Andrea Boeri

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE: CHALLENGES AND DESIGN STRATEGIES

The increasing attention paid to energy effi ciency in buildings by researches has led toward solutions favoring the adaptation of the European passive house standard, developed and codifi ed mainly in cold contexts, to different climate contexts, in particular the Mediterranean one. In warm areas, energy effi ciency is related to summer performance and the passive cooling of buildings. In southern and central Italy, the main factor is the heat control, which regards just the summer period during which situations of overheating occur – this implies signifi cant energy consumption due to conditioning systems, therefore it has to be restricted. It may be possible that the energy required to cool buildings exceeds the requirements for heating. This implies that the criteria for energy effi ciency projects should be revisited and adapted to specifi c national climatic situations, even by recovering and updating design criteria and techniques adopted in traditional building. Relevant experiences are also developing in Italy, where the Mediterranean climate has different characteristics compared to the cold climates of central and northern Europe. An interesting project is presented as an indicative case study of experimentation in this fi eld.

High density suburbs redevelopment and social housing retrofitting for cities regeneration

The suburbs of modern cities have become key elements in the scenarios of ever changing cities: once considered problem areas, they are now defined as important components for a general urban redevelopment in planning projects. The issue of suburbs is today ever present in the processes of strategic urban planning: they are considered as areas of integrated transformation, ranging from the landscape and cultural heritage enhancement to buildings retrofitting interventions, up to an economical uplift and to an improvement of the infrastructural systems. The most important Italian case studies and the conditions of the suburban areas in modern cities (in disrepair, or interested by upgrading processes) have identified some of the prevailing critical aspects of urban planning carried out to date. This paper proposes the analysis of one case study, the Pilastro neighborhood, a significant example of a social housing high density settlement, located in the outskirts of Bologna (IT). This district is an imposing housing estate, chosen for its representation of the social housing heritage in Italy. This paper highlights the technical, functional and social factors the level of quality of the settlement depends on, as well as the phenomena of social unease it resulted in. It also highlights some elements that may be considered as an obstacle against improvement measures. Architectural and social quality are the two elements to be aimed for, for a correct strategy of redevelopment and regeneration of the Pilastro neighborhood.

Environmental Quality And Energy Efficiency: Sustainable School Buildings Design Strategies

The design and construction qualities of buildings play a key role in limiting energy consumption, while ensuring proper comfort conditions. The existing school buildings stock is mainly characterized by a low level of architectural quality and of performance leading to a high consumption of energy and to an indoor microclimate below comfort level. School buildings play a dual role: on one hand, they have to ensure adequate technical and morphological standards to all spaces used by the students, and on the other, they have to effectively communicate the criteria of sustainable design that have been used for their construction. This paper proposes some innovative case studies projects, highlighting criteria, and strategies adopted in the design for spaces dedicated to children. The aim is to promote sustainable design and construction strategies that combine high levels of energy effi ciency, performance standards, and environmental indoor quality, including innovative strategies to integrate the building and its related systems. Best practices can also effectively encourage experimentations and contribute to formulate sustainable construction strategies that should be widely adopted.

Learn to save: sustainable schools

The existing school buildings are mainly characterized by a low level of architectural quality and performance which leads to a high consumption of energy and an indoor microclimate below comfort level. The design and construction quality of buildings plays a key role in limiting energy consumption, while ensuring proper comfort conditions. Best practice can also effectively encourage experimentations and contribute to formulate sustainable construction strategies that should be widely adopted. School buildings play, in fact, a dual role: on one hand they have to ensure adequate technical and morphological standards to all spaces used by the students; on the other one, they have to effectively communicate the criteria of sustainable design which have been used for their construction. The aim of attaining higher level of sustainability in the construction sector has led to consider school buildings perfect case studies for testing sustainable technical solutions. This paper proposes some of the most innovative case studies within Italy, highlighting criteria and strategies adopted in the design for spaces dedicated to children. The aim is to promote sustainable design and construction strategies that combine high levels of energy efficiency, of performance standards and environmental indoor quality, including innovative strategies to integrate the building and its related systems.