The Influence of Pathological Situations on Churches’Functionality:An Approach Based on Historical Records

Abstract

This study identifies the main anomalies that may occur in historical buildings, analyzing their relatedcauses, and estimating the influence of pathological situations on the buildings’functionality. Thisinformation is essential to support qualified, conscientious, and sustainable rehabilitation interven-tions on sets of heritage buildings with homogeneous constructive characteristics. A fuzzy expertsystem was used to estimate the serviceability of buildings, performed based on historical records,over a long period of time, evaluating the influence of the pathological situations to establish therehabilitation actions. The methodology includes 17 variables, (vulnerabilities and external risksdamages), which determine a functionality index of the constructions analyzed. The application ofhistorical data allows knowing the past behavior and performance of the buildings. These data canprovide useful information for the definition of preventive maintenance plans, considering financial,social, and environmental requirements and their more frequent anomalies. A total of 390 records in asample of 20 parish churches located in southwestern Spain were gathered. This study discussed theeffects of the most common anomalies observed in these buildings, concluding that controllingmoisture and timber-related anomalies is crucial to ensure the building’s serviceability over time