Local | PANORAMA

Developing a programme for interventions on historical buildings

Volunteers cleaning the villa

Studiogovora

Villa Ivanovici after the intervention

Studiogovora & Marius Vasile

Volunteers restoring the historic gazebo

Studiogorova

Checking the structure of the Electric Plant

Studiogovora

With more than a third of historic structures in decay and disrepair, there is urgent need for conservation works. These need to be done taking into account the extent of physical damages, ownership, availability for funds, investment opportunities, as well as possible future uses and users.

Studiogovora is developing a program to assess and prioritise interventions on the historic buildings and has until now acted to secure one of the oldest historic villas in the resort, helped several residents with advice and small scale works, and has restored a gazebo dating back to the 1930s. The team has also started to recover and store valuable pieces such as doors or furniture until they can be restored.

At present a couple of interventions have already been completed, this include an emergency intervention, a full building restoration and repair intervention for a roof. Several restoration projects are in the planning phase and their implementation is dependent on the decisions made by owners.

Funding opportunities - either governmental or private
Stakeholder collaboration and capacity to support interventions
Professional network to support the team with necessary expertise
Contractors open to working with traditional techniques
Residents willing to ask for help in restoring their properties

Such activities require a work of continuous coordination and constant collaboration with owners, authorities, contractors, as well as with donors and funders.
Public funds are mainly available to public institutions and less to private ones. Also, public funds are only available to buildings that are officially recognized as heritage, thus are historical monuments. Buildings in protected areas or the ones that are important at local level are often not eligible.

Implementation

Local

Strengthening public-private-people partnerships for local heritage

Villa Ivanovici after the intervention

Studiogovora & Marius Vasile

Volunteers restoring the historic gazebo

Studiogovora

Concert in the gazebo after restoration

Studiogovora

Video mapping on the Electric Plant during the Spa Architecture Days

Studiogovora & Marius Vasile

The lack of shared local stewardship for heritage is rooted in the numerous changes of ownership and the highly centralized and bureaucratized national heritage protection framework of Romania.

The Govora Heritage Lab raises awareness on the need for shared responsibility in finding solutions to protect and reuse abandoned historic buildings. Through its projects, the team offers examples of how actions by any citizen or actors can benefit the local heritage and create new opportunities for people and heritage through a framework for public-private-people cooperation.

These actions include: site volunteering for restoration works, continuous collaboration with public and private stakeholders, advice on funding possibilities or needed interventions, cultural events in heritage buildings etc.

Historically, the resort always relied on public-private cooperation to function successfully, and today public-private partnerships have become a prerequisite of most funding programs dedicated to the rehabilitation of heritage.

Govora has a few restored historic buildings and public spaces which are under used, and owners need help from civil society to create events and attract audiences.

Funding opportunities often ask for public-private partnership but even in such cases the partnership is often not balanced, with top-down structures in which NGOs play minor roles and individual citizens being seen only as end users.
Public-private partnerships are highly dependent on the capacity and commitment of local authorities to implement them.
Public funding is still mostly available to public owners (town halls, municipality) and less to private ones
Public-private-people partnerships work generally well in high trust societies and are still challenging in low trust ones, such as Romania. In the absence of a clear legal framework that regulates public-private partnerships, these are still looked upon by authorities and citizens alike with distrust. Hence community participation in activities is essential to build trust on an individual- and community-basis.
The public-private partnership and the actions put in place to support local owners have led to an increased interest of citizens to participate in heritage related activities.

Implementation

Local

Interdisciplinary research on thermal heritage

Model of the spa town

Studiogovora & Marius Vasile

Exhibit of student projects

Studiogovora & Marius Vasile

The present state of heritage in Govora speaks of the challenges that the Romanian heritage system is facing, namely: the lack of awareness of the diverse values of historic resorts, inadequate capacities and non-comprehensive legal frameworks.

