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This research deals with the impact of the microclimate on historical wooden buildings exposed to open sea streams. The Florya Ataturk Marine Mansion in Istanbul, erected on the sea, totally defenceless to weather and sea effects, has been selected as representative case study for many other buildings located in Bosphorus line. In order to address the effect of the environment on the building exposed to open sea streams microclimatic data were collected for one year. The synergistic effect of the sea-salt aerosol and microclimatic conditions were discussed for the assessment of the impact of the marine environment on the durability of the Mansion, identifying the more vulnerable parts of the building as well as the more critical periods. The results indicate that while moisture content changes from 20.9% to 36.7% and temperature changes from 14.1 degrees C to 28.7 degrees C, thermal conductivity coefficient changes from 0.18 W.m(-1)K(-1) to 0.26 W.m(-1)K(-1), according to the facade of the building and the season as similar to previous studies.

Data-driven methodologies are among the most effective tools for damage detection of complex existing buildings, such as heritage structures. Indeed, the historical evolution and actual behaviour of these assets are often unknown, no physical models are available, and the assessment must be performed only based on the tracking of a set of damage-sensitive features. Selecting the most representative state indicators to monitor and sampling them with an adequate number of records are therefore essential tasks to guarantee the successful performance of the damage detection strategy. Despite their relevance, these aspects have been frequently taken for granted and little attention has been paid to them by the scientific community working in the field of Structural Health Monitoring. The present paper aims to fill this gap by proposing a multistep strategy to drive the selection of meaningful pairs of correlated features in order to support the damage detection as a one-class classification problem. Numerical methods to reduce the number of necessary acquisitions and estimate the performance of approximation techniques are also provided. The analyses carried out to test and validate the proposed strategy exploit a dense dataset collected during the long-term monitoring of an outstanding heritage structure, i.e., the Church of ‘Santa Maria de Belém’ in Lisbon., This work was partially financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020. The research was also financed by national funds through FCT— Foundation for Science and Technology, under grant agreement SFRH/BD/115188/2016 attributed to the first author, and by the National Operational Programme on Research and Innovation (Attraction and International Mobility) PON-AIM 2014-2020 Line 2, through the European Social Fund and the National Rotation Fund.

Aerogel-based renderings and plasters have been spreading throughout Europe for nearly a decade. Several national and EU-funded projects have addressed this interesting building product, both at research level within academia and at application level within R&amp, D of renowned industrial enterprises. At present, a number of investigations into the hygro-thermal, chemical and application properties of a commercially successful aerogel-based rendering and its main ingredient, SiO2 aerogel granules, have been undertaken. Immersion in water showed that even under harsh circumstances water does not enter the aerogel granules, but rather accumulates in the porous phase surrounding the granules. A further immersion in calcium hydroxide at different temperatures did not affect the aerogel granule either, which indicates the robustness of the granules with respect to their exposure to moisture and chemical deterioration emerging from the construction materials the rendering is applied on. An executed application to a historic building with a structured finish, and without any reinforcement mesh, showed the advantage of a versatile applicability of this rendering when the external appearance and visible details of a façade must be kept unchanged. The investigation is rounded off by an infrared picture taken on a cold day showing the thermal influence of the aerogel-based rendering, and its effectiveness for reducing heat loss in buildings.

The risks that emerge during an emergency and disasters as well as the damages caused by such risks adversely affect human lives, the buildings they live in and the interiors of such buildings. Emergency and disaster management system is a holistic process. Within this process, the Interior Architects' command in the flow of management system is significant in terms of being acquainted with when to step in and at what point of the system flow to play a part. The risks that are revealed as a result of management activities and the requirements produced afterwards designate the necessity for taking and implementing measures beforehand. At this point, how important the indoor arrangements and planning are in terms of loss of lives and safety during and after an incident rises distinctively to the surface, apart from the structural arrangements intended for prevention and mitigation. The system built should demonstrate not attenuating but strengthening and supporting approaches in terms of a secure design. A safe architecture that has been established in line with legal requirements and regulations is an integral part of a system that cannot be abstracted from interior space. In the study, Interior Space Design Approaches as Part of 'Passive Safety Measures' which are a part of the emergency management system have been characterised. The system setup discussed pursuant to fire threat has identified the fundamental approach criteria in terms of a secure indoor evacuation. The purposed design system relation has been assessed on the historical Famagusta–Bandabuliya Building that has been refunctioned.

Preserving historical buildings is considered of one of the major priorities in many cities in both developed anddeveloping countries. Dubai is one of the major world cities that is experiencing rapid architectural transformations, thus the Dubai Municipality has taken the initiative to preserve historical buildings maintaining the culture and identity of the city’s heritage. This initiative started in 1991 under a unit called ‘The Unit for the Restoration of Historic Buildings’, which expanded further in 1994 to become ‘Architectural Heritage Department’. Over the years, the department has developed a mechanism of action, objectives, laws and strategies to keep abreast of progress and modernity in the field of repair, conservation and project management. In accordance with international and international standards while preserving the architectural character of the Emirate of Dubai.This paper is it a critical review to assert advantages and disadvantages of the policies and regulations that were set up by Dubai Municipality in terms of how they support the preservation of historical heritage and culture within the city. This paper is related my PhD research, Data was attained using existing documentations on policies, regulations, plans, books and available articles on historical buildings preservation. Findings show that the plan of work for preserving heritage and historical areas in Dubai is efficient and dynamic as it encompasses international standards and regulations while maintaining the cultural values of the city.The analysis shed light upon potentially creative perspectives in terms of protecting and preserving heritage buildings in similar environments. The paper provides a solid foundation for future research on heritage buildings, related complexities and the strategies employed by different governments to make informed decisions.

