Preventive conservation method proposal for civil architectural heritage in urban sites: Urban site civil architectural heritage monitoring technique

The civil architectural heritage in urban sites consists of structures that must be preserved and transferred to future generations with their cultural, aesthetic and historical values, as well as their architectural and documentary values. These structures naturally begin to deteriorate from their original form starting from the moment they are created, and the originality of the heritage decreases gradually with each intervention. When the recent international studies in the field of conservation are reviewed, it is seen that the "preventive conservation" approach used in the fields of museology and archeology has been tried to be adapted to the field of architectural heritage to protect their originality and integrity by reducing damage to the heritage building and ensuring minimal intervention. Preventive protection method, that aims to stop, prevent or slow down the occurrence of damages, is built on continuous monitoring, periodic maintenance and planning strategies. This method, consisting of a monitoring system and a supplementary heritage information system, has transformed the conservation from instant interventions to a long-term cyclic process. In an attempt to implement this paradigm shift to the field of conservation in Türkiye, the mechanism of the current conservation process in Türkiye was questioned within the scope of this study. The current conservation legislation was examined and its impacts on the practices was analyzed by means of a survey conducted with the Odunpazarı urban protected area and conservation actors. The results of the survey were evaluated and used to identify the current problems and needs in the conservation process. Then, considering the guidelines and standards created by international practices and research for the related identifications, an application-oriented Urban Site Monitoring Technique (KeSIT), supported by the heritage information system of Turkey, has been proposed. Due to the increasing importance of sustainability, it is believed that this proposal will be effective in preserving both the originality and integrity of the civil architectural heritage in urban sites of Türkiye.