English version
ICCROM/BDA ASC-98
"Examination and Conservation
of Architectural Surfaces" G. Krist
1. Juli – 21. August 1998, Kartause Mauerbach

From July 1 to August 21, 1998 the second ICCROM course themed "the Examination and Conservation of Architectural Surfaces" was held in the conservation workshops of the Austrian Federal Office for the Care of Monuments (Bundesdenkmalamt) at the Charterhouse at Mauerbach, Austria.

Sixteen participants represented the following European nations in this year's events: Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Great Britain, Italy, Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, Spain, Slovenia, Ukraine . The interdisciplinary group brought together seven architects, two art historians, six conservators as well as one scientist and were specially selected by ICCROM and Bundesdenkmalamt staff, with preference given to representatives of monuments preservation offices from Austria´s neighbouring states. Furthermore, four observers were permitted to attend selected sections of the programme as well as one US/ICOMOS intern who was invited to attend the whole course.

Based on the experiences of the 1996 pilot course and subsequent evaluations, the 1998 course programme was re-defined to focus discussions on the problems of the examination and conservation of historic rendered surfaces.

Theoretical lectures held by recognized international specialists and Bundesdenkmalamt and ICCROM staff members were expanded by demonstrations, laboratory practical sessions and hands-on restoration work. Included in the programme were, for instance, demonstrations of slaking lime and techniques for making and applying recreations of historic renders and decorative stucco-work by specialist craftsmen.

This year the facade of the library at the Kartause Mauerbach served as the site for practical work. Examinations of the condition and the complex structure of the plaster and paint layers were discussed among the participants, who also undertook extensive documentation as part of the teamwork. A work concept for the restoration and presentation of the facade was developed by the whole group. During the last working week, participants received thorough training in the individual conservation steps such as consolidation and in-filling.

A number of excursions complemented the course programme and provided numerous possibilities for detailed examination of past and current Austrian monuments preservation practices. Separate day-excursions were devoted to the Wachau and the Waldviertel under the knowledgeable guidance of the Landeskonservator for the Province of Lower Austria and his colleagues. His counterpart in Vienna personally conducted the course participants to local sites in progress, while St. Stephen´s Cathedral was the topic for a separate outing, during which staff of the Centre for Art Conservation (Arsenal) presented the complex restoration problems of the Great Portal.

The Hungarian National Board for the Protection of Monuments arranged a two-day field trip to Budapest, which highlighted the very current topic of "Architecture and Rendered Facades around 1900", a theme also examined in the final event, the "Rendec-Seminar" held August 19-20. This seminar, made possible by an EU subsidy within the framework of the Raphael Programme, included participation by Austrian ICOMOS members, Bundesdenkmalamt and the Hungarian National Board staff. It is planned to present the research results in a publication as well as through the new electronic media.

The main goals of the ICCROM course and the Rendec Seminar were attained: an increased sensitivity for historic renders among course participants, as well as a critical examination of current practices in the treatment of architectural surfaces in different European countries. Furthermore, it was possible to intensify contact with several of the monuments preservation offices in neighbouring countries; for example, the Croatian Office for Monuments Preservation, the State Office for Monuments Preservation of Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, and the School for Conservation in Litomysl, Czech Republic, all made staff members available as teaching personnel for the duration of the course.

As ICCROM's direct project partner, the Mauerbach team would like to thank the following institutions for their generous financial support and for making stipends available: the UNESCO World Heritage Fund, the European Commission DG-X, the Federal Ministry for Education and Cultural Affairs and Kulturkontakt-Austria. Furthermore, we thank the Bundesdenkmalamt for its various assistance.

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