This research paper aims to discuss the nature of change in the functional purpose of some archaeological and historical buildings in Cairo during the 19th and 20th centuries along with a comparative study of some of the most important heritage constructions and evidences in the world, such as the British Museum in London, as well as the Historical Railway Station of Orsay in Paris. There are some practical attempts and technical procedures that have been carried out to achieve some functional purposes, differ from the original purposes of the archaeological and historical buildings in Cairo in particular. In a similar way, this has been applied to historical and heritage buildings around the world in general. The methodology of this study will be addressed through analytical and comparative study of the original idea or the original functional purpose of these archaeological and historical buildings.The outlines and features of change in the functional purpose of these archaeological and historical buildings are represented in some technical procedures like the technique of adaptive rehabilitation or rehabilitation in terms of adaptation, so there is a necessity for conformity and harmony between heritage buildings and modern functional purpose, and this should be done without any disagreement and repulsion with the original functional purpose. There is also a necessity to protect the original functional purpose, which should be adapted to the modern functional purpose in order to achieve compatibility between old and new integration processes.

The protection of cultural heritage against earthquake induced actions is one of the main challenges the earthquake engineering science and practice are facing. This article presents a seismic asse...

In consideration of the high vulnerability of the built environment, the assessment of seismic behavior of existing masonry buildings is a key topic in view of their retrofitting and reuse....

Compressive tests on clay tiles used in historical masonry timbrel vaults are hindered by the relatively small thickness of the specimens, resulting in buckling or confinement problems depending on the loading direction. This paper presents an experimental campaign and a numerical validation of a novel testing setup for estimating the compressive strength of thin clay tiles used in timbrel vaults. The experimental campaign focuses on two different types corresponding to historical and modern handmade tiles. Experimental and numerical results show that the proposed test setup can be used for the estimation of the compressive strength of thin clay tiles. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish Government (MCIU), the State Agency of Research (AEI) as well as that of the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the project SEVERUS (Multilevel evaluation of seismic vulnerability and risk mitigation of masonry buildings in resilient historical urban centres, ref. Num. RTI2018-099589-B-I00). Support from MCIU through a predoctoral grant awarded to the first author is also gratefully acknowledged. Peer Reviewed Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles::11.4 - Redoblar els esforços per a protegir i salvaguardar el patrimoni cultural i natural del món

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels is the cornerstone of all European climate and energy strategies. Consequently, renewable energy sources are becoming more competitive with fossil fuels. The largest source of bioenergy in the European Union is biomass-fired power plants. Therefore, the European coal phase-out strategy led to an increased use of wood biomass as a sustainable fuel, generating large amounts of wood biomass ash (WBA). In the research studies reported so far, WBA has been mainly used in cementitious composites. However, given the similarities between the chemical composition of WBA and hydraulic lime (HL), this research focused on its potential classification as a building lime. Overall, three different sources of fly WBA were considered for the preparation of binders as mixtures of WBA and coal fly ash (CFA) in different ratios. The contribution of each binder mixture on the paste and mortar properties was analyzed based on the chemical composition, setting time, volume stability, and contribution to the mortar strength (compressive and flexural). In general, it can be concluded that the studied binders can meet the criteria of EN 459-1. However, special attention should be paid to the volume deformations and the setting time.

Achieving a satisfactory level for indoor environments of historical buildings is an ongoing problem that needs to be solved due to a large demand for deep retrofits in the whole of Europe. The implementation of the indoor environmental quality index (IEQ) to predict an occupant’s satisfaction in thermo-modernized historical buildings is a new concept which is a response to existing needs. In this article, a relevant study is provided with the intention to evaluate the indoor environmental performance of retrofitting effects in historical buildings dating back to the years 1873–1878. Considering the historical character of the buildings, some of the cellar spaces were fitted out with an innovative internal insulation system of mineral sheets based on calcium silicate to prevent water vapor condensation and effectively limit mold growth. The IEQ methodology was applied for retrofitted and non-retrofitted spaces as a comparison. Four essential components of indoor quality are investigated: thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustic comfort, and visual quality. The results of sub-component indexes are calculated based on the measured indoor parameters and the specific sensory functions. This paper discusses the results of an indoor environmental analysis including a mycological air quality assessment with the newly developed IAQindex (fungal air contamination index), total volatile organic compound concentration (TVOC), CO2, and formaldehyde (HCHO) assessment, the evaluation energy-related thermal comfort, acoustic, and visual quality, of modernized spaces. A questionnaire survey study was additionally carried out among a building’s users intentioned to compare the accounts of satisfaction before and after the retrofitting process and also to compare “subjective” results with the one’s based on in situ tests. The retrofitting approach was proven to be effective in limiting the presence of molds and a significant difference in indoor environmental quality between thermally insulated and uninsulated spaces was observed and discussed.

One of the most common reasons for any construction work requirements is an increased humidity of the building. Increased humidity does not affect only buildings with basement, but also buildings without it, which were not properly hydro-isolated or the hydro isolation was damaged due to aging or to adverse environmental effects. Such situations are solved with designing suitable remediation measures, which necessarily includes drying of damp masonry as well. This almost always includes historical buildings, where protection against groundwater was never planned. Such buildings are usually very sensitive to any physical intervention into construction itself and destructive methods of revitalization are very often completely out of the question, therefore it is necessary to develop methods, which can be used particularly for historical buildings. This article focuses on evaluating effects of microwave drying historical brickwork as well as modern building materials. First, the method of microwave drying is described in general, then we cover the experiment, which was performed at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Brno University of Technology. The experiment was applied on two pillars made of historical brickwork. Those samples were being thoroughly analysed during the drying process and final outcomes were compared to already existing experiments on modern materials. The goal of this work is to find out, if the method of microwave drying is more suitable for described conditions and also to set such process of drying, which would provide the highest effectivity.

