Guest editorial

Citation

Peixoto de Freitas, V. (2010), "Guest editorial", Structural Survey, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2010.11028aaa.002

Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Structural Survey, Volume 28, Issue 1

This special issue of Structural Survey contains selected papers presented at the Third Conference on Building Pathology and Rehabilitation (PATORREB-2009), held at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Portugal, 18-20 March 2009. It was jointly organized by the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, and the Polytechnic of the University of São Paulo and co-sponsored by the CIB.

The goals of the conference were to provide a unique opportunity to exchange information and stimulate reflection, to present the latest results as well as to review the relevant issues on construction pathology. In particular: responsibilities, guarantees and insurance; structural pathologies; stone, wood, mortar and concrete pathologies; hygrothermal behaviour of buildings; costs resulting from poor quality, durability and diagnostic techniques were discussed in many of the papers presented.

As rehabilitation is a strategic area that is concerned not only with monumental heritage and historic buildings, but also with other buildings that have been in use for some time and need to be adapted to the demands of the present, the following areas should also be considered in future building pathology and rehabilitation debates: rehabilitation of existing constructed heritage; strategies and incentives; diagnostic and design methodologies; using existing regulations appropriately for rehabilitation; energy efficiency; restoration of public spaces; adaptive rehabilitation; rehabilitation technologies, and analysis of case studies.

More than 140 papers were presented by researchers from different countries around the world, including: Portugal, Spain, Brazil and various countries of Latin America. The large number of presented papers emphasized the considerable academic and industrial interest in the conference theme. The guest editors wish to thank the invited speakers and the authors for their participation and cooperation, making the third conference especially successful.

Finally, we wish to express our warm thanks and appreciation to our colleagues of the organizing committee and the members of the scientific committee for their sustained assistance and enthusiasm during the preparation of the conference.

The fourth conference, PATORREB-2012, will be held in the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Vasco Peixoto de Freitas, João M.P.Q. DelgadoGuest EditorsJanuary 2010