ONLINE | 30 June 2022 | 12:00h Lisbon Time

Topics to be discussed:

Expertise and major lessons around chalenging interventions in historic urban centre

Video Presentations

João Miranda Guedes Intervene to safeguard built heritage: two cases of structural intervention

[VIDEO]

Ghassan M. Chemali Heritage-led development in the context of the Arabian Gulf

[VIDEO]

Guido Camata Vulnerability assessment and State-of-the-Art strengthening strategies for heritage structures

[VIDEO]

Dina Shehayeb The Living Heritage: What? Why? and How?

[VIDEO]

Invited Speakers

João Miranda Guedes (FEUP, Portugal) João Miranda Guedes is a Structural Engineer, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), Portugal. He obtained his Master degree in Structures of Civil Engineering at FEUP and developed his PhD work at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission at Ispra, Italy. He is member of the Scientific Committee of the course of Advanced Studies in Rehabilitation of Built Heritage at FEUP and member of the National Construction Arbitration Centre. His research involves both experimental and numerical work. He is author and co-author of over 200 technical and scientific publications and around 150 technical reports for public and private entities. Co-organized technical and scientific meetings, mostly in the area of the intervention on old constructions. Created, in partnership, the company NCREP, Consultoria em Reabilitação do Edificado e Património, Lda., a spin-off of the University of Porto that provides services in the area of structural rehabilitation, including inspection & diagnosis, monitoring and design.

Intervene to safeguard built heritage: two cases of structural intervention The safeguard of a construction may imply the implementation of structural intervention measures. But the decision-making and selection of these measures must be sustained on knowledge from preliminary inspection and diagnosis actions, and should follow principles that ensure the preservation of the construction attributes. In this context, two cases of structural intervention are presented: one on the timber roof of an old warehouse and the other on a stone masonry load-bearing element of a convent.

Ghassan M. Chemali (Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Bahrain) After graduating as an architect in Lebanon, I specialized in urban heritage at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville. I currently work as a consultant on urban heritage for the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and as a Site Manager of the “Pearling Testimony”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Muharraq, Kingdom of Bahrain. I have a very good knowledge of the Arabian Gulf’s traditional architecture and urban heritage, local administrative procedures and policies, the World Heritage Convention’s tools, processes and guidelines, and nearly every aspect relating to heritage conservation and management, from value assessment and policy making to much more detailed aspects such as material conservation or monitoring tools. I have also experience in researching intangible heritage and its relation with architectural heritage and its value. Recipient of the Agha Khan Award for Architecture 2019, for my contribution to the “Revitalization of Muharraq, Bahrain”. I’m an active member of ICOMOS Lebanon and a core member of the WH Site Manager’s Forum which is organized yearly in parallel to the WH committee meetings. I’m currently following a Masters in Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford, UK.

Heritage-led development in the context of the Arabian Gulf My presentation will be about heritage as vector for development in the context of a historic city Centre of the Arabian Gulf: Muharraq, the capital of the pearling economy during the 19th century AD was recently subjected to a regeneration initiative centered around a serial World Heritage Site. The presentation will briefly go through the evolution of the city since its early development two centuries ago, the current trend of heritage-led development in the Arabian Gulf before going into more details about the interventions in Muharraq.

Guido Camata (University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy) Guido Camata is a Structural Engineering Associate Professor at the University of Chieti-Pescara and technical director of ASDEA S.r.l. Dr. Camata obtained a Master’s degree in Civil engineering from the University of Bologna, Italy. He worked at ISIS Canada (Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures) in Winnipeg, Canada, and after at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he completed a doctorate in structural engineering. He is regularly a visiting professor and, from 2011 to 2018, was an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado, USA. Dr. Camata’s research experience includes both experimental and numerical work, and he has published over 100 papers in international journals, books, and conferences. He has broad experience as a structural designer and has been involved with the design of a wide range of existing and monumental structures.

Vulnerability assessment and State-of-the-Art strengthening strategies for heritage structures The impact of earthquakes on cultural heritage constructions and monuments is well known as heritage structures were not built to resist seismic forces. Engineers should work as part of a multidisciplinary team in collaboration with other experts to carry out vulnerability assessments and strengthening interventions. These teams should work together to examine failure and damage to understand the structural performance, the causes of damage and decay, and minimize the necessary interventions. The use of appropriate methodologies to assess the structural behavior is paramount, as there is not only a sizeable amount of data to be considered, but special attention should be paid to selecting the most efficient techniques that are the least invasive possible, which are compatible with the original materials, and reversible. “This presentation will discuss the state-of-the-art methodology currently used to assess vulnerability to assess vulnerability, repair/strengthen heritage structures, and monitor the effectiveness of interventions via structural sensors and Artificial Intelligence algorithms.

Dina Shehayeb (Nile University, Egypt) Dina Shehayeb is an architect/urban designer, professor, currently the Program Director of the Architecture and Urban Design program at Nile University, as well as the principal of her private practice Shehayeb CONSULT. With a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Cairo University in architecture, housing and neighbourhood design, she earned her Ph.D. from UWM, USA in human aspects in urban design of streets and public space. She specializes in trans-disciplinary research and works on bridging the gap between the physical environment and its socio-cultural and psychological dimensions. Her experience lies in people-based design and planning, integrative theory and methods and the development of design and planning guidelines applied to national and international projects and advisory committees.

The Living Heritage: What? Why? and How? Generally, I will draw upon my research-based intervention in Historic Cairo. The first aim is to assist students see the Heritage that is both tangible and intangible at the same time; to be able to unravel the often hidden intangible value of the Built Heritage. I would also share methods of inquiry that help understand these hidden layers; this would answer the What? The ‘Why’ addresses two issues: the first relates to the cognitive, behavioral and emotional value of heritage buildings and places; all working together to give a sense of place and additional meaning that relates to a person’s or a group’s identity. The second is about exploring the threats to the sustainability of the living heritage… actors, laws, practices….etc.. The last part, the How? would present examples of some strategies of intervention…. adaptive re-use of monuments, revitalization like the improvement of housing, and the revival of the value of certain traditionally produced products…

Programme