Under the lamp

Case study

Dubliany, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine

In June of 2024, we undertook a risk management and condition survey of a historic university building in Western Ukraine that had been damaged in a targeted drone strike.

Author

Matthew Amis and Patrick Hughes

Service

Preliminary Risk Management and Condition Survey

Completion

June 2024

Client

Lviv Heritage Bureau, Lviv City Council

We were instructed early in 2024 to plan and execute a risk management and condition survey of a bomb-damaged historic university building in the west of Ukraine, north of the historic city of Lviv. The purpose of the survey was to establish a comprehensive and achievable refurbishment strategy as well as to create a written and graphical record of the condition of the structure following the attack. See our Heritage at Risk page for further information as to our approach to undertaking this type of survey work in these locations around the world.

The location and context of this project meant that our team were working to a tight schedule, which demanded that a variety of survey packages be condensed into a short space of time. The detailed recording abilities of the 3D scanner played the role of an additional team member in many ways, allowing our on-site personnel to focus on conducting hands-on, detailed assessments of the material condition of the building, as well as extracting material samples for analysis.

The building in question had been targeted in January of 2024 by Russian forces using Shahed drones, each with approximately 50kgs of explosives, which had caused severe damage to the central roof section and adjacent roof areas to the north and south. The blast caused further damage to the masonry elevations and internal partition walls, as well as several windows.

The damage to the roof left the central first floor area and masonry wall heads completely exposed to inclement weather for approximately two to three months before a vinyl roof structure, supported by scaffolding, was erected. However, this was providing little weather protection and inclement weather had resulted in large quantities of rainwater saturating both the masonry and timber elements, as well as affecting building materials beneath, such as plasterwork and paint finishes.

The structural roof timbers had been formed of large, hewn, boxed-heart sections of Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida), with smaller elements consisting of European Redwood (Pinus sylvestris) and possibly Larch (Larix decidua). These species were likely local geographically to the building and had been formed using high quality craftsmanship. The attack had caused widespread damage to the central roof section, the remains of which had been dismantled and removed. Remaining structural timbers to the immediate north and south of the central section suffered clear blast damage such as fracturing, deflection and dislocation, and the current exposure of structural timbers to inclement weather increased the risk of them becoming saturated and subjected to the onset of biological decay organisms.

A comprehensive damp assessment throughout the building was carried out, which included the extraction of masonry samples from critical areas which were then processed in our laboratory using gravimetric analysis, to determine the moisture content of each sample, as well as the level of hygroscopic salts present within the area that each sample had been extracted from.

Working with some of the most passionate and dedicated professionals we’ve encountered in our careers, who are operating under incredibly challenging conditions, was truly inspiring. It was an honour to contribute to their continued conservation of Ukrainian cultural heritage, even if a small amount, at a time when it is so vulnerable to loss and damage.

Matthew Amis, Director, Six Heritage

Context and materials – Vernacular building methodology vs UK practises

It is always interesting to conduct survey work outside of the United Kingdom where materials and construction methods differ to what we are used to seeing on a daily basis. During our visit, it was common to see oversized rainwater downpipes (typically almost double the section-size of our historic cast iron), as well as an abundance of ventilation detailing to roof voids (compared to our typically inadequate or missing detailing here in the UK).

The structure we surveyed was an interesting example of these subtle differences in construction and methodology between the UK and Eastern Europe. Numerous and elaborately decorated dormer vents, with significant capacity, were located in each pitch, which had successfully allowed condensation and moisture-laden air to evaporate. Eaves gutters around the building had been formed by rolling the bottom edge of the metal roof sheet, which over time had inevitably led to corrosion and the creation of cavities, rendering the eaves gutters ineffective and troublesome to replace. Rolling eaves gutters out of the sheet metal roof finish is not something you see often (if anywhere) in the UK, at least not something we have come across in buildings we have surveyed.

Wood-boring beetle damage identified at the time of survey appeared to be familiar enough to our team where visible to structural timbers. Evidence was in the form of particularly large (and oval shaped) flight holes which were provisionally identified as House Longhorn beetle (Hylotrupes bajulus), though no carcasses or frass was present at the time of survey and a local variation or beetle type should not be ruled out.

Internally, plaster ceilings had been applied over a reeded lath secured to timber ceiling boards via metal wire strapping. This is again not something we have come across on a site here in the UK, but appeared to have been historically effective and provided a good key for the lime plaster finish. This had only failed in localised instances as a result of either the blast or the progressive and chronic water penetration that had occurred through the centre of the structure since.