The conservation of 20th century concrete heritage structures poses a major
challenge worldwide. Whilst these structures possess a remarkable architectural value
and a rather experimental character in terms of the use of materials and technologies, at the
same time there is admittedly lack of recognition of their cultural and historical value by the
wide public. More often than not, such buildings are left to deteriorate and often they are even
demolished. This paper follows the workings of the project “CONSErvation of 20th century
concrete Cultural Heritage in urban changing environments” (CONSECH20). The
aforementioned international interdisciplinary project aims to investigate concrete
constructions built until 1965 in four different European countries (Cyprus, Italy, The
Netherlands and the Czech Republic), in terms of their architectural, social and historical
value, and to address their restoration and re-use potential. The paper initially presents
the significance of 20th century concrete heritage structures in general, and describes the
methodology proposed in order to ensure the protection of such buildings from demolition,
and facilitate their restoration and re-use (if and where possible) for the benefit of the
society. The focus is on the structural assessment and restoration of 20th century concrete
heritage buildings in Cyprus, following the methodologies described by modern codes for the
assessment and retrofit of existing concrete structures. A new practical analysis approach is
described and compared to the force-control approach of the pushover analysis of Eurocode
8:3, which significantly overestimates the demands for seismic upgrading. The two
aforementioned approaches are examined for a specific case study concrete heritage building
in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Abstract
The conservation of 20th century concrete heritage structures poses a major
challenge worldwide. Whilst these structures possess a remarkable architectural value
and a rather experimental character in terms of the use of materials and technologies, at the
same time [...]