The team of the Govora Heritage Lab conducts research on the heritage values of thermal heritage, and is in continuous dialogue with authorities and researchers. Apart from mapping, research also aims to identify opportunities through which the urban space could regain its vitality and attractiveness for residents and visitors. The research advanced on different levels - topographical surveys of existing structures; discussions with private owners to decide on the strategy for new functions; historical studies, archival research and surveys; analysis of the political, social and economic contexts in different periods of time - all coupled with continuous negotiation with the local administration.

Studiogovora partnered with the Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urban Planning in Bucharest, and supports students in choosing sites in Govora for their course assignments or theses. Results are periodically presented to the local community and decision makers through debates, roundtables and exhibits.

Romania is currently updating its legislation to include cultural landscapes and improve heritage protection policies. The link between heritage, communities and sustainability is being streamlined into the public discourse. A growing number of students from both architectural and other fields are choosing to volunteer, research and work on projects dealing with thermal heritage. Universities are open to partner with civil society and create opportunities for students to gain experience.

The ideas and solutions generated through the research process are helping shape the vision for the future of Govora, relinking nature, culture and health practices. Presenting the results to the decision makers, owners, and the community, strengthens dialogue and commitment to implement that vision.
Having the professional community present and involved shows that there is active interest in the resort and that its values are worth protecting.
The projects offer an optimistic view for Baile Govora as a heritage place in which the current state of the buildings is seen as an opportunity for development, and not only as a sign of decades of neglect.
While the projects remain theoretical, the community expects to see visible results and there is a risk of disappointment if the ideas do not materialise.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Mazzocchioo Magazine - number dedicated to Baile Govora

East Europe

Govora Heritage Lab - linking nature, culture, and health in a historic resort

Irina

Leca

Interdisciplinary research on thermal heritage

Strengthening public-private-people partnerships for local heritage

Developing a programme for interventions on historical buildings

Policy tools to improve local heritage management

Interpretation of the therapeutic cultural landscape of spa towns

East Europe

Govora Heritage Lab - linking nature, culture, and health in a historic resort

Irina

Leca

Interdisciplinary research on thermal heritage

Strengthening public-private-people partnerships for local heritage

Developing a programme for interventions on historical buildings

Policy tools to improve local heritage management

Interpretation of the therapeutic cultural landscape of spa towns

South America

Impact on Rio de Janeiro's Environment through Taekwondo

Danilo

Malafaia

South America

Impact on Rio de Janeiro's Environment through Taekwondo

Danilo

Malafaia

Drone Data

From drone data to canopy height model

Drones play a pivotal role in the 3LD-Monitoring system, complementing other data collection methods.Drones are essential tools in partner countries to fortify technical skills among local staff. These skills encompass flight planning, navigation and image evaluation. The drone monitoring aims to empower project staff to capture data tailored for photogrammetric analyses, from which crucial geoinformation emerges.

The drone mapping methodology encompasses five stages, with the first two focusing on drone operations:

Mapping mission preparation (desktop work)
Mapping mission execution (fieldwork)
Development of Digital Surface Model (DSM) & Orthomosaic generation (desktop work)
Data analysis and refinement (desktop work)
Integration into the prevailing data system (desktop work)

Drone data aids in evaluating indicators linked to carbon/biomass, such as mortality rates and forest types. Notably, with the application of allometric equations and proper characterization of the land type, above-ground biomass estimations of trees can be determined.

Drones with pre-set flight planning capability ensure seamless orthophoto creation from individual images. This enables individual snapshots to seamlessly merge into an orthophoto (aerial photograph corrected for distortions, allowing accurate measurements). It's also vital to consider the availability of these drones in the local markets of partner countries. Leveraging local knowledge by involving local academia is paramount in this process. They can provide essential allometric equations, grounded in tree height, that facilitate precise biomass calculations.

Drones generate high resolution images, allowing a detailed overview of land cover changes, tree survival and erosion rates, among others. Combined with field data, drone-based monitoring is strengthened, guaranteeing a sound monitoring.

