Maintenance-focused conservation plan of modern heritage buildings, an Australian overview

The effect of the industrial and technological revolution have benefitted and changed the lives and ways of the people. The period after Industrial Revolution despite being characterised as the age of abundance that dramatically increased the life expectancy of the human being, have ironically decreased the durability of everything that was built because it encouraged highly commercialised production. The architectural and engineering structure during this era was radically affected by the minimalist approach and maximising output. This has been the defining era in the period called ‘modernity’.Most of the ‘modern buildings’ constructed during the modern period are now frail and have already reached its user-by-date. Some of it had become historical that imposed im-portant connections to the community that contributed tremendously to the enrichment of the lives and history of its populace; thus some of these buildings have been listed. The necessity to extend the life of these structures became a great challenge to the stakeholders, professional practitioners and policy makers. As opposed to ancient heritage building, modern heritage structures are more complicated in terms of repair and maintenance.Currently, in the international stage, the UNESCO World Heritage List indicated that for every one hundred ‘ancient heritage’ there were about four ‘modern heritage’ structures and the numbers are continually growing. Society promotes keeping these heritage buildings considering its frail characteristics. This paper outline the Australian experienced to bring upfront preventive maintenance strategy in order to sustain the structural integrity and original fabric of the modern heritage building while managing the change.