Cultural Heritage Preservation in times of climate change

The Fraunhofer Center for Central and Eastern Europe has brought in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institutes for Building Physics IBP and Silicate Research ISC an EU-funded 5-million-euro project for the protection of the world cultural heritage on the way: CLIMATE FOR CULTURE is a project in the 7th Research Framework Programme of the European Union. Target of 30 partners from 16 countries in Europe and North Africa is to satisfy the challenges of climate change and responsibility for the cultural heritage. Coordinator of the project is the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

Over a period of five years, the impact of climate change on selected cultural heritage sites in Europe and North Africa are examined. Changing climatic conditions may not only damage (construction-) substance of heritage sites, but also destroy it. As a part of CLIMATE FOR CULTURE a precise and integrated assessment of the actual damage on cultural heritage due to the influence of climate change should allow sustainable and preventive strategies to be developed and implemented. A crucial role is played by the question: "What are the (financial) benefits of a proactive and preventative intervention to reactive measures?"
Using a building simulation software program that works on the basis of extensive measurement results indoor climate strategies which are made for the specific cultural heritage sites are to be developed.