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VFB - Verein zur Foerderung der Baudenkmalpflege (Association for the Advancement of the Architectural Heritage Conservation), Vienna-Mauerbach (AT)

VFB is registered in Austria as a private non-profit organisation, according to the Austrian Law of Associations. Founded in 1997 by the initiative of members of the Federal Office for the Care of Monuments, its statutes define the vicinity of VFB to that office. It can thus be defined as a group of experts linked to a public state institution involved in the regulation and control of materials and their application in architectural heritage restoration.
As to date, the members of VFB amount to 23 persons, predominantly university graduates such as architects, scientists or conservators who hold key positions in their field of profession. The association has no permanent staff but is granting paid service contracts whenever appropriate. It is running a small scientific laboratory but would rather hire access to apparatus.
The activities of VFB within the past years were manifold and comprised conducting funded research on topics such as the long-term weathering behaviour of building stones, render consolidation by the action of bacteria, outdoor-exposure tests of different types of mortar, etc. Further on, several expositions on topics of architectural heritage were co-organised by VFB, a large number of specialisation courses in conservation were held for architects and craftsmen, and limited quantities of lime were produced for specific needs in heritage conservation, following traditional techniques of production which have become extinct in most of Europe. In this way, much experience was gained with construction of kilns capable to calcine a few tons of aerial lime, hydraulic lime or Roman cement. The latter was manufactured in close collaboration with the former 5th FP ROCEM-project of the European Union.