Intervention processes and state of conservation of the building complex of the National Museum of Costa Rica

Abstract

Through construction pathology, it is possible to define the state of conservation of buildings. Therefore, within the framework of the research project ‘Implementation of non-invasive techniques for the pathological study of heritage buildings’, the National Museum of Costa Rica was chosen as a case study, since it is a group of emblematic heritage buildings protected by law, in which lesions were analyzed in different types of materials and various construction systems of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries commonly used in the country. In addition, in which a series of interventions have been developed, at least during the last 15 years to conserve and refunctionalize the complex. 

As part of the work carried out, a process of documentation of the previous interventions in the buildings was done and the current mechanical, chemical, and physical lesions were identified through field surveys. This information was systematized through 27 detailed files and architectural plans with the respective location of the lesions according to their classification. 

A digital file was developed with the information obtained to systematize these processes. This documentation will allow us to improve preventive conservation methods and to have a historical record of this building complex.