The assessment and retrofit of existing masonry structures with historical and cultural value in highly seismic zones is a challenging issue in earthquake engineering. In fact, the historic and recent earthquakes have showed the problem of the seismic vulnerability of existing masonry constructions. A historical masonry palace, located in Caggiano (Salerno, Italy) is used herein as case study, showing the vulnerability assessment and the seismic upgrading process. The case study building has a masonry structural type at the first two floor while there is a third floor realized in reinforced concrete and a fourth floor realized with a wood structure. The building was characterized by a remarkable seismic vulnerability and needed seismic upgrading operations. After the vulnerability assessment process, some design suggestions are proposed for the seismic upgrading of the building. The structure before and after the upgrading operations has been checked through non linear static and dynamic analyses. Then, coherently with the ”Sismabonus” approach, the attribution of the seismic risk class, performed through numerical analyses, is founded on two parameters, namely the Annual Expected Average Losses (PAM), related to economic factors, and the Life Safety Index (IS-V), related to the structure seismic safety. Finally, the overcoming of the different classes of risk is showed and compared with the amount of the retrofit operations, their costs and the impact on the existing space. Moreover, also fire assessment has been investigated. In fact, in many cases the buildings such as the case study structure are intended to public activities such as museums, so specific fire requirements, like fire resistance, are necessary. This topic became relevant especially if the structure is equipped with particular structural retrofit interventions which can be altered and modified in case of a fire. The paper presents the results of advanced thermo-mechanical analyses on the historical masonry palace under investigation. Since the case study building has a masonry structural type at the first two floor while there is a third floor realized in reinforced concrete, the fire analyses were conducted on the third and on the fourth floors, which may be more vulnerable to fire.

The proper simulation of the hygrothermal behaviour of historical buildings is a challenging task with several implications regarding the evaluation of indoor thermal comfort and the suitability of retrofit strategies that comply with the conservation of cultural heritage. An inaccurate simulation may lead to inadequate conclusions, which could result in inappropriate and dangerous actions for the preservation of the heritage buildings. Then calibration and validation of hygrothermal simulation models are essential steps to achieve more accurate and reliable results. Now, although some agencies have developed guidelines and methodologies to carry out the validation of building performance models, all of them are based on energy consumption only. However, since in some buildings the energy consumption data are not always available especially when no operating heating, ventilation and air conditioning system is installed, which is the case of many historical buildings, the microclimatic parameters are usually adopted in the validation process. In this case, neither protocols nor specific parameters have been officially recognised to perform the model validation. The present work reviewed the main approaches used by researchers for building performance model validation with special reference to historical buildings based on microclimatic parameters, highlighting the main advantages and drawbacks of the different methods reviewed. Finally, recommendations to properly carry out the model validation based on microclimatic parameters have been provided. The collected information may be useful to different subjects (e.g. designers, energy auditors, researchers, conservators, buildings’ owners and policy makers) and can drive suitable and reliable retrofit and maintenance interventions.

Nowadays, two different heat accounting methods are available: the direct method, based on heat meters, and the indirect one, based on heat cost allocators. Unfortunately, in existing buildings, due to the plant configuration, heat meters are often technically unfeasible or not cost efficient, whereas heat cost allocators can be easily installed in almost all conditions. At the same time, the indirect method relies on a high number of interconnected devices with installation and operative conditions often variable within the same building and influencing the on-field metrological performances. In this paper, the authors propose a novel “hybrid” method for accurate heat accounting combining the advantages of indirect method with the higher accuracy typical of direct methods. The proposed method has been experimented at INRIM, the primary metrology institute in Italy, assessing the on-field performance in a virtual eight-apartments building. The experimental results show that the proposed method always presents improved accuracy.

The evaluation of the seismic safety of ancient masonry buildings usually requires compounding the need of preservation of the historical values with the need of achieving a proper level of knowledge of the parameters influencing their structural behaviour. To this aim, non-destructive techniques of instrumental investigation have lately attracted increasing attention, although the provided data are frequently not exhaustive and require to be integrated with different sources of information, such as historical documents and hypotheses of critical interpretation. Therefore, the management of this multi-source information is a crucial aspect in defining a methodological approach to the structural evaluation of the cultural heritage. This paper describes an integrated approach developed in the framework of the Project on the seismic evaluation of the Museum of Capodimonte in Naples (Italy) with reference to the typological identification of the horizontal structures upon the first level of the building. The management of the data derived from the application of the infrared thermography, integrated with the information from the visual inspections, the architectural survey and the historic analysis, has allowed obtaining a complete characterization of the structures under study.

The need to achieve energy efficiency standards in new and existing buildings has triggered both research and design practice aimed at reducing their carbon footprint and improving their indoor comfort and functionality conditions. In this view, a dedicated scientific effort has to be spent while dealing with historical architectures needing to preserve their key testimonial knowledge into the society. Therefore, tailored retrofit strategies have been investigated and implemented without compromising their architectural value, especially when new uses are foreseen in those buildings. This review classifies different examples of the use of energy efficiency approaches and the integration of renewable energies in historical buildings, including solar and geothermal energy, and the use of heat pumps and other high-efficiency Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems. Prof. Luisa F. Cabeza would like to acknowledge the Spanish Government for the funding PRX17/00221, that allowed her to visit University of Perugia during 6 months. Prof. Cabeza would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group (2017 SGR 1537). GREA is certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. The project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curiegrant agreement No 712949 (TECNIOspring PLUS) and from the Agency for Business Competitiveness of the Government of Catalonia.

