Page 44 - JCAU-7-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Moisture damage in plastered heritage building

constantly abrade building surfaces, contributing to This study underscores the intricate processes involved
wear and tear on building materials. This abrasive in building degradation and the significant challenges
action exacerbates the aging and deterioration of associated with repair and maintenance efforts. As efforts
exterior walls, roofs, and other structural components. to protect cultural relics and buildings in China continue,
• Exacerbation of deterioration: Wind can exacerbate numerous opportunities for further research remain. By
existing building deterioration. For example, if salt shedding light on the mechanisms of heritage building
is present in a building, wind-induced damage or deterioration in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, China,
peeling of surface coatings exposes building materials this study offers a foundation for developing effective
to corrosive substances such as salt and moisture repair and maintenance strategies. These strategies aim
carried by the wind, further accelerating erosion. to enhance the preservation and resilience of heritage
buildings in the region.
4. Conclusion and future perspectives
This study focused on two historical heritage Acknowledgments
buildings in Anchang historical town, investigating None.
macroenvironmental factors and microdata related to
the deterioration of various building components. It Funding
summarized and categorized the types and distributions This research was supported by the National Natural
of deterioration under various influences and discussed Science Foundation of China (No. 52102369, 52078154)
the underlying causes of architectural deterioration. and Zhejiang Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences
In addition, the study aimed to offer actionable Planning “Provincial and Municipal Cooperation” Project
recommendations for the preservation of these heritage (Project Number: 24SSHZ140YB)
buildings by identifying the root causes of architectural
deterioration. The key findings of the study are as Conflict of interest
follows:
• Classification of building deterioration: Analysis of The authors declare they have no competing interests.
the literature revealed that Anchang historical town, Author contributions
situated along rivers, encounters typical challenges
faced by water towns. Building deterioration in such Conceptualization: Si Chen, Jie Wei
towns can be categorized into three primary types, with Formal analysis: Ruxin Tang, Luyao Zhou, Songfu Liu
humidity-induced damage being the most prevalent. Investigation: Yihan Wang, Ying Zhu, Tao Wang
This form of erosion is evidenced by powdering, cracks, Methodology: Si Chen, Jingwen Wang
salt crust formation, dehiscence, and exfoliation. Writing – original draft: Si Chen, Jie Wei, Ruxin Tang,
Moreover, damp building surfaces promote significant Jingwen Wang
biological colonization, facilitating the growth of Writing – review & editing: Si Chen, Ying Zhu
mosses and molds. Weathering, characterized by
surface roughening and surface layer peeling, further Ethics approval and consent to participate
contributes to the degradation of buildings. Not applicable.
• Impact of wet conditions: Wet conditions significantly
increase buildings’s vulnerability to deterioration. Consent for publication
Relative air humidity and the water table are major Not applicable.
sources of moisture affecting building masonry. Areas
near the base of buildings, which are consistently Availability of data
exposed to dampness, are particularly susceptible to
deterioration, such as cracking and uncontrolled moss Data are available on request from the authors.
growth. References
• Sunlight duration and deterioration severity: The
duration of sunlight exposure plays a critical role in Aloshan, M., Elghonaimy, I., Mesbah, E., Gharieb, M., Heba, K. M.,
determining the severity of deterioration in heritage & Alhumaid, M. H. (2024). Strategies for the preservation of
buildings. Comparative analysis revealed that areas historic areas within existing Middle Eastern cities: The case
with limited sunlight exhibit higher humidity levels of historic Jeddah. Buildings, 14:717.
and more pronounced building deterioration. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14030717

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2025) 14 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.4606