Sharjah Archaeology Authority (SAA) organised a virtual lecture, entitled “Study and analysis of the structural and architectural defects in archaeological and historical buildings.” The session was moderated by Muhammad Mustafa Muhammad Abdul Majeed, teaching restoration and maintenance of archaeological and historical buildings, part of the Faculty of Archaeology at the Fayoum University in Egypt. The lecture was attended by over 90 individuals eager to learn more about the restoration of buildings and monuments.

 The lecture highlighted some of the factors leading to the damage and collapse of archaeological and historical buildings. Usually buildings suffer the most damage during the construction process or when undergoing any sort of distinctive modifications to its original structure.

Other factors affecting these buildings include, poor quality of soil used in construction and uneven distribution of concrete material affecting the building foundation.

Professor Majeed mentioned how greater the curvature of the building’s layout, the more likely it is to be vulnerable. It is imperative to choose the right quality of building materials, especially when constructing on heterogeneous soils, particularly when clay soils are known to be prone to swelling. An accurate understanding of the building plan is essential, prior to commencement of construction.

For a better understanding, certain cases involving the damage and collapse of buildings as a result of structural and architectural defects were also highlighted as part of the session.

In the past, workers used to build the main walls first, and then move towards the internal sub-walls, which leads to separation, so the walls move with the passage of time and age according to the movement of the earth and earthquakes, in addition to the use of bricks and stones in the wall itself, which have different characteristics in terms of type and size, Which leads to their separation from each other, and thus increase the exposure of the walls to cracks and divisions.

There are several connections between the walls, there are stone, metal, and wooden, as well as not choosing the appropriate link between the walls and the ceiling, which leads to clear horizontal cracks, in addition to the effect of the presence of openings in the facades, so the greater the number of openings, the less the building’s ability to resist damage factors Mechanical, especially with earthquakes.