In this paper a masonry baroque Dubrovnik Cathedral is analysed using the structural assessment method specific for historical buildings. The paper also describes the phases of an integrated approach to obtain accurate structure condition according to visible cracks and its seismic resistance capacity, with possible strengthening techniques. The Dubrovnik Cathedral is a masonry baroque church built in the period from 1671 to 1713. It was built in the same place where the 12th century Romanesque Cathedral had collapsed in the catastrophic earthquake of 1667. The present Cathedral is a monumental three-nave basilica with a dome over the crossing. In its lifetime the Baroque Cathedral did not show any vulnerabilities until 1979, when it was hit by another earthquake, in which the Cathedral structure was slightly damaged. After the 1979 earthquake the Cathedral was retrofitted from 1981 to 1986 with the aim of increasing the structure capacity under seismic loading. Soon after the retrofitting, cracks on the main columns of the Cathedral started to appear at its base. This was the reason a structural assessment of the Dubrovnik Cathedral was conducted. The activities for the assessment involved historical research based on the analysis of written documents and historical maps, with a focus on the previous major structural changes over the centuries. Visual inspections were undertaken to identify the location and extent of cracks and construction techniques. The assessment also included a geometrical survey of the Cathedral, which was used to develop a three-dimensional finite element model. The numerical simulations led to determining the damage distribution and to identifying the most vulnerable elements. It was used for a comparison between the numerical results and the damage survey. All this led to the conclusion and to identifying the reason for the crack occurrence on the Cathedral structure after the performed strengthening and reconstruction in 1986.

WOS: 000444749200003, Lately, IR thermography is frequently applied for important purposes in monitoring buildings such as energy leaking, ventilating and air-conditioning installations, electrical and mechanical installations, moisture detection etc. Nondestructive monitoring methods are essential in case of monitoring historical buildings. It is curtail not to destruct any part of the buildings, which are historically important. Therefore, nondestructive methods need to be used while monitoring this kind of buildings. In this study, IR-Thermography was used in order to distinguish different construction materials that were used to build the walls of a historical building. The thermal monitoring was made with Optris PI-450 long wave infrared camera. The results showed that IR monitoring can be useful to distinguish the building materials without destroying the investigated buildings' plaster or facing. It is observed that the best results can be achieved on higher temperatures at IR-Thermography.

Retrofit strategies at urban scale may play a strategic role in promoting the regeneration of existing towns and revitalizing the local building market, particularly in case of historical urban settlements where economic/societal changes have been amplified by natural calamities, accelerating depopulation and depletion of the local productive network. The paper presents the results of a statistical analysis and a detailed energy calculations applied to a historical town, partially abandoned after the 2009 Italian earthquake. In order to identify suitable retrofit guidelines, a baseline energy performance of the whole town was required. Given the use of the energy performance certificates (EPC) per each building was not feasible, a parametric approach was applied to the entire cluster to determine the town's baseline consumption and to test energy retrofit scenarios. This parametric energy calculation method, coherent to the Italian National legislation, was calibrated thanks to a bottom-up approach, allowing the calculation of the building's performance by surveying limited data, therefore easing the entire process and optimizing the Municipality's limited financial resources. The final results could allow the Municipality to endorse energy policies to revitalize the whole town.

Stiffening of wooden floors is often required in the rehabilitation of historical buildings to reduce their deformability in service conditions. Among various techniques available in the literature, the application of an extrados reinforced concrete overlay is often selected because cost/structurally effective and relatively simple to place. Nevertheless, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete is considered poorly compatible with historical structures and materials and is, therefore, not well received, especially in case of valuable heritage and monumental constructions. A new retrofit solution based on the replacement of OPC with improved natural hydraulic lime (NHL) is proposed. Like the traditional OPC concrete overlay, the novel solution with improved NHL allows the conservation of the existing planks, and, thus, preserves the integrity of the wooden ceiling. The structural effectiveness of the proposed technique is investigated through experimental tests on full scale beams with different geometries. Full scale tests are supported by material tests and tests on the wood-mortar stud connection, a key aspect of the beam design. Based on the literature in the field of OPC concrete-wood composites, analytical models are developed and applied to predict the behavior of the NHL mortar-wood stud connection and composite beams. Results in terms of both stiffness and strength are encouraging and set the path for the application of NHL mortar overlays in the rehabilitation of heritage wooden floors.

Buttressed arches represent some of the most vulnerable elements in historical masonry buildings under seismic actions. Given their structural, architectural and often artistic importance, it is paramount to investigate effective retrofitting measures which satisfy reversibility and compatibility requirements for historical heritage. Among these, Fibre-Reinforced Mortar (FRM), characterised by enhanced ductility, has recently emerged in the scientific literature. In this paper, a numerical investigation aimed at exploring the effectiveness of this seismic retrofitting technique, when applied at intrados or extrados of various typologies of buttressed arches, is presented. An automatic tool for limit analysis is described and validated against a nonlinear Discrete Macro-Element modelling approach. This precedes an extensive parametric analysis, which has highlighted the effect of various geometrical features of the system on both collapse mechanism and maximum acceleration in the unreinforced configuration, and the high increase in seismic capacity provided by the retrofitting. This is particularly remarkable in case of local mechanism, i.e., wholly within the arch, in which case the FRM may be responsible of an overall shifting to a semi-global failure type.

