Issues about preservation of cultural assets : the wood as a study object

Resumo: A preservacao engloba todas as acoes que beneficiam a manutencao de um bem cultural, o que inclui a criacao de leis, realizacao de projetos de conservacao, restauracao, intervencoes no entorno do patrimonio, etc, e tem como objetivo principal manter a autenticidade historica e integridade do patrimonio cultural, para que as geracoes futuras possam desfrutar desse bem. A melhor maneira de entender como tratar o patrimonio cultural e compreender a natureza dos materiais que fazem parte da sua constituicao, como, por exemplo, a madeira. Com foco neste material, serão analisadas a sua anatomia, e a maneira como ela se comporta diante de agentes deterioradores, apresentando tambem metodos de combate. No caso de objetos de propriedade cultural, o emprego de determinados tipos de produtos e preocupante, pois, podem alterar alguns componentes destas pecas. A partir desta preocupacao, pesquisadores de todo o mundo vem se empenhando em desenvolver métodos atoxicos para o controle de pragas. Assim, em um primeiro momento, neste trabalho, serao apresentados os conceitos sobre patrimonio historico, e sua representatividade no cenario brasileiro; em um segundo momento, apresentar-se-a a biologia da madeira, para que, desta forma, se compreenda o material a ser trabalhado; em um terceiro momento, serao listados os agentes causadores da degradacao na madeira, e, em seguida, os metodos preservativos e curativos para esses danos. Por fim, serão analisados dois casos de intervencao em patrimonio historico em madeira em condicoes diferentes, ou seja, em duas regioes do país: a) Cobertura do ginásio poliesportivo do Pacaembu, localizado na cidade de São Paulo, no Estado de São Paulo, região Sudeste; b) Catedral da Se, localizada na cidade de Belém, no Estado do Para, região NorteAbstract: Preservation includes every action that benefits the maintenance of a cultural heritage,including the creation of laws, realization of conservation's projects, restoration and interventions in the surrounding areas, among others. Its main goal is to keep the historical authenticity of the cultural heritage and its integrity, so that future generations be able to appreciate it. The most fitting way to learn how to deal with a historical heritage is by understanding the nature of the materials that compose its arrangement; in the present case, the wood. Therefore, we will analyze wood's anatomy, the way it behave against aggressive agents and also show some ways to fight these pathologies. However, in the particular case of objects of cultural value, the adoption of such compounds is source of concern as they can modify the nature of these pieces. To address such a concern, researchers from around the world are spending efforts in the development of non-toxic methods for plague control. Regarding the Brazilian scenario some of these methods have not yet been adapted to the local reality as weather, plague species and constructive techniques are different from other countries. This way is interesting to retrieve as much information as possible about Brazilian wood's historical heritage. Therefore, this work will first present concepts regarding historical heritage and its representativeness of the Brazilian scenario; in a second moment the wood's biology will be shown, in order to fully understand the material we are dealing with. After that, agents that cause wood's degeneration will be listed and in what follows some methods for the preservation and healing of such damage will be presented. At the end, this work evaluates two cases of intervention in a wood's historical heritage. Always keeping in sight the fact that Brazil is a country of continental dimensions, we chose cases of distinct nature. That is it, cases from two different regions of the country: a) Cover of the Pacaembu Gymnasium, located in the city of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo state, southeast region, and the; b) Cathedral of the Se, located in the city of Belem, Para state, north regio