Stone Decay In The Architectural Environment

Stone buildings and monuments form the cultural centres of many of the world's urban areas. Frequently these areas are prone to high levels of atmospheric pollution that promote a variety of aggressive stone decay processes. Because of this, stone decay is now widely recognised as a severe threat to much of our cultural heritage. An interdisciplinary approach between geologists, environmental scientists, chemists, material scientists, civil engineers, restorers and architects aims to strengthen the knowledge base dealing with the causes, consequences, prevention and solution of stone decay problems.

The readers of the first two editions of Stone: Properties, Durabi lity in Man's Environment, were mostly architects, restoration architects of buildings and monuments in natural stone, profes sionals who sought basic technical information for non-geologists. The increasing awareness of rapidly decaying monuments and their rescue from loss to future generations have urged this writer to update the 1973 and 1975 editions, now unavailable and out of print. Due to the 20-year-Iong interval, extensive updating was necessary to produce this new book. The present edition concentrates on the natural material stone, as building stone, dimension stone, architectural stone, and decorative field stones. Recently, the use of stone for thin curtain walls on buildings has become fashionable. The thin slabs exposed to anew, unknown complexity of stresses, resulting in bowing of crystalline marble, has attracted much negative pUblicity. The costs of replacing white slabs of marble on entire buildings with its legal implications have led construction com panies into bankruptcy. We blame many environmental problems on acid rain. Does acid rain really accelerate stone decay that much? Stone preservation is being attempted with an ever-increasing number of chemicals applied by as many specialists to save crumbling stone. Chemists filled this need during a time of temporary job scarcity, while the general geologist missed this opportunity; he was too deeply involved in the search for fossil fuels and metals.

This volume offers valuable insights into the nature of decay processes and the factors that control them. It presents several studies on the impact of pollution on stonework in urban environments. Important methodological contributions cover: the mapping of facades to explain rates of decay associated with conservation actions; the laboratory simulation of corrosion in polluted atmospheres; the quantification of colour change through a study of the artificial ageing of building stone. The effectiveness of stone treatments within the laboratory is also considered.

Brings together contributions from a wide range of specialisms and offers perspectives on issues concerning the cleaning and conservation of stone buildings. Topics covered encompass not only theoretical and philosophical concerns, but also problems of weathering and microbiological damage.

This volume offers valuable insights into the nature of decay processes and the factors that control them. It presents several studies on the impact of pollution on stonework in urban environments. Important methodological contributions cover: the mapping of facades to explain rates of decay associated with conservation actions; the laboratory simulation of corrosion in polluted atmospheres; the quantification of colour change through a study of the artificial ageing of building stone. The effectiveness of stone treatments within the laboratory is also considered.

“Archaeomineralogy” provides a wealth of information for mineralogists, geologists and archaeologists involved in archaeometric studies. The first edition was very well-received and praised for its systematic description of the rocks and minerals used throughout the world by our ancestors and for its excellent list of over 900 references, providing easy access to the fields of archaeomineralogy and geoarchaeology. This second edition of “Archaeomineralogy” takes an updated and expanded look at the human use of rocks and minerals from the Paleolithic through to the 18th century CE. It retains the structure and main themes of the original but has been revised and expanded with more than 200 new references within the text, a bibliography of additional references not included in the text, a dozen new figures (drawings and photos), coverage of many additional important mineral, rock, and gem materials, a broader geographic scope, particularly but not limited to Eastern Europe, and a more thorough review of early contributions to archaeomineralogy, especially those of Agricola. From reviews of the first edition: "... crammed full of useful information, is well-balanced using both new and Old World examples of the archaeomaterials described. It also provides a broad, but of necessity, all too brief overview of the geological raw materials used in antiquity." -- Geoscientist "...provides much interesting discussion of how particular names came to be employed by archaeologists working in different regions of the world.... much to offer for any geologist or archaeologist interested in minerals and rocks and how they have been used in the past." -- Mineralium Deposita "... a gem of a book, it's strength is that it is encyclopedic in content, if not in layout, draws on a wealth of field experience and almost every sentence contains a nugget of information" -- The Holocene

There is considerable academic and practical interest in stone and stone buildings, as exemplified by the wide range of high-quality and innovative work being conducted in the pursuit of the effective preservation and restoration of historic buildings. This is reflected in the numerous publications on stone and stone buildings that regularly find their way into the public domain. Not least amongst these are a number of Geological Society Special Publications, which have appeared in recent years. This current volume seeks to bring to the attention of the various professionals in the field (geologists, architects, engineers, conservators and conservation scientists) recent work centred on the characterization and performance of this important resource and its use in historic buildings. The volume has wider relevance, including to those interested in the heritage of stone.