The paper draws from the general literature on energy efficiency and historic buildings to explain the importance and potential of user-driven energy efficiency in historic buildings. It is the first review that places the user as a central object of study in the research field of historic buildings and energy efficiency. Relevant interdisciplinary topics and research results that make up the core of the field are presented and discussed in relation to user behaviour and its impact on energy consumption. The paper also investigates how user behaviour aspects can be integrated in a procedural approach to energy refurbishment in historic buildings. Research and experience from the building stock in general clearly shows how a user's awareness and behaviour, such as choice of temperature, zone heating and controlled airing, can have a significant effect on energy demand yet have no physical impact on the building. However, this has not received enough attention with regards to the historic building stock, where many physical energy efficiency measures can have negative impacts on the historic qualities of the building. Modification of user behaviour can therefore be a way not only to reduce energy demand but also to minimise the physical impact of increasing energy efficiency on historic buildings. The paper concludes that the current research agenda on historic buildings and energy efficiency has broken much ground but remains focused more on technical solutions than bottom-up user perspectives. Two main topics are identified as key barriers and future research fields: First, energy performance modelling is identified as a general barrier to developing sustainable strategies that promote user impact in historic buildings. Accurate energy modelling of historic buildings is a complex field reliant on the thermal interplay between user-building and building-district. Improved knowledge and intensified research is necessary to avoid distorted energy modelling results and unwanted rebound effects. Practical tools also require that the modelling can be used for trade-off scenarios where other sustainability aspects such as cultural heritage and economy are weighed in. Second, awareness-raising in order to foster a deeper understanding and knowledge about the construction, system and cultural heritage values of a building is proposed as a key ingredient and driver for improved and sustainable energy behaviour. The paper argues that while user-driven energy efficiency represents an important resource for fostering less energy-demanding and less intrusive interventions in historic buildings, there are no guarantees for achieving the planned level of energy efficiency without taking into account user behaviour and the actual operation and energy performance of the historic building. To do this without risking negative consequences, improved decision-making processes are needed on policy, building and user level. An interdisciplinary bottom-up approach to energy refurbishment is presented. The essence of the model is that users and residents should always play a central role in the decision making process because the wellbeing of the historic building will always depend on its day-to-day users, and vice versa.

The Vasari Corridor has been used in the past and present for storage and presentation of works of art which require control of microclimate for optimal preservation. To this end, it was started the collaboration between the Uffizi Gallery and Laboratory of Environmental Physic of the Florence University for the environmental monitoring of microclimatic parameters, of which this work presents the preliminary results. It’s was also created a three-dimensional model of the building in the stretch from the Uffizi Gallery to Ponte Vecchio, for the dynamic simulation of the energy behavior of the building validated by on-field measured values.

In order to mitigate Urban Heat Island Effect and global warming, both governments and scientific community are working to reduce energy consumptions. In particular, the construction sector has a high potential in reducing energy demand, by means of both active and passive solutions. The European building stock is mainly composed by existing buildings as well as historical ones, which happens to be the less energy efficient ones. Moreover, retrofit operations are more complex on historical buildings, due to strict regulations for the preservation of such historical and cultural heritage. Considering this challenge, in this work we described and in lab analyzed possible passive solutions specifically designed for historical and existing buildings. In particular, we developed innovative cool colored mortars and tested them in lab, as well as investigated cool colored mortars, cool clay tiles and cool natural gravels performance when applied as envelope and roof elements, by means of dynamic simulation.

The Directive 2010/31 UE (EBPD) introduced the “Nearly Zero Energy Buildings” linked to cost optimality, where energy benefits are related to economic benefits. The “Cost Optimality” methodology is applicable both to new and existing buildings, as introduced in the Regulation 244/2012. This methodology was largely applied to existing building, but the literature on historic buildings lacks. However, given the potential of energy retrofit of this kind of buildings, it would be appropriate to develop a specific methodology for the economic valorization of the heritage, considering also the conservation and the historic value of the patrimony. In fact, on the one hand this methodology could be useful for the “energy valorization” of a historic building in relation to the minimum requirements of European and national legislations and budgets. However, on the other hand, we noted the absence of shared information at national level and examples of the “historic reference buildings”. For this reason, case studies on historic buildings become an important starting point to create common typological and repeat-able models for applying this methodology. This research aims at evaluating the economic benefits of energy retrofit of a traditional historic masonry, using the “Cost Optimality” methodology. This method is structured into the following parts: (i) definition of the type of masonry; (ii) selection of the insulation systems; (iii) assessment of the energy benefits related to the insertion of various insulation materials; (iv) evaluation of the Life Cycle Costing; (v) evaluation of the optimal insulation performance and cost-effectiveness; and (vi) comparison of energy consumption and Life Cycle Cost to de-fine the most appropriate interventions for the historic wall.

The article presents a comparative numerical analysis of various ways to strengthen historical brick arches. Five ways of strengthening brick arches with steel tie-rods have been proposed. Two of these involve the use of braces wrapped around pillars supporting the arch connected with a tie-rod; the other two ways involve the use of the tie-rods with welded metal sheets of different sizes; the latter involves the use of a tie-rod glued with the use of an epoxy adhesive. The collected data were compared with the reference model of the arch left without any interference. The results make it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods by comparing displacements in the vertical and horizontal direction and stresses. The article indicates the direction of proper planning and design of the arch strengthening in brick structures in historical buildings.

The Tempio della Consolazione in Todi (16th cent.) has always been one of the most significant symbols of the Umbrian landscape. Since the first times after its completion (1606) the structure has exhibited evidences of instability, due to foundation subsiding and/or seismic activity. Structural and geotechnical countermeasures have been undertaken on the Tempio and its surroundings from the 17th century until recent times. Until now a truly satisfactory analysis of the overall deformation and attitude of the building has not been performed, since the existing surveys record the overhangs of the pillars, the crack pattern or the subsidence over limited time spans. Describing the attitude of the whole church is in fact a complex operation due to the architectural character of the building, consisting of four apses (three polygonal and one semicircular) covered with half domes, which surround the central area with the large dome. The present research aims to fill the gap of knowledge with a global study based on geomatic techniques for an accurate 3D reconstruction of geometry and attitude, integrated with a historical research on damage and interventions and a geotechnical analysis. The geomatic survey results from the integration of different techniques: GPS-GNSS for global georeferencing, laser scanning and digital photogrammetry for an accurate 3D reconstruction, high precision total station and geometric leveling for a direct survey of deformations and cracks, and for the alignment of the laser scans. The above analysis allowed to assess the dynamics of the cracks occurred in the last 25 years by a comparison with a previous survey. From the photographic colour associated to the point cloud was also possible to map the damp patches showing on the domes intrados, mapping their evolution over the last years.

