The article reports on damage assessment of Ludwig Heller’s House – one of the architectural monuments affected by the Russian missile attack on the city of Lviv on September 4, 2024. The authors took part in the on the ground research first as part of the local commission on September 6, and later within the joint UNESCO-ICCROM mission on September 2-5, 2024.
The missile hit the rear side of the nearby building at 44 Konovaltsia St.The strike caused various types and degrees of damages to buildings within about 100 m from the epicenter of the explosion. Heller’s House was one of those damaged severely. It was somewhat protected though due to the neighbouring former carriage house standing between the building in question and the explosion. Thus the walls have in general not lost their load-bearing capacity, despite the cracks. The heaviest damages have happened to all wooden elements of the building, in particular the wooden roof truss. Today, the building is covered with an emergency roof tarp. Load-bearing timbers and rafters are damaged. The whole structure has come up and back, with its elements shifted somewhat and sagging. A number of joints of the timber truss are completely ruined. All the windows and a number of doors are ruined or damaged severely.
The missile damage has compounded the long-lasting deterioration of the building. Improper maintenance, alterations to layouts and architectural design have led to the loss of authenticity of the and to decay. Also to mention secondary and overlapping risk of fire, flooding and physical damage due to the extremely bad condition of the remains of the roof, lack of a fire retardant coating for flammable surfaces, lack of a lightning protection system. The risk that the neighbouring building with its wall inclined will collapse and affect our site still stands.
The first aid emergency works have been conducted on the site due to the damage assessment report (Ukrainian form). Preservation of the site requires further research and a conservation project to be developed.
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