Search Results (3)

The preservation of historical buildings, as well as museum exhibition facilities, is critical under the changing environmental conditions. Since the potential outdoor climate changes may affect the recommended environmental conditions within the museum microenvironment, there is an urgent need for further research into the relationship between the outdoor and indoor climate and how future changes could affect it. This study investigated the relationship between the indoor and outdoor climate conditions in museums and historical buildings located in Greece. The main goal of this work was to assess the suitability of the indoor microclimate by applying the heritage microclimate risk (HMR) and the predicted risk of damage (PRD) indices. In order to achieve a detailed assessment of the present temperature and relative humidity (RH) outdoor conditions over the specific case studies, data from three different sources were incorporated in the study (observed, reanalysis, and model data). The model data were derived from the regional climate model RegCM4 with a fine spatial resolution of 10 × 10 km. The indoor environmental parameters were collected both from the museums and the historical buildings in the two case studies. In cases where indoor environmental data were not available, monitoring sensors were installed. The findings indicate that in cases where there is no control over climate conditions, the indoor climate is predominantly influenced by the outdoor climate. As a result, these spaces exhibit a heightened sensitivity to potential future temperature increases. Full article

This study aims to assess the impacts of climate change on the cultural heritage of two Greek areas for both the present time and the future. As the climate is constantly evolving, cultural heritage is continuously exposed to the risk of damage and deterioration. Therefore, museum directors and boards as well as the national ministries must be informed so that measures and practices are adapted to the new climatic conditions. Greece is a country with immense cultural wealth, both tangible and intangible, which stretches back four and a half thousand years. As a homeland of important historical and cultural resources, Greece is vulnerable to climate change. Two up-to-date indices were applied to two Greek areas with high cultural value: Thessaloniki and Delphi. In order to evaluate the suitability of the microclimate and to assess the damage risk, the Heritage Microclimate Risk (HMR) index and the Predicted Risk of Damage (PRD) index were used for two variables: temperature and relative humidity. The study was carried out for three different time periods, the period 1980–2000 (hereafter, the reference period) and the future periods 2039–2059 and 2079–2099. For the reference period, data from three different sources were incorporated in the study (observed, reanalysis, and model data). The simulated data were derived from the Regional Climate Model RegCM4 with a fine spatial resolution of 10 × 10 km. In addition, the emission scenario RCP4.5 was used for the model’s future simulations. The present and future ideal outdoor climate conditions for the monuments were also estimated and are presented in this work. Overall, the future estimations revealed that the ideal outdoor temperature conditions will be higher compared to the reference period, meaning that the monuments will have to adapt to new warmer climate conditions. In addition to the new temperature conditions to which the monuments will have to adapt, the study showed that the monuments will be exposed to “moderate-maximum” risk more often in the future. Full article

Environmental monitoring represents a key step for restaurateurs to follow who strive to ensure the preservation of buildings and artifacts while allowing for people’s thermal comfort. This paper describes the possibilities and main issues arising from the study of indoor microclimates. The presented case study focuses on the monitoring data analysis for two rooms of the Realm of Venaria Reale, in Turin. The adopted methodology provides for the gathering of knowledge about the history, the geometry, and the change of use in the course of the lifetime of the building. This information allows us to construct a virtual model of the building, through which it is possible to evaluate the past and present and to hypothesize future scenarios regarding the indoor environmental conditions. Moreover, this paper presents a specific index, namely the Heritage Microclimate Risk (HMR), which enables us to evaluate the risk level to which the artifacts kept within historic buildings are exposed. With that database of information, we can preemptively define which actions (managerial and structural) would need to be taken for the preservation of the artifacts and the building itself, avoiding the possible risk component taken by working on the real building. Full article