Existing buildings represent the major challenge in energy efficiency strategies applied to the building stock. Moreover, architectural and landscaping constraints related to listed buildings are further limitations to possible interventions. When listed buildings are used as museum, achieving the same effectiveness level of typical energy efficiency measures is very difficult and, if possible, very expensive. In order to couple preservation of cultural heritage and CO2 emission reduction, the approach would move to energy supply rather than modifications in building envelope or installation of new HVAC components. So, this study focuses on the opportunity to green NG supply of existing heating systems by means of Power to Gas option at district level. Thus, the recent advancements in Hydrogen enriched Natural Gas produced by RES electricity excess offer a zero-impact strategy to decarbonize the listed buildings using existing energy infrastructures. At the same time, the absence of changes in building features and the introduction of a renewable share in the supply address the sustainability issues of cultural heritage. In conclusion, a first original attempt was made towards the future crucial task of museum's deep energy refurbishment.

Nowadays, the focus on sustainable materials with high specifications has become a necessity in certain important construction projects. These materials play an essential role and constitute the foundation stone in the sustainability of these projects in addition to their impact on the execution time. Many studies have discussed the challenges faced by these materials and their negative impact on the execution period of construction projects. However, these studies are still scarce in the reconstruction projects, especially the historical ones, which are based mainly on the sustainability of the materials used, which are represented by the historical elements that maintain the ancient shape of the building. The aim of this research is to highlight the materials-related challenges of historical reconstruction projects which negatively affect the planned duration of implementation. This study was conducted on the Old Riwaq project, which is the historical part of the Mataf Expansion project in the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is considered one of the most important reconstruction historical projects that have been recently carried out in the Middle East. In order to achieve this goal, 15 interviews were held with the engineers working in this project and specialists in these types of historical projects. The results show a group of different challenges that follow the reconstruction stages of the historical building. These challenges are: challenges related to the first stage which is the documentation and dismantling stage (two challenges), challenges related to the second stage which is the workshops stage (three challenges), and challenges related to the third stage which is the new designs and mockup stage (three challenges). Finally, the identification of sustainable materials challenges should be considered an urgent necessity, in order to overcome or reduce their negative effects in future projects, especially in relation to project durations.

The present paper deals with the retrofitting of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings, subjected to in-plane shear and out of-plane loading when struck by an earthquake. After an introductive comparison between some of the latest punctual and continuous active retrofitting methods, the authors focused on the two most effective active continuous techniques, the CAM (Active Confinement of Masonry) system and the &Phi, system, which also improve the box-type behavior of buildings. These two retrofitting systems allow increasing both the static and dynamic load-bearing capacity of masonry buildings. Nevertheless, information on how they actually modify the stress field in static conditions is lacking and sometimes questionable in the literature. Therefore, the authors performed a static analysis in the plane of Mohr/Coulomb, with the dual intent to clarify which of the two is preferable under static conditions and whether the models currently used to design the retrofitting systems are fully adequate.

The hygrothermal modelling of historical churches is a promising approach to study preservation issues and suitable retrofit measures. However, difficulties can arise in the use of Heat, Air and Moisture (HAM) models, which are often customised objects to be integrated into validated building energy simulation (BES). This research outlines a multi-step methodology to investigate the capability of a BES software coupled with a HAM model (BES + HAM) as a technique for diagnostics and conservation in complex settings. The 17th-century church of Santa Rosalia (Italy) was used as a historical site in a real context. As first step, the performance of the simulation tool was analysed through standardised exercises aiming at excluding incorrect assumptions and calculations in the HAM model (HMWall). Secondly, a building model of the church using a 1D heat transfer model (named building model A) was compared with one using HMWall (named building model B) in terms of the accuracy of the indoor climate simulations against hygrothermal measurements. The results showed that building model B enhanced the simulation accuracy by +50% with respect to building model A. Finally, annual simulations inside the church were run to further compare the seasonal trends of indoor climate scenario obtained from the two building models. Building model B allowed to study the water content distribution inside the altarpiece and a wall partition, showing that BES + HAM tools can be used to identify potential moisture-induced conservation risks.

The reduction of energy consumption in public buildings is a priority indicated in European Directives and national legislative documents. Some aspects of this problem are presented and discussed in reference to the University of Pavia, one of the oldest universities in Europe, founded in 1361, which has a 40% of her total built area represented by building built before the II World War. The energy audit of the whole University building stock, the intervention potential, and particularly the energy consumption reduction in the historical buildings, allow to outline an overview of the accessible energy savings, and their costs.

The conservation of historic buildings’ cultural values and the improvement of their energy performance can be perceived as rather contradictory. A thermal insulation cannot always be applied on the exterior surface of external walls. In that case, interior insulation measures should be investigated and currently represent the most difficult retrofit measure in historic buildings. The main objective of this study is to carry out literature review and to examine most commonly found historic building heavy wall types in Latvia, determine their physical properties, classify them by different types, observe and describe main historic building envelope deterioration symptoms and their possible causes. The study shows that historical buildings consume one third of total final heating energy consumed by both residential and non-residential building sector. The study also reveals that historical building external wall hygrothermal properties have not been widely studied in Latvia. This study will serve as basis for development of effective, comprehensive decision guidelines to improve the energy performance of historic buildings by investigating interior insulation measures.

