Ana Ferreira Ramos

Directives towards a sustainable urban rehabilitation process in old cities

The main goal of this work is to support, scientifically, the urban rehabilitation decisions to Coimbras historic downtown (a traditional Portuguese city) under a sustainable construction perspective. This paper presents the ten main issues to find a solution on sustainable urban rehabilitation, according to the existing experiences and concepts. The main aspects of sustainability were analysed on two levels: the urban and the building. Furthermore, they were compared with the guidelines of several urban interventions and it was possible to outline a general structure of intervention. This case study is supported by a local research program on inspection and appraisal, concerning construction technology, building defects, architectural and social characterisation, of about 800 buildings. It contributes to define intervention strategies in old areas of Portuguese cities, with a constant concern to tailor solutions and proposals to the existing reality in terms of physical, social and cultural characteristics.

Pedagogical changes towards the implementation of the Bologna Process: indicators’ structure of measurement

The transition into the twenty-first century brought about important changes in society, including the areas of education and teaching. The establishment of the European Higher Education Area represents an effort to face these changes together in Europe. The changes in the teaching and learning models in higher education led to the institutional promotion of extensive interventions in order to alter the status quo that has prevailed for decades. The need for a cultural renewal of the teaching staff involved in higher education, attending to the centrality of student’s learning rather than knowledge per se, is also a challenge to be overcome. This study intends to highlight the central elements concerning the Bologna Process and the topics connecting the objectives and their intrinsic principles. This initial approach is the basis for the design of a proposal for monitoring the implementation of the Bologna Process in an institution of higher education in Portugal. The results suggest a proposal consistent with the needs in terms of monitoring the implementation of the Bologna Process. This proposal allows, in addition to static analysis relative to a specific academic year, dynamic analysis between academic years, uncovering best practices and areas for improvement.

Strategies to assess the sustainability in the rehabilitation process - a tool for interventions in old centres

In order to reduce the pace of new constructions, it is necessary to rethink the city and act upon the built environment taking into account the impact of the urban expansion. These interventions must be conditioned by the need to guide human activity towards the sustainability principles. This paper presents a sustainability assessment model for buildings located in old city centres which have historical characteristics and are shaped by a built fabric of high cultural value but are often characterised by vacant houses and constructive degradation. The model was based on the analysis of other assessment systems used across the world and also on the study and characterisation of these specific urban areas. The main objective was to create a decision support tool to guide designers and technicians involved in interventions in the built environment, as well as the user in terms of occupation and building maintenance, particularly regarding resource consumption and waste generation.