Project management challenges in conservation of historic building

Abstract

Project Management Challenges in Conservation of Historic Buildings Historic Buildings are evidence for the historical landscape of a country. Conservation of such buildings is very significant due to its architectural, historical and cultural values earned with the civilization of a nation. Hence historical built environment should be conserved for the future generations. Conservation of heritage buildings is a vital component of urban revitalization efforts and one of the significant activities taking place in the construction industry globally. Historic building conservation projects differ from generally taking place construction projects. Special legislations, conservation ethics and guidelines have to be followed in such projects which were imposed by international charters and conservation agencies. In achievement of conservation objectives, project management process in conservation of historical building is a significant task. There are possibilities for management challenges and issues, in the implementation of plans and execution of works at historic sites. Aim of this research study is to identify such issues and solution provided. This research study was focused on carrying out investigations in a practically completed historic building conservation project in Sri Lanka. The recently completed conservation project of private houses inside the Dutch Fort of Galle was selected for the case study. In the case study, it was identified that many project management challenges faced from the inception stage to completion stage of the particular project. Various problems and issues in application of conservation theories, intervention of house owners, resource management, exceeding costs and delays were inevitable. This research reviews that, the project management task in conservation of historical building need special skills and knowledge. It is important to identify special resources and skilled people with experience before execution of building conservation project. The degree of intervention of the building owners is leads to the success of the project. Unpredictable additional works in ancient buildings will lead to project time extensions and exceed the allocated project finance in historic building conservation projects.