Tautra (top) and Munkeby monastery ruins in the Trondheim region

An agreement of cooperation has been signed with the Norwegian conservation company “Bakken & Magnussen AS” in Trondheim, Norway. The idea is to expand the competence of the conservation company with services related to conservation science and geoarchaeology.

Bakken & Magnussen, headed by Geir Magnussen and Runhild Bakken, is a key provider of conservation services in Norway, specialising in conservation and restoration of old stone buildings and ruins. It is particularly active within the so-called “ruin conservation programme” of the Norwegian heritage authorities (Directorate for Cultural Heritage). Cooperation started already last year with investigations at the Selja abbey ruins at the westernmost coast of Norway (see this post). Recently we also worked on analysing lime wash applied at the Austraatt castle near Trondheim in the 1990s (together with CSC Conservation Science Consulting). The lime wash behaved “strangely” as it turned yellow and was very difficult to maintain. New lime wash simply peeled off, which may be related to the possible use of silica fume(!) in the wash from the 1990s.

Cooperation within the agreement is planned for the months and years to come: It will deal with damaged masonry, soapstone weathering and much more. It is hoped that clients – and the Norwegian heritage – will benefit from the long-term perspective that the agreement is based on.

Links

• The website of Bakken & Magnussen is currently under construction
• For Norwegian readers: See this presentation of Bakken & Magnussen
• The ruin conservation programme of the Directorate for cultural heritage