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Assessment of Historical Timber Structures: Select Papers from the Second International Conference on Structural Health Assessment of Timber Structures (SHATIS13)

Stone is considered the “classical” material of architectural heritage, the material of cathedrals and castles, of ancient Greek temples and Asian mausoleums. Somehow the commonplace is that stone, and masonry in general, is more durable than timber and that timber structures have a more vernacular character than the monumental stone based architecture. In the past decades however, interest in conservation of the architectural timber heritage has steadily increased and contributed to a more balanced view of the importance of historic timber architecture. The successful conservation of timber structures requires the concerted effort of many different specialisms, from wood scientists, to structural engineers, craftsmen knowledgeable of traditional carpentry, architects and conservators, environmental scientists. It is necessary to examine the original and actual structural behavior and soundness of the timber structure, identifying the wood species, understanding and quantifying decay and ageing phenomena, assessing damage and deformations, and evaluating residual global and local structural capacity. By understanding nature, extent and causes of failures, damage and vulnerabilities, the best course of action for preservation, conservation or strengthening can be determined. A substantial body of knowledge has been developed since the ICOMOS International Wood Committee (IIWC) was first established in 1975. This knowledge has progressed alongside an ever-increasing interest in modern timber structures as a more sustainable option for the construction industry. The convergence between the rediscovery of traditional methods and the development of robust engineering approaches to the design of timber structures has created a unique environment for the development and dissemination of reliable and comprehensive approaches to the assessment and repair of exiting and historic timber structures. It is our pleasure to be the Guest Editors for this Special Issue of the International Journal of Architectural Heritage. Planning for the Issue began in Autumn 2013, with the aim of selecting high-quality articles focusing on the assessment of historical timber structures among the ones presented at the Second International Conference on Structural Health Assessment of Timber Structures (SHATIS13), which took place from September 4 to 6, 2013, in Trento, Italy. The conference was a great success, under the chairmanship of Professor Maurizio Piazza from the University of Trento, in collaboration with the Trees and Timber Institute of the National Research Council of Italy and the COST ACTION FP 1101 Assessment, Reinforcement and Monitoring of Timber Structures. This special issue provides a significant insight in the challenges and advances in the assessment of historical timber structures and indicates diverse procedures and tools that can assist the conservators and engineers in formulating reliable diagnosis about their current state of conservation, their safety and the need for intervention. The assessment of timber structures is based on a multi-stage, interdisciplinary approach that involves different levels of analysis, from the identification of the material of each timber member and connection to the analysis of the overall structural system. The selection of papers collected in this issue reflects the most important steps of this cognitive process: