| CODE | BLH5508 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Preventive Conservation | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Conservation and Built Heritage | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | After the introduction to environmental assessment and monitoring in BLH5505 Environmental Assessment for Conservation, this unit will deepen approaches to environmental management, mitigation and monitoring that can reduce the impact of environmental factors on original materials. Preventive conservation measures, strategies and approaches will be explored and discussed, with the presentation of different case studies relevant for all areas of specialization (Decorative Architectural Surfaces, Stone and Easel Paintings), including historic interiors and outdoors site, typically characterized by uncontrolled environmental conditions, as well as museum environments. Several topics will be discussed, such as preventive policies, procedures and strategies linked to them, including (but not limited to) risk assessment, salt cycles, biodeterioration, light, building system, integrated pest management and housekeeping, emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. Reporting and communication of the strategies will be also discussed to prepare the students to professional practice real-life situations. The unit will include fieldwork, where the students will have the chance to study and reason on real-case scenarios and real environmental data, and design and propose appropriate preventive conservation strategies for the work of art / site under consideration. Study-unit Aims: - Provide a comprehensive overview of preventive conservation measures, strategies and approaches for the safeguard of decorative architectural surfaces, stone artifacts/monuments and easel paintings preserved in a diverse range of environments; - Discuss preventive measures within the overall conservation strategy of cultural heritage; - Equip students with skills to design and implement preventive conservation measures for works of art / sites; - Develop critical judgment, reflective practice and communication skills appropriate to plan, develop, implement, manage and communicate preventive strategies and measures. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Compare the effectiveness of remedial interventions vs. preventive conservation over the long term; - Critically discuss different preventive measures, strategies and approaches applied to different scenarios; - Define the rationale for planning preventive strategies and measures for the preservation of a work of art / historic building / site / museum. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Analyse environmental and condition assessment data to discuss and plan possible preventive conservation approaches for a specific case study; - Design and propose preventive conservation measures, strategies and approaches for the safeguard of a specific case study; - Communicate effectively preventive conservation plans and strategies to different professionals involved in the conservation of a work of art / site, and to stakeholders. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: ESSENTIAL READINGS: - Thompson, G. 1986. The Museum Environment. 2nd ed. London: Butterworth Publishers - Bradley. S. 2005. Preventive conservation research and practice at the British Museum. JAIC 44(3): 159-173 (available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/019713605806082248) - Appelbaum, B. 1991. Guide to environmental protection of collections. Madison, Connecticut: Soundview Press - Dardes, K. and J. Levin. 2000. Preventive conservation: a discussion. The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter 15 (2):10-13. FURTHER READINGS: - Thickett, D., Stanley, B., & Heritage, E. (2017). Management of sodium sulfate damage to polychrome stone and buildings. In 4th International conference on salt weathering of buildings and stone sculptures management (pp. 135-142) (available at https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/home/learn/conservation/collections-advice--guidance/management-of-sodium-sulfate-damage-to-polychrome-stone-and-buildings.pdf) - Lithgow, K., Curteis, T., & Bullock, L. (2007). Managing external environments through preventive conservation: the investigation and control of environmentally-caused deterioration of decorative surfaces in the Marlborough Pavilion, Chartwell, Kent (available at http://eprints.sparaochbevara.se/59/1/lithgow.pdf) - Porter, J. H., & Corda, K. (2013). Account of an informed bat exclusion at the Temple of Deir el-Shelwit, Luxor, Egypt. Conservation and management of archaeological sites, 15(2), 195-212 (available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1179/1350503313Z.00000000055) - Winterthur Museum. 2014. Guidelines and Procedures for Preventive Conservation at Winterthur Museum. Winterthur, DE: Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library - AIC, Museum Climate in a Changing World, http://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Environmental_Guidelines (accessed December 2023) - Canadian Conservation Institute. 1994. CCI Newsletter. Special Issue on Preventive Conservation. No.14. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Fieldwork, Lectures and Practicum | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Aldo Accardi Damian Lizun Peter Brimblecombe Tobit Curteis Reuben Grima |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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