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As part of the topic of interest concerning dwelling conditions, the issues of the residential housing stock, of the large scale collective dwellings impaired by wear and tear, have been given a lot of attention in Western Europe, since the 8th decade of the last century. The rehabilitation of collective housing ensembles has become a major contemporary concern, requiring answers and solutions on a list of priorities, all the more so in the former communist countries, where the urban housing is mostly represented, for economic reasons, by the dense, large scale collective residential ensembles. Alongside the other components of the sustainable rehabilitation projects i.e., technical and constructive, architectural and urban, in an integrated and multidimensional approach, the psycho-social component cannot be minimised or ignored. The paper's objective is to define, develop and, finally, propose an holistic approach to intervention in the existing collective residential buildings in view of their sustainable rehabilitation, from a multidimensional architectural urban, socio-economic and ecologic perspective, through differentiated levels: from that of primary, basic residential units (apartments), to the group they are aggregated into (architectural object) and to the housing ensembles. The paper is not aimed only at physically renovating the architectural and urban components; its implicit objective, through the proposed measures, being to revitalize and regenerate the residential areas from a psycho-social perspective, as well, by limiting social segregation, stimulating microcommunity sociability, creating a beneficial, secure environment, enhancing life quality and dwelling satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While ephemerality in contemporary architecture usually refers to temporary structures exhibiting new construction technologies, innovative conceptions, materials and structures, the notion is as old as architecture itself and has served, throughout history, as a vessel of becoming. If Plato considered our world as a receptacle for the transforming and evolving copies of the unchangeable models, of Ideas, ephemeral architecture, considered as that which allows being and becoming, has no fixed qualities of its own, but forms itself to that which it contains, and as such, has the potential of becoming a symbol. While being less interested in its consumption-related transience, on its "haute couture" play of forms and volumes at the Universal Exhibitions, this paper is interested in exploring the various aspects of ephemeral architecture with a precise focus on the paradoxical state of permanence it had the ability to embody throughout history, starting with the Tabernacles of Moses, and reaching the 19th and 20th centuries with their technological prowess, their manifesto buildings as symbols of a new era being born, of a new worldview that shaped the epoch we presently live in, up to the point of shaping our perceptions of what architecture is and should be. The study followed an interpretative-historical research, and used a process of combination based on Western and Eastern philosophy, history of religions, and literature on the history and theory of architecture. The paper explores the links between secular and devotional ephemeral architecture, taking into consideration the fact that different functions can operate in similar shapes, the essence of a building, be it temporary or not, residing in the meaning encrypted in its language and its spatial composition. The title of the paper encodes, in itself, the substance: "Cathedrals of ephemerality" refers precisely to those ephemeral building that became cultural icons, while "Impermanence as symbol" refers to their unchanging - albeit intangible - essence kept alive and present in the collective mind, thus creating an intelligible thread of meaning throughout history. Additionally, the subject of the research allowed, as a side note, an inquiry into the very nature of architectural space, Daoist philosophy representing an excellent tool when analyzing the relationships between exterior and interior, between built space and empty space, between container and contained, and offered this particular research the connecting line between past and present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides the benefits brought to the energy balance and to the interior comfort through the direct interventions on the envelope elements, a complex and multidimensional process of architectural rehabilitation, which operates on a spatial and morpho-functional level, could become an instrument for improving the overall quality of housing, the optimal and coherent functionality, the potentiation of good neighborly policy, an its ability of facilitating the social contact and stimulation of communication. The paper explores from this perspective the most important types of interventions: from those which consist only in the reevaluation and reshaping of the living space to those focused on the entire ensemble, including the reorganization of internal and external spaces. For the operations to have the target-effect, it is needed that the proposals of rehabilitation to be realized on different levels, depending on the context and situation, and to follow an economy of usage in conformity with the collective life wished by its inhabitants. The re(arrangement) of common areas, internal or external, presumes their investment as thresholds between public spaces, semiprivate spaces and familial spaces, their organization for an easy and adequate accessibility to the collective needs without assuming a perturbing role in the functionality of the residential units. Their functional role must be accompanied by the one that is