The conservation of monuments and historic sites is one of the most challenging problems facing modern civilization. It involves, in inextricable patterns, factors belonging to different fields (cultural, humanistic, social, technical, economical, administrative) and the requirements of safety and use appear (and often are) in conflict with the respect of the integrity of the monuments. The complexity of the topic is such that a shared framework of reference is still lacking among art historians, architects, structural and geotechnical engineers.
The conservation of monuments and historic sites is one of the most challenging problems facing modern civilization. It involves, in inextricable patterns, factors belonging to different fields (cultural, humanistic, social, technical, economical, administrative) and the requirements of safety and use appear (and often are) in conflict with the respect of the integrity of the monuments. The complexity of the topic is such that a shared framework of reference is still lacking among art historians, architects, structural and geotechnical engineers.
The possibility of finding in practice an acceptable equilibrium is linked to the development of a shared culture. For this reason, the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering promoted over 30 years ago an ad hoc Committee (on Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites), as suggested by Jean Kerisel and Arrigo Croce. Since that founding period, a number of international and regional symposia have been organised, and in recognition of his pioneering work a honour lecture has been dedicated to Jean Kerisel. The first Kerisel Lecture was delivered at International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ICSMGE) in 2013 in Paris; the second one at the ICSMGE in Seoul in 2017, and the third one will be offered during next International Conference of the TC301, which is now announced and will be held in Naples in June 2022, following the successful tradition started with the previous ones in 1996 and 2013.
Symposium topics:
- Principles of conservation, maintenance strategies, case histories
- The knowledge: investigations and monitoring
- Seismic risk, site effects, soil structure interaction
- Effects of urban development and tunneling on built heritage
- Preservation of diffuse heritage: soil instability,
subsidence, environmental damages
For more information, please visit the landing page of the symposium.