Our country, the ancient upper Mesopotamia and Anatolia lands, is in a geography that stands out with historical structures that bear witness to history, and is located on the most active earthquake zones in the world. These two facts clearly reveal the vital importance of historical building security and strengthening. In addition, the preservation of historical heritage is of vital importance for the development of society, as it ensures that the bridge between the past, present and future survives and thus contributes to the preservation of intergenerational ties. In order to fulfill our responsibility as the Chamber of Civil Engineers, we started to organize a symposium series that we think will contribute to the preservation of our historical buildings. The first one was held nationally in Ankara in 2007, and the second one was held in Diyarbakır with international participation in 2009, and thanks to these symposiums, approaches to historical building restoration projects and implementation services were improved. In this way, the static and dynamic behaviors of the buildings have become questionable, and it has become necessary for civil engineers to have a greater say for a healthier restoration process. The 7th symposium, which was later held in Trabzon, Istanbul, and Erzurum, will be held in Diyarbakır and internationally by IMO Ankara and IMO Diyarbakır Branches on behalf of our chamber.
Our country is just at the beginning of the repair and strengthening of existing historical buildings and there is a lot of work to be done. Realistic modeling of historical buildings cannot be done sufficiently and practically. Just as there are many uncertainties in analysis, there are also many deficiencies and problems awaiting solutions in implementation. Especially in recent years, with the acceleration of restoration works of historical buildings, these question marks have become more evident, and in order to answer the problems to some extent, a commission formed by the General Directorate of Foundations has prepared the ‘Management of Earthquake Risks for Historical Buildings’ guide. In addition to the earthquake regulations, such a guide has become an important resource for engineers working on the analysis of historical structures. A primary aim of this symposium is to contribute to filling the knowledge gap on this subject. Especially in this process, it is of great importance for civil engineers to make progress in historical buildings and take a more active role in terms of the structural safety of these buildings. The aim of this symposium is to bring together experts on the subject at an international level, to increase the interest of our country’s civil engineers in the subject and to increase the number of civil engineers who are experts in historical building evaluation and strengthening.
One of the main objectives of the symposium is to discuss the most current studies carried out at the international level regarding the evaluation and strengthening of historical buildings before the scientists who will come to our region. With the active participation of local engineers, architects, public institutions and implementing companies in this symposium, it is aimed to bring the advanced techniques used today both for analysis and application to our country and region. As a result, this symposium will eliminate the question marks in the minds of our engineers who carry out analysis and will enable the development of more accurate projects for intervention in historical buildings by using more realistic analysis methods and the use of more innovative materials and techniques for application.
In this symposium, important topics such as ‘Determining and Monitoring the Structural Health of Historical Buildings with Non-Destructive Methods’, ‘Determining the Earthquake Performance of Historical Buildings and Strengthening’, ‘Structural Analysis’, ‘Strengthening Studies and Application Examples’, ‘Damages Caused by the Ground in Historical Buildings and Appropriate Intervention Recommendations’ will be discussed. The aim is to discuss the topics. Ultimately, this symposium will provide an international discussion platform for all kinds of issues related to the preservation of historical buildings. It is aimed to expand the scope of the symposium as much as possible with three mini symposiums.
It is also of great importance that the seventh of this symposium be held in Diyarbakır, which is a city rich in historical buildings and thus has the nickname of the city where history is engraved on stones. We hope for the participation and contributions of all academicians, public and private sector engineers and architects, and implementing companies who are interested in historical buildings to participate in the symposium. As a result of the symposium, it is aimed to bring together the papers and provide a reference book on this subject to the literature.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee
İdris Bedirhanoğlu (Chair)