Towards Zero-Emission Refurbishment of Historic Buildings: A Literature Review

Abstract

Nowadays, restoration interventions that aim for minimum environmental impact are conceived for recent buildings. Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced using criteria met within a life-cycle analysis, while energy saving is achieved with cost-effective retrofitting actions that secure higher benefits in terms of comfort. However, conservation, restoration and retrofitting interventions in historic buildings do not have the same objectives as in modern buildings. Additional requirements have to be followed, such as the use of materials compatible with the original and the preservation of authenticity to ensure historic, artistic, cultural and social values over time. The paper presents a systematic review-at the intersection between environmental sustainability and conservation-of the state of the art of current methodological approaches applied in the sustainable refurbishment of historic buildings. It identifies research gaps in the field and highlights the paradox seen in the Scandinavian countries that are models in applying environmentally sustainable policies but still poor in integrating preservation issues.

Adaptive Reuse of Apartments as Heritage Assets in the Seoul Station Urban Regeneration Area

“…Sometimes, the inability of authorities to prevent misuse and deterioration of cultural heritage can be blamed on the inadequacy of the regulatory and institutional framework [112]. As the case of St.Joseph Apartment shows, self-directed participation and involvement by private actors who attach great importance to local identity, neighborhood compatibility, and connections, and societal memory can correct mistaken policies.…”

Indoor Multi-Risk Scenarios of Climate Change Effects on Building Materials in Scandinavian Countries

“…While the first stage covers the technical and physical characteristics of the building, the significance assessment highlights the social, artistic, and cultural aspects of it. The assessment of the character-defining elements (CDEs) is very important prior to take adaptation actions in historic buildings because it safeguards the values that need to be preserved and avoids incorrect or irreversible interventions [37].…”

“…For this reason, the intervention should take into consideration three important parameters: level of protection that safeguards the significance of the historic building, level of decay in the building and the environmental impact of the intervention by minimizing the use of new materials and energy. The environmental impact has a substantial contribution towards the minimization of the climate change impact and should be considered throughout the selection of the adaptation intervention [37].…”

“…The chemical and biological risks increase. The former, exemplified by the lifetime multiplier indicator, remains in the range of low decay, except for the last locations in the map, corresponding to the south of Scandinavian Peninsula and Denmark (ID: [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] where the risk increases to a low or medium level. In the other ID points, the increase is still distinguishable, but it remains within the same level of risk for the buildings.…”

Energy and Seismic Recovering of Ancient Hamlets: the Case of Baia e Latina

“…Nevertheless, the risk of creating superficial mould and interstitial condensation are tested on the opaque envelope ( Figure 4). The trend towards an ever-increasing reduction in energy requirements leads to the identification of high-performance materials and components which, in order to be used in historical contexts [16], must be suitable to a resilient level of technological integration, in full compliance with the requirements of the conservation project.…”