This research addresses the performance gap between intentions towards a sustainable conservation of built heritage and its actual implementation. Socio-psychological models of human behaviour, such as the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), have been studying this dissonance between intention and behaviour, and allow to recognise latent critical factors. This paper provides a systematic literature review of research publications on the intersection of the topics of human behaviour, heritage, and sustainability. It aims to analyse how the TPB has been used in the field of sustainable conservation of built heritage. The studies are categorised according to the type of heritage, main actors targeted, aims, and methodology. A total of 140 publications were analysed. The results show a recent field of research. In the domain of built heritage conservation, behaviour is commonly addressed as a synonym of performance, targeting the building itself. Most publications relating socio-psychological constructs of behaviour and heritage sustainability can be found in the tourism and hospitality field, focusing on tourists’ and residents’ behaviours. The review shows that practitioners are still absent from the literature. However, research addressing other stakeholders shows that the theoretical framework can play an important role in the implementation of sustainable conservation practices in the built heritage.

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Going beyond Good Intentions for the Sustainable Conservation of Built Heritage: A Systematic Literature Review

Impact of various sands and fibres on the physical and mechanical properties of earth mortars for plasters and renders

In Pinhal Novo, Palmela, and neighboring municipalities, southern Lisbon region, there are a great number of small adobe masonry dwellings, made in the first half of the twentieth century. The vern...

/pdf/vernacular-caramel-s-adobe-masonry-dwellings-material-3w027ti9p8.pdf

Vernacular Caramel´s Adobe Masonry Dwellings – Material Characterization

In Portugal, rammed earth monolithic walls and adobe masonry were, for several centuries, important construction techniques for dwellings. The frequent unnecessary demolition of these buildings, mainly due to lack of information related to them, lack or inadequate maintenance interventions, and advanced state of degradation, has been leading to great cultural and material loss. To preserve this vernacular built heritage and all the technological knowledge related to it, it is fundamental to understand the constructive technologies. Several earthen buildings from Leiria region were mapped and inspected, and two of them were taken as case studies. This architectural survey allowed studying their construction specificities, main building pathology, and thus contributing to Leiria's vernacular earthen buildings efficient preservation and use.

Vernacular earthen buildings from Leiria, Portugal – Architectural survey towards their conservation and retrofitting

Adobe construction represents 5.3% of the total Portuguese building stock according to the latest National Housing Census. The distribution of these adobe buildings is scattered across the country, with higher density in the central region and in Algarve in the south, where the seismic hazard is highest. A large proportion of these buildings are still in use for residential and commercial purposes and are of historical significance, contributing to the cultural heritage of the country. Adobe buildings are known to exhibit low seismic resistance due to their brittle behavior, thus making them vulnerable to ground shaking and more prone to structural damage that can potentially cause human fatalities. Three buildings with one-story, two-stories, and two-stories plus an attic were numerically modeled using solid and contact elements. Calibration and validation of material properties were carried out following experimental results. A set of 30 ground motion records with bi-directional components were selected, and non-linear time-history analyses were performed until complete collapse occurred. Two novel engineering demand parameters (EDPs) were used, and damage thresholds were proposed. Finally, fragility and fatality vulnerability functions were derived. These functions can be used directly in seismic risk assessment studies.

https://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/73937/1/buildings-11-00200.pdf

Seismic vulnerability assessment of Portuguese adobe buildings

Earth construction is the oldest building practice known. The adobe is a simple and sustainable type of earth construction. Many of adobe buildings are in an advanced state of degradation due to th...

Adobe Blocks in the Center of Portugal: Main Characteristics

In the past decade, there has been an increase in the environmental performance assessment in earth construction through the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. A Systematic Literature Review verified LCA methodology trends of five earth construction techniques from 2016 to April 2022, resulting in 27 studies. The results have been analyzed through qualitative thematic analysis, considering LCA methodology. Considering embodied carbon (GWP) and embodied energy, transportation and binder content were the main factors that influenced environmental performance. Hence, earth-based constructions exhibit better results in different impact categories than conventional materials. Environmental guidelines and technical features that were presented in the LCA studies are discussed for Adobe, Cob, Rammed Earth (RE), Compressed Earth Block (CEB), and Light Straw Clay (LSC). This study presents environmental benchmarks at the unit, wall, and building scales aiming to encourage LCA methodology applied to earth construction techniques and fostering the discussion of earth construction sustainability.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/20/13228/pdf?version=1666689794

Deborah Arduin

Papers

Adobe Blocks in the Center of Portugal: Main Characteristics

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Earth Construction: A Systematic Literature Review Considering Five Construction Techniques