Sustainable Material Approach in Cultural Heritage Conservation and the HMSA Platform

Sustainability, especially with the United Nations 2030 Agenda, is handled as a holistic concept including economic, social, environmental, and cultural dimensions. Sustainability in the field of cultural heritage points not only to physical protection but also to the continuity of cultural identity, craftsmanship, and local knowledge accumulation. Material-oriented sustainability in the conservation of historical buildings has gained increasing importance in recent years. Traditional building materials naturally align with sustainability principles due to their local and low-carbon characteristics. However, the institutionalization of scientific and sectoral information sharing is required to systematically evaluate this potential. This study discusses the positioning of the Material and Sustainability for Historic Structures Platform (HSMA), which was established based on this requirement.

Theoretical Framework and International Structure

Sustainability is reflected in the field of cultural heritage through three main planes: Environmental sustainability, cultural/social sustainability, and economic sustainability. Especially in the context of materials, the low energy consumption and repairable character of traditional materials are evaluated as important elements supporting sustainability. Table 1 below summarizes the main structures addressing the relationship between cultural heritage and sustainability at the institutional level:

Material and Sustainability Cycle in Historical Structures

Material selection in historical buildings should be evaluated not only by technical criteria but also in the context of cultural, social, and environmental impacts. In this context, the main criteria for evaluating traditional and contemporary materials in terms of sustainability are as follows:

• Energy and resource efficiency of the production process
• Local availability and sourcing
• Repair and reuse possibilities
• Compatibility of the material with building physics
• Contribution to local craftsmanship
• Carbon footprint and life cycle impact

These criteria demonstrate that sustainability is not only environmental but also a cultural value system.

The Context of Türkiye and the Positioning of the HMSA Platform

Although there is a strong institutional structure regarding the protection of cultural heritage in Türkiye, it is observed that interdisciplinary information sharing specific to material sustainability is limited. The HSMA Platform, as a structure aiming to fill this gap:

• Combines academic knowledge with practical experience,
• Addresses traditional and new materials with sustainability principles,
• Makes good practice examples visible,
• Builds bridges between sectoral and academic actors.

In this respect, the platform is not only a technical information network but also a structure contributing to the development of cultural sustainability policies.

The sustainability approach offers a mandatory and holistic framework for the protection of cultural heritage. The material-oriented perspective offered by the HSMA Platform will contribute to:

• Supporting local craftsmanship,
• Reducing environmental impacts,
• Disseminating scientific knowledge production in conservation practices.

In the sustainability of cultural heritage, the material scale has a critical role in preserving cultural identity as well as physical permanence. The HSMA Platform can be evaluated as an innovative initiative filling the theoretical and practice-based gap in this field. It is possible for the platform to become a reference center in the national and international arena by producing;

• Field research,
• Training programs,
• Theoretical publications in the upcoming period.