environment-generator. Furthermore, between the qualitative aspects of a social collective residential building, which a rehabilitation process cannot ignore,it is also one of security - linked to the level of protection and safety, which a dwelling building, residential ensemble and its neighborhood offer, these being an essential condition in the evaluation of a district or an urban area. This paper proposes, applied on a certain situation -an ensemble of existing social collective housing -- and in a realistic scenario, a set of architectural and urban rehabilitation interventions, focused on the imperative direction of a sustainable urban development,on the revalorization of urban territories and increase of residential satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is a conceptual basis in almost all areas of the social and economic life, encompassing during the past decade an increasing number of aspects, the construction sector being among these. In the construction fields, the concept of sustainable development has been developed out of the definition provided by the Ch.Kilbert International Conference on Sustainable Constructions, held in Tampa Florida in 1994: "the creation and responsible management of an effectively-built environment based on the efficient use of resources and environmental principles." Nowadays, sustainable development in constructions can be defined as "developing buildings of ultimate quality with the lowest possible impact on the environment" (Ligny, 2009). At the EU level, it is estimated that the construction sector utilizes about 40% of the overall energy produced and generates around 40 % of total waste, buildings being considered responsible for more than 40 % of emissions of greenhouse gases. The notable Sick Building Syndrome has highlighted a number of factors that affect the health of habitants, related to: germes and allergens factors, improper temperature and humidity, molds, dust, improper lighting, ventilation and air currents, noise, the presence of building materials that contain harmful substances or generate toxic emissions, the operation of some equipment. Together with other factors, these may be found in the case of social housing buildings with high occupancy rates and relatively low living standards. This paper analyzes the situation of such buildings thermally rehabilitated with the support of European funds, highlighting measures to improve their current setting. Comparing the results obtained in case of a building prior to its thermal rehabilitation with the results after its rehabilitation, we identify the probability of risk factors specific to human habitat. An important conclusion of the paper is that the thermal insulation and energy efficiency of a building cannot be limited to interventions in the building's surface and facilities, the natural room ventilation becoming an essential factor. This paper presents a study with the aim of providing the possiblity of creating this in an apartment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advantages of semi-collective housing result from their specific architectural attributes and possibilities of solving urban problems: the transition between different urban tissues, renewal of urban forms, rational limits of density. The presence of transitional spaces, stores, density, and formal diversity gives these assemblies a high adaptability degree to different urban contexts. Due to the intimate relationship with the natural environment, the presence of green spaces (half public spaces, for common use and private outdoor spaces, planted patios and gardens), and to their formal configurations, the semi-collective housing ensembles, in the characteristic form of a relatively new type of habitat, located between the individual and collective, can be successfully used in the development of ecological urban planning and architecture (as proven by numerous examples performed on the base of these principles). Environmental design of housing approach involves consecutive levels, under the same imperatives, but with priorities and challenges which require differentiated solutions: at the ensemble level, at the dwellings group level and at the dwelling itself. This paper aims to present several ways of combining architectural, urban and economic qualities, specific for semi-collective urban housing with those obtained by an ecological design approach and to identify some solutions that can bring, with minimal efforts, significant energy gains [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has been much debated upon and seems to be among the most significant contemporary approaches, considering the demographic expansion, the accelerated industrialization, the increasing consumption of raw materials, the environment degradation and the exhaustion of some essential natural resources. Measures to reduce energy consumption in the building sector have been developed for years in many countries. The discovery and exploitation of unconventional, clean, inexhaustible and inexpensive (sun, wind, water, etc) energy sources, have led to the appearance of various "energy trends" in engineering and architecture, with the final aim of conserving energy [1]. This paper will consider some possibilities for the implementation of measures concerning the energy performance improvement for social dwellings. To achieve this goal will be proposed several systems for optimizing the use of solar energy, analysing various types of solar panel integrations in the building's architecture. Also,there will be presented several roof rehabilitation opportunities by adopting green solutions. The long term strategic goal is the reduction in energy consumption with the final purpose of improving the life conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]