AIDA 2° - RESTORATION DESIGN 2012-13 – PROF. ARCH. MARINA D’APRILE
HERITAGE INFORMATION
Recording, documentation and information management for
the conservation of Heritage Places
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
and ILLUSTRATED
EXAMPLES
Recording, documentation and information management for the conservation of Heritage Places. Guiding
principles and illustrated examples, GCI (The Getty Conservation Institute – Los Angeles), 2007.
Heritage Information (HI) – the activity and
products of recording, documenting and managing
the information of cultural heritage (CH) places –
should be not only an integral part of a conservation
project but also an activity that continues long after
the intervention is completed. It is the basis for the
monitoring, management, and routine maintanance
of a site and provides a way to transmit knowledge
about heritage places, as well as its conservation
intervention works, to future generations.
This lecture provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental
principles and guidelines to documenting CH places, that are HI
activities, which represent a very powerful and indispensable tool for
decision making and planning in conservation field .
HI
activities represent essential activities of all phases oh the conservation process
and must be fully integrated into this process. All HI products must be considered as
integral part of an integrated project dossier.
CH place refers in general to immovable cultural heritage, such as single monuments,
archeological sites, groups of buildings, historic tows and cultural land scapes.
DOCUMENTATION represents the already existing stock of information about a CH
place. As an activity stands for the systematic collection and archiving of these kinds
of records, which have to be transmitted to future.
RECORDING means the acquisition of new information deriving from all activities on a
heritage asset, including heritage recording, research and investigation, conservation,
use and management, and maintanance and monitoring.
HERITAGE RECORDING means the graphic and-or photographic capturing information
describing the physical configuration, evolution and condition of a heritage at known
points in time.
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT represents the process of finding, cataloguing, storing
and sharing information about CH.
RESEARCH and INVESTIGATION are used to describe in general a variety of activities
aimed at acquisition of information useful to increasing knowledge of a CH place.
RESEARCH is related more to off-site serveys (e.g. archival research).
INVESTIGATION relates to direct acquisition of information from the CH place as a
primary source. Thus RECORDING is always an essential component of research and
investigation at each step and at each level of the conservation process.
RESEARCH is the first step, because before new records are prepared, all the
existing sources of information should be found, gathered and eximined for
adequacy.
HERITAGE RECORDS must accurately identify and locate the CH places and
their setting, and note the sources of all related information. They must also
include metric, qualitative and quantitative information about the assets,
their values and significance, their condition and management, their
maintanance and repairs, and the threats and risks to their safekeeping.
The selection of appropriate scope, level and methods of recording requires
that the methods of recording and the type of documentation produced are
appropriate to the nature and importance of the CH place, the project’s
needs, the purpose of the record, the cultural context and the resources
available. Preference should be given to nonintrusive techniques.
RECORDING should use standardized formats, and be preserved and up-todate backed up.
THE ICOMOS PRINCIPLES (1996).
Adopted and ratified during the 11th ICOMOS General Assembly in Sofia (Bulgaria), this document
represents the fundamental notions, principles and several guiding-lines about the HI issues.
It establishes the why of recording in general and greater details, the who (responsability), the
how (planning), the what (contents) and the managment of the records obtained.
INFORMATION USERS
CONSERVATION EXPERTS
WHO SPECIALIZE IN
A. RESEARCH
B. INVENTORIES
C. INITIAL STUDIES
D. CONSERVATION PLANNING
E. PROJECT MANAGEMENT
F. MAINTENANCE
G. MONITORING
WHICH GENERALLY USE
LOW-COST RECORDING
METHODS
AND TOOLS
HERITAGE RECORDERS
WHO SPECIALIZE IN
A. PHOTOGRAPHY
B. PHOTOGRAMMETRY
C. SURVEYING, GPS
D. GIS
E. 3-D LASER SCANNING
F. 3-D MODELING
G. GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTION
H. ETC.
WHICH GENERALLY USE STATEOF-THE-ART
RECORDING TOOLS
The six phases
involved in the
Heritage
conservation
process
The conservation
process and related
project information
activities
The output of
diverse
research
initiatives
consists of
information
units
The term recording is used referring to the acquisition of new information deriving
from all activities on a heritage place. These activities, including measured
surveys, research and investigation, conservation, use and management, and
maintenance and monitoring, are carried out by a variety of specialists in pursuit
of the common goal of gaining a better understanding of the heritage place and of
the risks affecting its long-term conservation.
Heritage recording is the capturing of graphic and photographic information
describing the physical configuration, evolution, and condition of a heritage place.
Today, due to rapid technological development in the field of measured survey
techniques, this activity is mainly performed by heritage recorders. These
technical experts are trained to apply a broad range of recording techniques and
to choose the measured survey tool (or combination of tools) that will best match
project requirements. Based on the needs defined by the project manager,
heritage recorders produce precise and reliable measured drawings and
photographs.
Heritage recorders may also undertake technical analysis, which consists of
providing accurate and objective visual descriptions of the design, construction,
materials, and condition of heritage places. The resulting heritage record is a
technical dossier consisting of graphic records that provide the necessary basic
data for conservation and conservation-related activities and/or provide the public
archives with posterity records.
Graphic records are used as base maps for adding data from investigation, design,
treatment, maintenance, and monitoring. The output of recording activities is a
number of research, investigation, or treatment records, which include different
data formats, such as text, tables, diagrams, photographs, and graphic
information.
The production and integration of data to create the complete record of a heritage place
Three levels of recording may generally be considered:
1. Reconnaissance recording
2. Preliminary recording
3. Detailed recording
Each of these recording levels may be partial; that is, each consists of a limited set of graphic records
tailored to specified needs as the conservation activity evolves over time.
Reconnaissance recording is typically an overview photo survey with sketched plans that allows
conservation professionals to visualize, in entirety, a site and its related buildings and features in
sufficient detail to understand the site’s overall characteristics. It should permit rapid identification of
significant features and problem areas. The quantity of photos taken will vary according to the size of
the site and related structures and features. For a building, reconnaissance recording normally would
include sketches of plans and elevations together with important details.
Preliminary recording is more accurate than reconnaissance recording and includes measured graphic
records. It is meant to complement reconnaissance recording by providing more complete
information pertaining to each components of a site. The purpose of this recording is to produce a
set of graphic records of the asset’s major features that are needed early in the conservation process
for preliminary analysis, and to define areas for further investigation and related detailed recording.
The accuracy of graphic records is ± 10 cm for plans, elevations, and cross sections, and ± 2 cm for
structural and other elements.
Detailed recording can take place prior to, during, or after a conservation activity to accurately record
a site’s physical configuration, condition, and significant features. The accuracy of a detailed record
can vary between approximately ± 2 mm and 5 mm for building elements and between ± 10 mm and
25 mm for building plans, elevations, and cross sections.
In summary, reconnaissance recording provides quick sketches and photos to understand a heritage
place and its configuration before a project begins. Preliminary recording provides additional focused
information to the project dossier to better understand project needs early in the process. Detailed
recording consists of accurate graphic records for detailed studies and design requirements.
Tools for heritage
recording: (a)
measuring tape
and plumb line, (b)
electronic
distance meter, (c)
digital camera,
(d) Tablet PC, (e) total
station.
Rectified and scaled (measurable) photo-mosaics of the dry ditch masonry walls at
Fort Henry (Canada). The photo-mosaics were prepared by professional heritage
recorders and used by conservation specialists to determine the masonry’s condition.
Rectified and scaled (measurable) photo-mosaics are essential tools to survey and record
CH place properties and defects.