The heterogeneity of trees and vegetation density often hinders a sound extraction of common key points between the images, which is necessary to estimate the heights and other indicators. In this regard, increasing the overlap between images to a minimum of 85 % frontal and side overlap can improve the extraction of key points. Also, increasing the flight height of the drone reduces perspective distortion, which facilitates the detection of visual similarities between overlapping images. However, too much overlapping, i.e., high overlapping percentages result in higher amount of data, making data processing more time intensive.

Another aspect already mentioned is the availability of suitable drones in the partner countries. Importing drones to the respective countries is difficult, and bureaucratic barriers persist.

Satellite Data

Screenshot of the existing F4F-Dashboard application

Satellite data forms the bedrock of the 3LD-Monitoring system, harnessing the capabilities of open-source imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 and LANDSAT satellites. An algorithm, meticulously developed by Remote Sensing Solutions (RSS) GmbH, revolutionizes this process. Users can seamlessly submit the shapefile of their area of interest, prompting the algorithm to automatically fetch and analyze relevant data. A spectrum of robust analyses are conducted including the 5-year vegetation trend using NDVI for assessing vegetation gains or losses, 5-year vegetation moisture analysis through NDWI, and a nuanced 5-year rainfall trend evaluation. Additionally, the algorithm facilitates the visualization of vegetation changes since the inception of the project, bolstering the monitoring framework with dynamic insights. Satellite data, a vital component of the 3LDM-Monitoring system, leverages open-source imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission and LANDSAT satellites. For predefined areas, this data is automatically fetched and analyzed for specific parameters. Key analyses include a 5-year vegetation trend using NDVI as a proxy for vegetation gains or losses, a 5-year vegetation moisture trend through NDWI, and a 5-year rainfall trend. In addition vegetation changes from project start can be visualized.

Effective use of this building block hinges on users drawing and saving areas in GIS platforms like QGIS. Additionally, enhancing the shapefile with project specifics, such as start dates and FLR type, optimizes analysis. Proper training in these skills ensures accurate data input and tailored monitoring, making capacity building in these areas essential if not present.

While satellite data, especially open-source, offers broad insights, its capability for species identification is highly restricted, if not unattainable. This limitation emphasizes the indispensable role of field work in discerning species composition and characteristics. Additionally, understanding the innate constraints of satellite imagery, especially with young tree plantations, reinforces the need for integrating field and drone data to gain a comprehensive view of forest terrains.

Field Data

Team setting up sample plots in mangroves (Madagascar)

Satellite and drone images, despite their undeniable contribution for monitoring, they are limited in the initial years of FLR efforts. Data collection at field level is crucial in the first projects years.

Data collection at field level is further divided into three participative approaches:

Permanent sampling plots: Fixed plots, where tree height, DBH, and tree survival rates will be estimated. Permanent sampling plots will be assessed in 3-year interval, due to their high labor and time input.
Land use planning: discussion rounds for the assessment of information, as well as identification of endangered species according to the Red List of Threatened Species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It is integrated into other land use planning processes, and thus, has not a defined assessment interval.
Transects: Identification of floristic and faunistic species, as well as forest structure composition, in an assessment interval of three months

All relevant indicators included in the three participative approaches are collected using the KOBO Toolbox. This software offers suitable conditions and is easy to operate, aligning with the monitoring objectives of the project.

A participative approach is essential in guaranteeing a long-term monitoring of the restored areas. The symbiosis of local knowledge and training/capacity building of local staff and regional partners is the core of this approach. Identifying the needs of the community, organizing discussion rounds, involving the local community in the developing and testing of the monitoring system, encourages consciousness and connection to the restored landscape.

Field Data Priority: In early FLR stages, field-level data collection is more effective than relying solely on satellite and drone images.
Participative Approaches: Employing participative methods like permanent sampling plots, land use planning, and transects involves local communities and enhances monitoring.
Appropriate Technology: Using user-friendly tools like KOBO Toolbox aligns well with project objectives and simplifies data collection.
Local Community Engagement: Engaging and training local communities ensures long-term success and fosters a connection to the restored landscapes.