SMACH

Science & Mechanics
in Conservation of Heritage

SMACH is an innovative start-up promoting the introduction of mechanical engineering into conservation and cultural heritage studies.

Based in France, our team works on projects all over Europe.

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An experimental approach

Our experimental approach is key to achieve breakthroughs, at the interface between arts and engineering. The mechanical behavior of complex and aged materials (i.e. strain and failure) is tested at multiple scales, with innovative and non-invasive optical and mechanical techniques.

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A union of forces

The team nucleated around outstanding scientific missions, such as the annual monitoring of the Mona Lisa and the Musée Fabre’s Sainte Trinité project.

Part of the team also bonded internationally, with projects at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam focused on the control of the deformation and damage of fragile artworks.

The lack of tools available to the field of conservation for the study of the structural integrity of historical artefacts convinced us to join forces.

An international network

Established between Avignon, Paris and Amsterdam, our start-up travels throughout Europe. Our reactivity allows us to intervene on a location within a day if necessary.

Thanks to our international network, we are always at the cutting-edge of engineering and research for the dynamic and quasi-static monitoring of structures’ integrity.

SMACH is an independent structure offering easy and accessible solutions to concrete conservation issues.

Strategies & Tools

SMACH also develops strategies and tools to monitor structures’ integrity and their analysis.

All three of us strive for the preservation of cultural heritage, combining complementary disciplines:

  • cultural heritage conservation,
  • mechanical engineering,
  • data analysis.
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The founders of SMACH

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Cécilia Gauvin

Technical Director

Doctor in Mechanics and Civil Engineering (2015), Cécilia Gauvin has a great international network in both engineering and conservation.

She specialises in the long-term hygromechanical monitoring of cultural heritage structures. Her expertise spans from mechanical engineering to cutting-edge science, in collaboration with various institutions throughout Europe and abroad including the Netherlands, Great-Britain, Italy, France, La Reunion.

Cécilia has also participated in international research projects with LRMH’s cultural heritage research centre, the Imperial College in London, Glasgow University, as well as museums, such as the Louvre, where she has been involved in the annual structural integrity monitoring of the Mona Lisa.

Personal website: ceciliagauvin.com
LinkedIn : caf-gauvin
Research Gate : Cecilia-Gauvin

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Gilles Tournillon

Sales Director

Gilles Tournillon is associate director of S-MA-C-H and the founder of the Atelier Tournillon. Since the creation of the Atelier in 1993, Tournillon has done research and worked in cultural heritage conservation, with extensive experience working with museums and historical buildings.

Over the years, he developed an expertise in handling, mounting and installing complex and oversize composite objects. Tournillon’s technical expertise in conservation and in museum climates is recognised internationally, with research projects in Louvre Abu Dhabi and Victoria Albert Museum.

Personal website: tournillon-conservation-restauration.com
LinkedIn: gilles-tournillon-6743b138

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Leila Sauvage

Scientific director

Leila Sauvage graduated from the Book and paper Conservation programme of the Paris-Sorbonne University in 2010. Since then, she specialised in the conservation and analysis of friable media drawings, in various European museums (Rijksmuseum, Louvre Museum, Musee Marmottan-Monet).

This practical experience inspires her to develop her activities around 3 axis: applied research in conservation, multidisciplinary projects and mechanics of cultural heritage as diagnosis tool.

Since 2014, besides her conservation activities, she has been doing a PhD at the Technical University of Delft, in the Aerospace Engineering faculty. With an experimental and holistic approach, she studies the fatigue behaviour of friable media subjected to vibrations.

LinkedIn: leila-sauvage-68481530
Research Gate: Leila-Sauvage

Our collaborators

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Fabien Brachet

Joining us as a new team member, Fabien Brachet is an apprentice at SMACH, as part of his University Bachelor of Technology in Applied Physics at the University of Montpellier.

His studies focus on specialised scientific fields, particularly in monitoring the structure of materials. He will be applying these skills to help us assess the impact of vibrations on artworks and ensure the preservation of our heritage during exhibitions and transportation.

LinkedIn: fabien-brachet-066633293