Guest editorial

摘要

For it is the chief requisite for life, for happiness, and for everyday use. (Pollio et al, 1914, p. 226, Book��) In the first century BC, Vitruvius was clear on the role of the building's roof to protect the walls and foundations from rainwater (Pollio et al., 1914, p. 177, Book VI, Chapter 3) and the removal of the water by the use of drains (Pollio et al, 1914, p. 156, Book V, Chapter 9). Recognized as an issue since antiquity, there has been a great deal of fragmented research on building moisture, but the topic still represents a problem area in too many buildings. Research has tended to focus on local problems, and as a result the lessons and associated knowledge are either not relevant, or more dangerously used inappropriately, for other locations or climates.