CH007 - NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL MATERIALS FOR HISTORICAL BUILDINGS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

The aim of the course is to provide the student with an overview of the main natural and artificial materials used in historical buildings and their interaction with surrounding environment. Particular attention is paid to the study of problems related to degradation, to the diagnosis and to the main techniques of restoration and conservation of materials and artifacts of the historical heritage.
D1 - Knowledge and understanding: The student will become aware of all the materials used in historical buildings, of their evolution over time and of the main mechanisms that regulate their chemical and physical degradation. The student will also acquire a deepened knowledge to properly evaluate the most appropriate prevention and conservation methods.
D2 - Applying knowledge and understanding: The student will acquire the ability to identify the types of materials in use in the historical building, the main chemical and physical causes of their degradation and the supporting diagnostic methodologies. At the end of the course the student will have developed a specific critical ability in identifying the causes of the degradation phenomena of natural and artificial materials in use in historic buildings. He/she will also become aware of the importance of the specific use of destructive and non-destructive diagnostics in the study of materials and their transformation products and in the design of an efficient restoration intervention.
D3 - Making judgments: The student will be able to evaluate the progress of the material degradation process and to select, by opting among the various possibilities, the most suitable materials for the design and implementation of restoration interventions on buildings belonging to the Cultural heritage.
D4 - The student will acquire the ability, to describe, with correct use of language, the main characteristics of the different historical materials and to properly select the restoration and restoration interventions. Furthermore, the student will be encouraged to interact with the lecturers in order to develop his/her ability to compare topics of a general and specific nature.
D5 - Learning skills: The student will be able to understand how the theoretical and conceptual foundations, together with current legislation and recent scientific literature, can be used to understand problems related to the protection of cultural heritage and also to use technical manuals in order to select materials and diagnostic techniques.