Sustainable Management of Historic Rural Churches in the Baltic Sea Region Kaire Tooming Project Manager Tallinn 2012

Partners: Conservation Centre Kanut (Estonia) Gotland University (Sweden) Tallinn Technical University (Estonia)

Starting points: Historic rural churches as common landmarks to all states around the Baltic Sea. Valuable cultural assets with strong indirect economic potential as tourist attractions. Too big for small congregations who must manage them. Decreased use and even neglect. Problems with the physical preservation and microclimate, which affect valuable artefacts housed in them as well as safe and healthy use of churches. Issues to address: Site management. Cost-effective and sustainable maintenance and conservation.

Outcomes: To raise an awareness of congregations and local communities on the subject of sustainable management of historic rural churches. The owners are encouraged to draft site management plans to their buildings and consider cost -effective and sustainable ways to maintain or conserve those churches. The specialists of building conservation and scientific research personnel can use results of the studies to improve state of conservation of historic rural churches and to continue the studies on this field. To support the studies innovative and comprehensive documentation solutions will be tested in the form of 3D documentation.

Tools: Guidelines for management of historic rural churches. Case study management plans. Study on indoor climate and energy. Study on moisture in walls. Study on plaster and render. Development of cost-effective and sustainable conservation solutions. Development of innovative and comprehensive documentation solutions.

Research (1): Indoor climate and energy. * Outdoor and indoor temperature and RH measurements. * Measurements of temperature and RH distribution. * Measurements of infiltration and ventilation. * Testing of innovative solutions for conservation heating. * Indoor climate and energy simulations. Moisture in walls. * Measurement of moisture content in massive walls. * Determination of number and species of micro organisms in air. * Determination of inhabiting fungi on the surfaces of structure elements, plaster and interior. * Study of mould spores localisation and destructive performance on the surface and inside of stony material surfaces. * Determination of salt types and their distribution in walls and foundations. * Development of measurement equipment to determine the moisture evaporation from massive walls.

Research (2): Plaster and render studies. * Practical in situ studies. * In situ tests on current conservation materials. * Measurements of material properties of historic plaster and render samples and current conservation materials. * Training of Estonian and Gotlandic building conservation students. Development of cost-effective and sustainable conservation solutions.

Site management: General guidelines for management of historic rural churches. Keyword: sustainable management (economic, social, ecological). Case study management plans.