Promote durable building materials and methods of construction that prevent premature deterioration of our built environment rather than accelerate deterioration. Interventions should use building materials of equal or greater durability than existing building fabric or design for disassembly and replacement.
It is natural for all building materials to deteriorate. Promote building materials, methods, maintenance, and inspections that prevent, rather than accelerate, premature deterioration of the built environment. Interventions in existing buildings should use equally durable building materials. Do not mix short-term materials with long-term materials. Materials that deteriorate more quickly than the original building fabric require further interventions and decrease the service life of a building. Building designs should either include components with similarly long service lives or be designed for disassembly for replacement of the shorter life components.
I propose the following oath, with acknowledgment of the Hippocratic Oath and Cervat Erder’s proposal (Erder 1977):
The procedures and materials selected will be for the benefit and respect of our cultural heritage. We will give no harmful treatment, nor counsel such, nor aid in the deterioration or demolition of any monument. As stewards of our heritage and for the benefit of society, we will spurn harmful practices and document all steps taken.