Call for papers - Conference on Cultural Heritage and Climate Change

The effects of climate change are already apparent in many different areas including cultural heritage. Not only the basic structure of a building can be damaged by heavy rainfalls, storms or heating periods. Cultural heritage assets which are stored indoors, such as altar pieces in churches or rich furnishing in historic houses, which are not established with climate control units, are strongly affected. Damage which is cumulatively caused by unfavourable climatic conditions like high temperatures or unfavourable relative humidity are often underestimated as we do not see changes immediately. Many questions still need to be answered in order to find strategies for the long-term protection of our cultural heritage in a sustainable way. For example, low energy solutions for humidifying and dehumidifying which are suitable for installation in historic buildings have potential, but also a rethink of the use of a building might be another approach. Service and maintenance seem to be promising ways of preserving our cultural heritage, but can we do it more efficiently using monitoring strategies, simulation tools or the IoT?

This conference will provide the opportunity to discuss experiences of handling climate change effects on cultural heritage items stored inside historic buildings, uncertainty in preservation and strategies for resilience in an interdisciplinary manner.

We are looking for contributions on the following topics:

• Surveys of affected parties, historic preservation institutes
• Energy efficient strategies for stable climate conditions in historic buildings (innovative climate targets, light protection, buffer materials which are suitable for historic buildings)
• Long-term evaluations of climate measurements or in-situ measurements of historic surfaces (e. g. crack monitoring) and their use for risk assessments
• Simulation tools and damage functions to help to predict damage risks
• Experiences of stakeholders on the use of damage functions

Prof. Dr. Chiara Bertolin from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norway and Dr. Jonathan Ashely-Smith consultant and teacher in cultural heritage risk in the UK will give keynote lectures.

We are pleased to announce the conference will be held in the former library of the Dominican monastery in Bamberg. Since 1993 Bamberg has been recognised as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site making it an appropriate venue for this important topic. The conference will be held both in person and online.

Please send your contribution with a maximum of 500 words to klimawandel.restaurierungswissenschaft@uni-bamberg.de by October 28^th, 2022.

If childcare is required, please contact us via email.

We look forward to welcoming you in Bamberg!

Dr. Kristina Holl

Scientific officer at the professorship of Building Preservation Sciences