A holistic approach to preventive conservation and risk management in historic buildings: a comparative analysis in Konya museums

Historic buildings require risk management as they are exposed to potential damage in the event of future hazards and disasters. The aim of this study is therefore to clearly identify and classify risks and determine their extent and vulnerability in historic buildings through the development of a holistic risk management strategy in order to contribute to their preventive conservation by proposing improvement plans before they become hazards. Four museum cases were selected as examples of historical buildings in Konya. The potential risks threatening the buildings were determined using data from national databases and the ABC risk analysis method developed by the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) is used as a risk management approach. In addition, field research, oral interviews, archival and literature research were conducted. By combining all data, a holistic methodology was developed to identify potential risks threatening the buildings, their vulnerability and priority levels, and to determine the current condition of the buildings/museum collections to understand the need for preventive conservation and restoration. As a novel contribution, this study engages in comparative studies by analyzing buildings from different eras, with different materials and construction techniques, and proposes a systematic framework for heritage risk management that combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches. According to the results of the analysis, the average risk of the buildings was categorized as medium and their priority level as low. The analyses carried out were consistent with the results of the on-site observations, so the reliability of this method was considered high. In addition, the vulnerability and priority levels determined by the risk analyses and on-site observations provided accurate information on the current condition of the buildings.