Alexandra Keller

Polytechnic University of Timişoara · Faculty of Architecture

Heritage structures built in the 19th and 20th centuries in the western part of Romania are marked by the significant aesthetic influence of the Austro-Hungarian empire, with highly decorated façades facing the street and rather more simple surfaces towards the back and inner courtyard. This region is also marked by shallow earthquakes, which signi...

Dear Colleagues, I am delighted to invite you to submit your paper to the Special Issue "Study and Application in Construction: Disaster Prevention and Structural Engineering", launched by the journal Sustainability, I am coordinating with Prof. Marius Mosoarca, Dr. Iasmina Onescu and Dr. Alexandra Keller. Information on this Special Issue can be f...

n Rezumat: Clădirile de patrimoniu repre-zintă o parte importantă a oraşului istoric şi trebuie protejate prin strategii complexe de prezervare, pentru a asigura autenti-citatea şi spiritul locului. Baza oricărei politici de restaurare este formată din cu-noştinţele care pot fi îmbunătăţite în urma aplicării metodologiilor de evaluare a vul-nerabil...

Timber structures are a complex research topic, offering research opportunities in a wide array of domains, reaching from heritage timber structures to contemporary ones. However, existing/heritage timber structures, bring forward a series of challenges. The complexity of this topic arises from the fact that their structural behaviour is also stron...

Historic buildings are complex structures in which all the composing elements work together. Studies of heritage structures after seismic events have shown that timber roof structures strongly influence the seismic response of masonry structures, being able to reduce or enhance the out-of-plane displacement of the structure. Starting from these obs...

In order to support the perpetual existence and use of valuable heritage buildings they need to be periodically adapted to current needs. These needs are translated into current legal acts and regulations that had been released, complying with both national and international requirements. The exterior envelope minimal performance (compulsory for ne...

Historic timber roof structures are complex systems built according to the knowledge of carpenters. Still, besides the technical knowledge of the craftsman, the shape and choice of roof structure type was significantly influenced by the context of the building, the neighboring buildings and ultimately to the surrounding area. Today, due to that det...

Building new living spaces is one of the most profitable and emergent industry in Romania, the European country with the greatest percent of private apartments. This is (still) a consequence of a former restrictive political regime (the communism) regarding the national housing politics with its standard prefabricated living units arranged in close...

City blocks developed in settlements part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in Timisoara in particular, are still standing today and pose common rehabilitation problems related to energy efficiency and structural reinforcement. Moreover, many of the buildings are classified as monuments and are not compatible with current energy rehabilitation tec...

Heritage buildings and their surrounding are inseparably intertwined. Anthropological, cultural, symbolic, religious and technical factors are influencing the choice of constructive and architectural features and their interconnection. An important part of heritage buildings, influencing the general outlook, defining its aesthetics, shaping the rel...

It is generally acknowledged that heritage buildings were built by taking their environment into consideration, and therefore they have a high resilience towards various climatic factors. The increasing negative effect of the climate change on the state of conservation of valuable heritage buildings has already been recognized by heritage protectio...

Historic timber roof structures represent some of the most complex structural solutions of Europe’s history. They were built, until the early 19th century, in a close connection with their surrounding and the building they belong to, according to the knowledge and philosophy of craftsmen. In recent years, many studies tried to find a way to properl...

Romania in a country characterised by various seismic zones, with different intensities and different depth events. Timisoara is one of the biggest city of Romania and is located in Banat seismic area, where the shallow earthquakes are specific. The architecture of the city is full of historic masonry beautiful buildings, a lot of them in a dangero...

Timisoara is a growing city in the western part of Romania, in a seismic area, with a lot of masonry buildings with historical and cultural value, with interesting structural elements such as vaults, arches, slabs, walls, that were affected by earthquakes, subsidence of foundations, negative human actions or lack of interventions. Masonry historica...

Europe has many buildings made in masonry, with very interesting wooden framework, from different ages. Most of those buildings are still to see, so in order to provide a true history for further generations, is important to assure our heritage. Despite of the complex framework, timber roof may affect or may consolidate masonry structure below, dep...

Historic buildings have a high resilience in time due to the fact that they were designed by taking into consideration the environment and all the local conditions. However, nowadays not only their environment is changing fast. According to a current climatic change analysis, the climate all over the world has already suffered a severe change and,...

The structural analysis of a complex roofing system – the early XX-th century Stock Exchange in Timisoara – has brought forward a paradoxical situation: this early modern building displayed an amazing collage of various traditional typologies of timber roofing, connected in order to produce a spectacular aesthetic effect of roof line. Further studi...

Extreme actions represent a high risk for buildings belonging to historic urban areas and archaeological sites. Because of the conformation of the buildings, the low quality of used materials and the current state of conservation, these buildings tend to be very vulnerable to horizontal forces generated during earthquakes and terrorist attacks. Thi...

Climate change is generally recognized as one of the main challenges of the 21st century [1]. It is significantly influencing the urban tissue, through temperature rises, abundant precipitation, strong winds and ever more frequent natural hazards, while being influenced by these factors in return. Its projection to amplify existing climate related...

In recent years the interest for the resilience of cities and historic urban centers is growing. Climate change is one of the challenges of this century and it is having a great impact on the society and economy of cities and buildings. Therefore this article proposes a complex assessment and intervention strategy based on the case study of Oravita...

In recent years the interest for the resilience of cities and historic urban centers is growing. Climate change is one of the challenges of this century and it is having a great impact on the society and economy of cities and buildings. Therefore this article proposes a complex assessment and intervention strategy based on the case study of Oravita...

Buildings have a complex bond with their environment being constantly influenced by exterior factors like natural hazards, climate change and human induces threats. Historic buildings on the other hand, has a higher resilience in time because of the traditional environmental adaptation of the buildings. However, due to the intensity and higher recu...