Paulo Mendonça

Architectural membranes on building’s functional refurbishment

The aim of this study is to make an insight about architectural membrane applications for buildings functional refurbishment, analysing the characteristics that make architectural membranes suitable for this purpose. It is based on sixty interventions used as case studies that are classified chronologically and by countries and uses, pointing out also their applications. Several design strategies are identified and contrasted with the principles set for interventions in existing buildings. The results are illustrated with examples chosen from the case studies, highlighting how membrane building technologies can fulfil the most important principles of building refurbishment.

Environmental and economic cost analysis of housing in temperate climate using an innovative lightweight partitioning system

This paper presents an economic and environmental cost analysis of a representative Portuguese housing dwelling unit using an innovative lightweight adjustable membrane partitioning system, developed within a research project. The environmental and economic costs of this system, both on the construction and occupancy phases, were compared with the Portuguese conventional dividing wall solution, in hollow brick, simulated on the same reference dwelling, using the same layout and remaining constructive elements. The occupancy phase costs were evaluated by computer simulation, which allowed determining how the occupancy schedule of daytime and night time occupied areas may influence the cooling and heating needs for different solar orientations.

Production, characterization and prediction of mechanical properties of waste fibre reinforced composite panels for application in adjustable partition walls of buildings

In the present paper, waste fibre reinforced composite panels have been developed for application in interior partition walls of buildings. These panels were produced using waste fibres collected from the textile industries and using aminoplastic phenol-formaldehyde resin. Mechanical properties such as tensile, compression and flexural properties of these composite panels were characterized and the influence of a few parameters such as fibre or matrix weight % and composite density on the mechanical properties has been analyzed. Impact properties (soft body and hard body impact), which is very important for the materials used in the partition walls, of the developed composite panels was simulated using finite element method and the influence of composite parameters (fibre or resin content, composite density) on the impact resistance and strain energy was analyzed. Thermal degradation behaviour of the developed composite panels was also investigated. Although the waste fibre reinforced composites show low mechanical properties, the simulation results showed that the composite panels showed required impact properties (no collapse, no penetration or projection under both soft and hard body impact) for their successful application in the interior partition walls. Thermal stability of the composite panels was also sufficient for this application. It was also observed that the composite panels exhibited better impact resistance and lower deformation when produced with higher fibre % as well as higher density.

Soil: A Material for Bio-Compatible and Eco-Sustainable Contemporary Buildings

For long time the research has been addressing towards the creation and the design of “high tech” components for buildings with an high performance level in any kind of situation, so as to increase a global scale dissemination and thus to ensure large market segments and wide economic incomes. This logic, based on production of goods rather than on saving resources, has provided, upon time, a number of negative effects, such as the enlargement of prime matter and pure energy source consumption, but also a massification of the architecture language and a cultural flatting, by proposing stereotypes and formal layouts which were insensitive to site diversity and peculiarity. Studies made by the authors on the Mediterranean area, its construction traditions and its social and cultural differences, focused on the presence of various invariant lines, due to similar climatic, geological, historic and human conditions, has shown that, during the whole pre-industrial period, those conditions have led to the affirmation of such techniques and materials strictly depending on the peculiar characters of each zone. The various regions, even presenting the aforesaid common and distinctive features, can be often compared to each other, and provide hints for new research currents: “low-tech” materials, and thus at low embodied energy, by exploiting a number of local resources and various configuration solutions, allowing to obtain buildings that can adapt to different site conditions, and can provide a clear saving as far as both economic and environmental items are concerned. The Rammed Earth and Adobe, even in contemporary building applications, object of the proposed paper, have been demonstrated to own various relevant characters, since they appear as good compromises between thermal mass and insulation and hold good hygroscopic regulation capacity, by absorbing and giving back the humidity to the environment. These properties allow to achieve eco-efficiency aims, by limiting resource consumption, as well as bio-compatible objectives, by providing users’ health and comfort. Our research groups have carried out theoretical and experimental research that led to the chance of re-employing this traditional material within innovative products, thus considering soil, still nowadays, as a very good construction material. Case studies in Italy and Portugal are shown.