ROCARE · Roman Cements for Architectural Restoration to New High Standards

Highly hydraulic binders, known as natural or Roman cements, were key materials to cover façades of buildings of the European Historicism and Art Nouveau (19th/early 20th century), a period of rapid urban growth in Europe. The maintenance, restoration and reconstruction of historic Roman cement façades form therefore an important issue in Europe’s efforts to preserve its architectural heritage. Therefore, the ROCARE project is proposed to provide conditions for the industrial development and commercialisation of Roman cements which is an innovative, promising technology developed at the level of a pilot-scale prototype in the recent research project of the 5th Framework Programme ROCEM, 2003-2006. The increasing awareness of the conservation profession and their interest in the product call now for further actions encompassed by the proposed ROCARE-project, which aim at filling gaps in knowledge and reducing the entry barriers of the novel technology to the market. They include (a) scaling up of the RC technology to a competitive level by optimising the process technologies at various conditions of production, (b) laboratory tests and studies to fully understand cement hydration and property development, as well as optimum conditions of mortar processing and handling in the conservation practice, and (c) broad dissemination measures to enlarge the market potential of the technology. The proposed project is designed for three-year duration and will be jointly conducted by 15 partners from industry, SMEs and research centres in 7 countries. It will allow the prototype developed in the earlier project to establish itself on the European market of building construction.