Heritage conservation and climate protection are more similar than many might think. Both areas are often the subject of controversial discussions. Economic efficiency, costs and sustainability are just some of the points that are quickly thrown into the room for both. However, both are actually about preservation and this is where points such as saving raw materials, recycling and reducing emissions come into play.
The archaeologist and historian Sebastian Held, administrative employee in the Lower Monument Authority of the city of Xanten, was a guest at DialogPunkt Xanten and gave an insight into monument protection and its sustainable aspects. He made it clear right at the beginning of his presentation:
“Monument protection is more than just pretty-looking buildings. Monument protection is responsibility.” Responsibility for the self-image of a town like Xanten, because monuments are cultural assets and create identity.
Climate protection comparison of new build and refurbishment
A new build is often perceived as better per se. But there is a noticeable change in thinking. According to a study conducted by the Federal Foundation for Building Culture in 2022/23, people are becoming more aware of old buildings. This greater acceptance also benefits monument protection, observes Sebastian Held.
From a climate protection perspective, architectural monuments contribute to a ‘climate credit’. This is because today’s new buildings are responsible for high emissions due to energy consumption during construction and the production of building materials, for example. Monuments, on the other hand, cause lower emissions. He used the example of Xanten to illustrate the resource efficiency of old buildings and historical monuments.
Necessity is the mother of invention – recycling building materials
The town of Xanten looks back on over 2,000 years of building history. It was the Romans who brought stones and building materials to the region to construct the two-region camp of Vetera on the Fürstenberg. This building material was later used to construct the settlement of Colonia Ulpia Trainana. “A very early recycling process”, as Sebastian Held emphasizes. It may be a region rich in gravel, as we learned in an earlier event at DialogPunkt Xanten, but it is not a region rich in stones. The bricks from the camp were first used for the Roman settlement. In turn, the people of the Middle Ages made use of the later ruins when they laid the foundations for today’s Xanten with the cathedral. “There is Roman stone everywhere in the area,” says Sebastian Held.
Even today, original building materials or materials from old sources are used wherever possible. Sometimes, however, there is no more original material or not enough. Or a structural adaptation is required, in which case a balance has to be struck. This is the case with the new barrier-free access to the Ziegelhof, which is adjacent to the cathedral immunity. Here, Corten steel was deliberately used as a modern material to show that the ramp system is not part of the monument.
Answers to contemporary requirements such as solar systems
The boom in solar installations is a challenge for monument protection. A decree in 2022 made it easier to install solar systems on monuments in NRW. Individual decisions are still required, but so-called decision guidelines provide orientation. Incidentally, this applies not only to monuments, but also to buildings within a monument area. For example, a PV system was integrated into the roof of a new building in the area of the Klever Tor’s visual axis instead of being mounted on it as usual. In order not to weaken the radiance of the ensemble in the surrounding area, because, according to Sebastian Held: “Sometimes the surroundings are important.”
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