Conservation and sustainable maintenance of modern urban architecture: the need for problem-driven methods for documentation and analysis of deterioration phenomena in building envelopes

Paper in proceeding, 2006

European cities include a significant amount residential prefabricated buildings from the post-WW2 period. In Göteborg, Sweden, the huge amount of recent multi-dwelling blocks are today moving into focus of property managers due to immense needs of technical maintenance and the social and economic asset these housing areas represent. Referring to the perspectives of Integrated Conservation and Sustainable Urban development, as well as to the preliminary results from a current case study in Göteborg, and related research, this paper presents a model in progress aiming at holistic maintenance planning and development of long-term intervention techniques. It is argued that problem driven innovative methods for technical documentation and analysis of building envelopes, and related issues of material deterioration are fundamental for long-term maintenance.