Energy Efficiency (EE) has become a common target for all buildings: the European Directive 2010/31 specifies that every new building must consume very little fossil energy (Nearly Zero Energy Building) by 2020; this deadline for public buildings is fixed by the end of 2018. However, modify the existing heritage is not easy. This is particularly true for historical public buildings belonging to the cultural heritage, because many energy solutions in the field of renovation are not compatible with historic constructions, which need to preserve authenticity and integrity. The paper discusses this critical issue by using a particular building in Italy: analysis, diagnosis and energy audits have been developed for the case study of the School of Engineering in Bologna, a representative building in the history of modern construction. Results of the microclimate monitoring campaign in different classrooms show how the lack of thermal control, together with poorly insulated envelopes’ components, determine high energy consumption. Selected modifications with a minimum impact have been considered for the energy retrofit. Results show a potential energy saving up to 32%, demonstrating how energy saving in historical buildings may be achieved by means of limited and non-invasive interventions on physical and material processes.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the behaviour of the foundations of historic buildings. Some basic aspects of foundation engineering are discussed, with an emphasis placed on its development, applied techniques, and materials. Several different approaches and methods for the analysis of foundations of historical buildings are presented. A particular analysis has been focused on an example of a typical stone foundation from the sixteenth century. First, the calculations have been performed using the finite element method, then the bearing capacity and the settlement analysis has been determined according to EC-7. Next, the bearing capacity has been evaluated using simplified analysis. A settlement of the foundation has been also estimated using Kerisel's proposal. The information should allow for a better understanding of the behaviour of foundations discussed in this research, and especially of methods of their analysis. A comparison analysis has been performed and possible directions for further research in this field have been indicated.

Analysis of the behaviour of historical brick walls is difficult and complicated. However, computer calculations are being increasingly used in the evaluation of cultural heritage buildings and some of their elements. The aim of this paper is to analyze the historic brick walls reinforcement. Different methods of strengthening are compared and discussed. Numerical analysis, based on finite element method, was conducted on the assumption of three methods of wall strengthening: using the steel element (I-beam), overall relaying and partial relaying the wall with new bricks. Analysis of the wall without any intervention was made for comparison. Characteristics of strengthening of historical brick walls are described in the paper. The information should allow for a better understanding of the behaviour of brick wall in this research. Calculations were performed in Abaqus software, for the garrison arrest's prison yard at Bohaterow Monte Cassino Street in Olsztyn in Poland. In this object, prison's yard will be covered with the glazed roofing, resting on the perimeter walls. This is the reason why load transmitted to the wall is increased and why strengthening is needed. Survey allows to calculate displacements and the results are used to select the most appropriate methods of strengthening brick wall in this object. A comparison analysis has been performed and possible directions for further research in this field have been indicated.

The structural system integrity in historical masonry buildings is studied by developing the concept of the Digital Twin. The objectives are to develop a procedure for creating an accurate digital model, which integrates the experimental physical reality and to use it to study the structural response of the system, its preventive maintenance and strengthening operations. The key elements examined are the building of an accurate three-dimensional geometric model, the choice of material properties and, the consideration of construction stages along the history. The relation to structural surveys, in situ observation and measurements is explored, with particular attention to reproducing the damage observed. Non-Linear Finite Element modelling is adopted. The structural system is generated in a semi-automatic way, reducing time-consuming modelling tasks and reaching a good approximation of real geometry as well as having an efficient discretization in a finite element model. This procedure can be used to assess with high precision the present structural conditions of the system, study its future evolution for preventive maintenance or practical interventions as well as to understand past documented failures of structural members of the building. An application considered in Milan Cathedral demonstrates the applicability and advantages of the proposed procedure in complex buildings.

The Italian Sacri Monti are heritage sites with some unique characteristics, they are a successful symbiosis between nature and art and are unconfined structures, therefore always being accessible but exposed to atmospheric agents, with many relevant consequences with regard to conservation problems. The paper discusses some aspects related to the application of non-destructive techniques (NDT) for the interpretation of degradation phenomena occurring in stone structural elements. Ultrasonic and impact tests were used to evaluate the structural properties of the stone columns in the Via Crucis portico, within the monumental complex of the Sacro Monte in Ghiffa (Piedmont, Italy), in order to determine their conditions of maintenance and to evaluate the portico static stability. Ultrasonic tests made it possible to obtain the value of the dynamic elastic modulus, which was variable at different points of the columns due to the diversified level of material damage. The impact test, performed with an instrumented hammer in the same points of the ultrasonic test, enables, by comparison, a deeper knowledge of the surface resistance of damaged columns. These results are the first step in a research path that will require further laboratory tests to better calibrate the diagnostic techniques applied to different levels of damage to surface materials.

Chemical injection of expansive polyurethane resin in the ground is a well-known technology that is also used for underpinning shallow foundations. It is noteworthy that it has been recently used with success on buildings of great historic value that are part of the country&rsquo, s architectural heritage. This article describes the work undertaken on a historic building located in the city of Cuenca (Spain), for improving ground condition through injecting below foundation, in order to stop the differential settlements detected in the structure. This technology has proven to be, at least, as effective as the more conventional methods used in the past as supporting the foundation by concrete shafts or micropiles.

The sequence of major earthquakes that has affected Italy in recent decades has required the use of materials and innovative techniques for the security of damaged buildings. Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) represents a novelty in the field of seismic improvement techniques applicable also to historical masonry buildings. The use of composite materials can respect the conservation principles of the monumental buildings. This study describes the effectiveness of the seismic improvement techniques carried out by means of FRP in the Spoleto cathedral (Italy) after the 1997 Umbria-Marche earthquake. The strengthening work concerned the making safe of damaged vault structures by means of gluing fibreglass bands (GFRP). After 20 years, during the 2016 Amatrice-Norcia earthquake, near Spoleto, the cathedral reinforced with the GFRP bands has not suffered any damage demonstrating the effectiveness of the seismic strengthening techniques.

