections, in strict relation to finding appropriate conservation solutions for historic buildings, sites and collections. The study-unit will also address the collation and management of environmental data. Study-Unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to familiarize the student with the close relationships between the external environment (temperature, humidity, light, pollution) and the micro-climate within a building, and on specific areas within the building (living, working, exhibition, storage), and the effects of the different variables on the state of conservation of historic buildings and their collections. It is also aimed at finding appropriate, non-invasive, solutions to address problems caused by the environment on the building fabric and the collections housed. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain how the external conditions can affect the variations in environmental parameters within a building; - Define the rationale for the internal monitoring of a building; - Select appropriate monitoring sites in a building, specific area or room; - Demonstrate the choice of appropriate environmental control systems, especially passive) for a specific building. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Devise monitoring programmes that provide useful and appropriate data; - Use spot-reading equipment for measuring environmental variable (temperature, humidity, light, pollution); - Download, interpret, describe and visualize collected environmental data. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Essential Readings: -- Bernardi, A., (2008) Microclimate inside Cultural Heritage Buildings, Il Prato. - Camuffo, D. (2019), Microclimate for Cultural Heritage, 3rd edition. Elsevier. - Cassar J., “Climate change and archaeological sites: adaptation strategies” (2016), in: Cultural heritage from pollution to climate change, Editors: Lefevre R-A., and Sabbioni C., Edipuglia, Bari - Grøntoft, T., Cassar, J. An assessment of the contribution of air pollution to the weathering of limestone heritage in Malta. Environ Earth Sci 79, 288 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09027-x - Padfield T. (2019) Conservation Physics, http://www.conservationphysics.org/ Accessed October 2024 - Sabbioni, C., Brimblecombe, P., and Cassar, M. (eds) (2012) The Atlas of Climate Change Impact on European Cultural Heritage. European Union. Supplementary Readings: - Bonello, M., Micallef, D., Borg, S.P. “Humidity micro-climate characterisation in indoor environments: A benchmark study”, in: Journal of Building Engineering, Volume 28, March 2020, 101013. - Camuffo, D., Fassina, V., and Havermans, J., (eds) (2010) Basic Environmental Mechanisms Affecting Cultural Heritage: Understanding Deterioration Mechanisms for Conservation Purposes, Nardini Editore. - Cassar, J.; Galdies, C.; Muscat Azzopardi, E. A New Approach to Studying Traditional Roof Behaviour in a Changing Climate—A Case Study from the Mediterranean Island of Malta. Heritage 2021, 4, 3543–3571. https:// doi.org/10.3390/heritage4040196. - Thickett, D., Luxford, N,. and Paul Lankester, P. (2013) “Environmental Management Challenges and Strategies in Historic House Museums, in: Conference: The Artifact, its Context and their Narrative: joint conferences of ICOMDEMHIST and ICOM-CC, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 2013. - Thickett, D. (2020). Comparison of Environmental Control Strategies for Historic Buildings. Studies in Conservation, 65(sup1), P314-P320. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Fieldwork and Independent Study | ||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Jo Ann Cassar Elizabeth Muscat Azzopardi |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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