Cause-and-effect study of the structural failure of the historic complex of the St. Anna‘s Church in Warsaw

Abstract

Repairs of historic buildings require the selection of such the design solutions to achieve the intended effects while ensuring the effectiveness of these repairs. This is particularly important in case of the structural failures of these facilities. Most of the conservation recommendations for renovations of cultural heritage buildings and monuments in Poland concern the preservation of the original building material, construction as well as the shape and appearance of the repaired facility [1]. The basic tasks for the designer who specifies the scope, methods and technology of the repair works is to ensure the building‘s safety of use and safety of its users while maintaining the conservation recommendations. The technical failure of the observation tower of the St. Anna’s Church, which took place after a relatively short period of time from the major overhaul of this facility, is presented in this paper. The scope of expert and design works as well as the scope for the contractor of the repair works, that are necessary to select the proper technological solutions for this case, are given. The diagnostics of the building carried out by the authors of the article allowed to properly determine the degree of damage. This ensured the suitable selection of the design solution and further replacement of the damaged cornice of the supporting structure of this historic church.