Search results for "construct"
showing 10 items of 3723 documents
Energy and economic analysis and feasibility of retrofit actions in Italian residential historical buildings
2016
Abstract The application of retrofit actions to existing building stocks can improve the energy performance of the residential sector. In this context, particular attention should be given to historical buildings, which represent a large part of the Italian building stock. To improve the energy performance of them, adequate retrofit actions must be applied. Many studies and regulations have focused on identifying the best refurbishment measures. However, the selection of these measures is difficult due to restrictive regulations, which are dictated by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, high retrofit costs, and variable climate zones. Thus, energy renovations in Italian buildi…
The Averinga’s Edicola and the Cult of Water in Palermo. From Knowledge to Valorisation
2018
Si descrive un approccio multidisciplinare allo studio di un singolare monumento storico, l’Edicola dell’Averinga, che versa attualmente in gravi condizioni di degrado; questa costruzione fu realizzata nel 1587 dal Senato Palermitano a protezione delle acque della sorgente Ayn Rutah (nome arabo di Averinga) che sgorgavano proprio al suo interno e che da qui venivano raccolte e incanalate verso i fertili giardini, le abitazioni che si trovavano in prossimità delle mura cittadine e alcune delle più importanti fontane della città storica. La più antica descrizione a noi pervenuta della zona in cui è sita l'Edicola, la cosiddetta depressione Danisinni, appartiene al geografo iracheno Al-Qaim Mu…
On the impact of safety requirements, energy prices and investment costs in street lighting refurbishment design
2018
Abstract Street lighting is an indispensable feature for the night landscape of cities. It is important for road safety, users visual comfort, crime prevention and to augment the perceived personal safety. Realize and maintain an adequate street lighting service is very expensive for municipalities with significant impact on their budgets. For this reason, special attention should be paid to the design of new street lighting systems and to the refurbishment of existing ones, since many of them are inadequate. In light of this it is very important to implement street lighting designs that fulfil lighting requirements avoiding energy waste and light pollution and, at the same time, result eco…
The effects of vegetation on indoor thermal comfort: the application of a multi-scale simulation methodology on a residential neighborhood renovation…
2017
Abstract Despite the acknowledged positive effects of vegetation at urban, neighborhood and building scales, there are still only limited comprehensive design tools for multi-scale evaluation of the microclimate and thermal benefits of plants and building-integrated vegetation (BIV) systems. The paper describes a case study in the city of Palermo (Italy) that applied simulation methodology to quantitatively assess the microclimate effects of different neighborhood and building retrofit scenarios where vegetation plays a main role. The simulation workflow moves from a micro-urban to a building scale assessment by linking the ENVI-met software to the building energy simulation program EnergyP…
Monitoring results and analysis of thermal comfort conditions in experimental buildings for different heating systems and ventilation regimes during …
2017
This paper focuses on the long-term monitoring of thermal comfort and discomfort parameters in five small test buildings equipped with different heating and cooling systems. Calculations of predicted percentage of dissatisfied people (PPD) index and discomfort factors are provided for the room in winter season running three different heating systems – electric heater, air-air heat pump and air-water heat pump, as well as for the summer cooling with split type air conditioning systems. It is shown that the type of heating/cooling system and its working regime has an important impact on thermal comfort conditions in observed room. Recommendations for the optimal operating regimes and choice o…
Computing methods for resilience: evaluating new building components in the frame of SECAPs
2019
Resilience represents a new important feature that the anthropic systems, and cities among them, are called to cope with. In fact, the increasing negative stresses to which urban contexts are exposed, and mainly the climatic pressures, call for the capability of adapting to these modifications and, possibly, to restore the ex-ante situations. The role of the buildings and their envelope components is of crucial importance to this aim. This paper analyses the features of resilience of the roofs of buildings by means of proper quantitative indexes. On purpose, the performances of green and cool roofs are compared. The possibility of adopting nonstructural solutions, like the windows shading d…
A Survey on Daylighting Education in Italian Universities : Knowledge of Standards, Metrics and Simulation Tools
2021
Daylighting is a strategic topic to achieve sustainable buildings, so it is more and more imperative that it is implemented in architecture curricula to prepare a new generation of daylighting-oriented practitioners. In this frame, the DAYKE project (Daylight Knowledge in Europe) was set up to explore the level of knowledge about daylighting among European professionals and students. DAYKE-Europe was replicated as DAYKE-Italy to study the knowledge of daylight standards, metrics and software among Italian architecture students, and to compare it to that observed within DAYKE-Europe. A sample of 542 questionnaires were collected in five universities. Primary outcomes were: (i) a general low …
“Sources of Research” for the Virtual Reconstruction of Ancient Monuments: The Case of Architectural Models
2023
The use of architectural scale models, also known by the French word maquette or the Italian names plastico or modello, is an ancient practice, which prob-ably began when architecture emerged from its purely practical and utilitarian phase to become a formal category of knowledge with specifically sought-after and deliber-ately selected characteristics, linked to the increased dimensions and the enrichment of forms [1]. The model constitutes a representation, generally on a smaller scale and made of different materials but similar in effect, of a work to be created. Models are made of various materials, in accordance with the tastes of Scholars and with need, such as wood, wax, terracotta, …
Acciones para mejorar la eficiencia energética en los edificios en Europa: estado del arte sobre los standards técnicos
2022
The paper is aimed at reviewing the state of the art of the European technical normative implementation during the last decades concerning the building energy efficiency. Indeed, it is well acknowledged that the present building stock is largely obsolete and inefficient: in the European context alone, around 75% of the buildings is not energy efficient and most are expected to be in use until 2050. Consequently, buildings require not only a general rehabilitation, to extend, or even avoid, its end-of-life time, but also a complete afterthought of their energy performance. That is extremely urgent to improve the overall sustainability of the construction sector that, alone, is one of the mai…
An innovative approach to manage uncertainties and stock diversity in the EPBD cost-optimal methodology
2018
The EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) 2010/31/EU is a step in the right direction to promote near zero energy buildings (NZEB) in a step-wise manner, starting with minimum energy performance and cost optimal thresholds for “reference buildings” (RBs) for each category. Nevertheless, a standard method for defining RBs does not exist, which led to a great divergence between MS in the level of detail used to define RBs for the EPBD cost-optimal analysis. Such lack of harmonisation between MS is further evident given the resulting large discrepancies in energy performance indicators even between countries having similar climate. Furthermore, discrepancies of 30% or higher betw…