Standards Development

Scope

This European standard defines best practice for collecting data and processing findings when investigating decorative and protective finishes on built heritage, thereby helping to establish original and subsequent decorative schemes. It applies to buildings [this term is still discussed] and their interiors, as well as other objects of built heritage.

This document applies to planning and executing such investigations with documentation throughout. It should be used as a process reference for stakeholders involved in the investigation of built heritage.

Wallpaper and wall paintings are beyond the scope of this standard.

Purpose

This NWIP derives from prEN 17259 (WI 00346050) which was not finished in time. The need for this standard still remains and the purpose and justification follow:

Throughout its existence, built heritage has been subject to continuous change and alteration. The successive layers of finishes applied to architectural elements of built heritage as decorative or protective coatings are evidence of society's changing responses to for example economic factors and/or changes in decorative fashions.

For the last fifteen years, the lack of an agreed standard for these investigations has been commonly acknowledged to be a major obstacle in the advancement of the study of architectural finishes.

The proposed standard aims to facilitate the management of the built heritage by integrating a systematic approach to its investigation, to ensure proper preservation of these buildings and monuments. This standard will ensure a consistency of the investigations and dissemination of findings and improve understanding of our built heritage.