The general objective of this PhD thesis is to contribute with the efforts to achieve Target 11.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, by strengthening the efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage. The aim of the research is to increase awareness regarding the importance of vernacular architecture and its intrinsic values, as identified on the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Action Plan for the Future.
It specifically focuses on the improvement of earthen architectural heritage conservation, as this group of structures is particularly vulnerable to environmental and anthropologic threats. The thesis presents a summarised and concise picture of the present situation of the remaining earthen buildings in Ireland, identifies their main characteristics, the values that make such buildings important, evaluates their vulnerability as vernacular architectural style and therefore, allows to understand and better approach any future intervention on such kinds of structures. Within the context of current conservation practice, the thesis contributes to the development of quantitative research methods.
The purpose of the experimental campaign was to assess the feasibility of the technique to measure the average compressive levels of stress in existent cob walls and estimate their mechanical properties. The principal results show that the test can be applied in cob walls but it tends to overestimate the stress values by a factor of approximately two. Finally, a parametric analysis of cob walls is presented with the aim of providing conservation practitioners with rule of thumb guidance to assess the safety of existing cob buildings under seismic actions. The methodology presented in this regard is not limited to the Irish context but could as well be implemented in different countries where the seismic hazard represents an actual threat for the structural safety of remaining vernacular cob buildings.
