Rehabilitation of RC buildings from the late 19th —early 20th centuries – methodological discussion

Reinforced concrete (RC) constructions from the late 19th—early 20th centuries present new challenges associated to their conservation and repair. The specificities involved in the conservation/rehabilitation of historical and heritage RC constructions require a special approach that must account for several restrictions. For the case of late 19th-early 20th centuries RC constructions, such issues are more complex since materials have evolved and construction techniques of that era cannot be replicated. The vertical structure of the building is mostly made of granite masonry walls complemented with cast iron columns supporting the gallery and RC columns in some internal areas. One of the challenges in the conservation of late 19th-early 20th century historical RC constructions is to ensure their structural safety without involving rehabilitation approaches that will deface them. Defining an efficient rehabilitation approach for these constructions requires reliable information regarding what was actually built.