Conservation is the action taken to prevent decay. It embraces all acts that prolong the life of our cultural and natural heritage.The minimum effective action is always the best; if possible, the action should be reversible and not prejudice possible future interventions.
Heritage conservation doesn’t suggest freeze a building in time, making a museum or fastening the hands of property homeowners in order that they cannot do something with their properties. Instead, it seeks to take care of and thereby increase the worth of buildings by keeping their original designed type and branch of knowledge components, favoring their restoration instead of replacement and, once restoration is not possible, recreating scale, amount and character.
Values in conservation
Conservation preserve and if possible enhance the messages and values of cultural property. These values help to set overall priorities in deciding proposed interventions.
- Emotional values: wonder – identity – continuity – spiritual – symbolic.
- Cultural values : documentary – historic – archaeological, age and scarcity – aesthetic and symbolic – architectural – town scape landscape and ecological -scientific.
- Use values : – functional – economic – social – political.
• Heritage preservation is a draw to business enterprise and helps businesses attract customers. Communities, like Medford lucky to possess a major stock of heritage buildings will build their city or city’s image around those elements: Toronto’s plant District, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Merrickvillear sensible examples. Holding the historic integrity of a neighborhood or downtown attracts individuals only for that ambiance alone which attracts business. Little city while not a heritage main street attracts nobody.
• With the proper programs in situ, businesses and building homeowners will cash in of state programs and incentives to take care of and restore heritage buildings.
• Heritage preservation is associate investment in our community that rewards U.S.A. these days and leaves a useful resource for future generations.
Degrees of intervention
- Prevention of Deterioration
Prevention entails protecting cultural property by controlling its environment, thus preventing agents of decay from becoming active. It also control of internal humidity, temperature and light, as well as measures to prevent fire, arson, theft and vandalism. And measures to reduce both atmospheric pollution and traffic vibrations.
- Preservation of the Existing State
Preservation means protecting and maintaining the fabric of a place in its existing state and retarding deterioration or change, and may include stabilization where necessary. It is appropriate where the existing state of the fabric itself constitutes evidence of specific cultural significance
- Consolidation of the Fabric
Consolidation is the physical addition of adhesive or supportive materials into the fabric of cultural property.
Modern techniques should be proven by experience, and applicable to the scale of the project and its climatic environment. This sensible approach to conservation uses appropriate technology. However, where traditional methods are inadequate, the conservation of cultural property may be achieved by the use of modern techniques.
- Restoration
Restoration means returning the existing fabric of a place to a known earlier state by removing accretions or by reassembling existing components. It is based on respect for all the physical, documentary and other evidence and stops at the point where conjecture begins. It’s also is limited to the completion of a depleted entity and should not constitute the major part of the fabric.
Restoration is appropriate where a place is incomplete as a result of damage or alteration and where it is necessary for its survival, or if it recovers the cultural significance of the place.
- Rehabilitation
Restoration is appropriate where a place is incomplete as a result of damage or alteration and where it is necessary for its survival, or if it recovers the cultural significance of the place.
The best way of preserving buildings is to keep them in use. The original use is generally the best for conservation of the fabric, as it means fewer changes.
- Reproduction
The act of reproducing by new construction the exact form and detail of a vanished building, structure or object, or a part thereof, as it appeared at a specific period.
Replication is limited to the reproduction of fabric the form of which is known from physical and/or documentary evidence should be identifiable on close inspection as being new work. Replication is appropriate in museum application as an illustration of an historical period or event.
- Reconstruction
Reconstruction means re-erecting a structure on its original site using original components.
Reconstruction of historic buildings using new materials may be necessitated by disasters such as fire, earthquake or war. As in restoration, reconstruction must be based upon accurate documentation and evidence.
