3. Planned preventive conservation and the structural performances of buildings

The paper aims at illustrating how the practices of planned preventive conservation may interact with structural behavior of old buildings. First, the effectiveness of regular maintenance will be underlined, also referring to preparedness to seismic risk, and other major risks as well. Many proves have been gathered that vulnerability increases as the lack of maintenance leads to decay of devices, such as iron or timber ties, which were required by the original structural conception. Second, preparedness to risk has also a top-down meaning, traditionally expressed in tools like risk maps used for support to decision making. Mass-screening of vulnerability has already been implemented as a practice capable to reduce the impact of natural hazards, as for instance earthquakes and storms. These tools can be used for enhancing programs and therefore the quality of interventions. Third, as the understanding of preventive conservation has been enlarged by the latest researches, the theme of uses compatibility evaluation is included, considering carrying capacity and loads, or safety and strategic functions.