In the European Union (EU), where architectural heritage is significant, enhancing the energy performance of historical buildings is of great interest. Constraints such as the lack of space, especially within the historical centers and architectural peculiarities, make the application of technologies for renewable energy production and storage a challenging issue. This study presents a prototype system consisting of using the renewable energy from a photovoltaic (PV) array to compress air for a later expansion to produce electricity when needed. The PV-integrated small-scale compressed air energy storage system is designed to address the architectural constraints. It is located in the unoccupied basement of the building. An energy analysis was carried out for assessing the performance of the proposed system. The novelty of this study is to introduce experimental data of a CAES (compressed air energy storage) prototype that is suitable for dwelling applications as well as integration accounting for architectural constraints. The simulation, which was carried out for an average summer day, shows that the compression phase absorbs 32% of the PV energy excess in a vessel of 1.7 m3, and the expansion phase covers 21.9% of the dwelling energy demand. The electrical efficiency of a daily cycle is equal to 11.6%. If air is compressed at 225 bar instead of 30 bar, 96.0% of PV energy excess is stored in a volume of 0.25 m3, with a production of 1.273 kWh, which is 26.0% of the demand.

It is of great importance that the architectural and engineering disciplines work together in the restoration studies of historical buildings which are our cultural heritages. It is required that the bearing system and the materials of the structures should be investigated in detail prior to any conservation. The determination of the properties and compositions of the mortar material used in the construction of the historical building is one of the most important phases of the conservation studies and it is the main purpose of this study. In the scope of the study, the basic physical and mechanical properties, micro structures, raw material compositions, mineralogical and chemical properties of historical mortars taken from Kizil Khan, Karapasah Madrasah and Yelli Mosque structures in Becin antique city are determined. As a result of the study, it is determined that all mortar samples have hydraulic properties that is a result of hydraulic properties of binder lime.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.22.1.9022

In this paper the performance of the following retrofit actions on an existing historical public building were dynamically simulated by using the simulation software TRNSYS: a) utilization of thermostats for indoor air temperature control with 20 °C and 18 °C as target temperatures; b) increment of current thermal insulation of opaque walls and windows; c) replacement of the current diesel-fired boiler with a natural gas-fired condensing boiler. The simulation results were analyzed from both energy and economic point of views in order to assess their energy saving potential and economic suitability.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and discuss a methodological approach for energy assessment and retrofitting of envelope systems in Mediterranean historical buildings, in order to ensure the desirable balance between improvement requirements and preservation principles. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on the assessment of historical districts at the site, building and component scales, the development of energy models of building-types that are highly representative, in terms of materials, construction techniques, typologies and performances, the identification of intervention priorities and the validation of compatible retrofitting solutions. Findings – The methodology, applied to a representative Adriatic sea town in South Italy, shows the potentialities of innovative materials and technologies (aerogel, PCMs, etc.) as tools to achieve the improvement of the energy performances and the preservation of the original characters. Nevertheless, it shows how the preliminary qualification of the environmental, architectural, constructional and technological characteristics is paramount to support the identification of the current behavior of the building system and the transformation boundaries from the historical values. Originality/value – The paper proves how assessment and intervention methods and tools, besides effective, compatible, low invasive and durable, should be geocluster oriented and performance based, thus with general reliability for the whole local context and suitable flexibility to be tailored to different specific situations, toward the definition of retrofitting micro-scale measures and macro-scale strategies that are replicable and scalable.

In the paper are presented and compared different analytical and numerical models to explain the failure of the transept columns, which led to the collapse of the central dome of the 13th century basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio during the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake. The three models have been used to analyse respectively the horizontal performance of the church (Beam model), the vertical performance of the transept (Vertical model) and the residual capacity of the facade (Soil–Brick model). Results show that the collapse of the transept columns due to axial load is unlikely, while the collapse due to the global torsional behaviour of the church is more probable as already indicated by the authors elsewhere. Furthermore, numerical results have also shown that the frontal facade, without the temporary scaffolding system, would have not been able to withstand seismic events such as the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake.

The “individual” accounting of thermal energy in household applications (heating, cooling, hot water) is a very essential tool for increasing energy efficiency of buildings equipped by central plants. Furthermore, the availability of real time energy consumptions data, typical of smart metering, enables users to identify the causes of any waste of energy and consequently to adopt adequate strategies to improve energy efficiency. Modern devices for thermal energy measurement and accounting are rarely present in historical buildings, despite energy consumptions are not negligible. In fact, historical buildings exhibit architectural constraints and plant configurations that strongly discourage the use of direct heat meters, both on a technical and economic point of view. This paper primarily deals with an in-depth analysis of thermal energy measurement devices for historical building applications. Furthermore, the authors show the results of a specific metrological analysis that enables both a comparison among the different options and the evaluation of the main criticalities about thermal energy measurements in historical buildings. The authors estimated typical uncertainties in heat accounting systems ranging from about 4.4% (direct heat meters) to 21.6% (insertion time counter compensated with degree-days). Intermediate performance for uncertainty has been estimated for heat cost allocators (about 9.2%) and for not compensated insertion time counters (about 13.4%), respectively.

The mechanical behavior of the timber–terrazzo floor is investigated in this paper. The presentation refers to the traditional Venetian floor; however, the research was comprehensive and hence the results of this paper include any timber floor finished with terrazzo flooring. The first part of the paper presents experimental results from laboratory tests performed at different load stages on two real scale masonry buildings, differing only for the presence of the Venetian floor. The experiments also included inducing damage artificially. The experimental data were then elaborated to describe peculiarities of the traditional structural system. The test results presented in the paper prove that the terrazzo is an important load-bearing component, since it provides the floor with substantial extra-stiffness and extra-strength. The test results also prove that even a high level of damage does not reduce significantly the stiffness of this type of floor. Research activity was then directed toward analytical modeling. The second part of the paper presents how the experimental data were used to construct a predictive theoretical model, whose reliability is proven by the good agreement between the results from the model and the findings from the tests. The model can be used to assess the stiffness and load-carrying capacity of timber–terrazzo floors and as a basis for floor rehabilitation.