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Socialist modernist architecture in the Balkan has left a valuable legacy of remarkable buildings from this century, which brought a mixture of new experiences and local traditions. Unfortunately, after the 1990s, many of these buildings have been neglected, improperly treated, or abandoned. This paper focuses on the iconic socialist modernist office building "Rilindja" in Prishtina, Kosovo, which was built in 1979. In 2010, the building envelope was changed in the name of revitalization, without considering the energy aspect. The study aims to present energy performance analysis through cost-optimal renovation measures of the building envelope while restoring the architectural values before the last renovation. Using Archicad and EcoDesigner STAR, a BIM model was created, and energy analysis was conducted. The findings indicate that eighteen proposed energy efficiency measures can achieve a reduction in energy consumption for heating and cooling of more than 80% over the life cycle period of 20 years. The comparison before and after renovation considering restoring and preserving the inherent values, while integrating energy efficiency measures was necessary, as there is a lack of such studies in the general literature. Finally, the potential of restoring the collective memory through cost-optimal analysis is emphasized as an approach for similar cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key barrier in building-facade renovation processes is that, contrary to new designs, an initial building model where the design process is based rarely exists, and the technologies usually employed to create it (e.g., based on point cloud scanning) are costly or require modeling skills. This situation is a clear limitation, especially in early decision stages, where the level of detail required is not very high, and the analysis and studies to consider the renovation plan (e.g., simplified energy simulations and renovation potential, or estimation of the number, types, and dimensions of the prefabricated modules incorporating solar panels) highly depend on such digital models. This paper introduces a process that, based on freely available data such as open GIS sources (local Cadasters, OpenStreetMap…) and façade images, can semi-automatically generate the 3D building model of the existing conditions, and in a second step also suggests the prefabricated facades module layout for building upgrades. Additionally, no onsite visit is needed. When the upgrade is focused on the façade, a big opportunity is identified for generating the building model and a realistic representation of its envelope, only using online data sources as input. The process developed consists of a set of easy-to-use software tools that can be used independently or combined in a workflow, depending on the available data and starting conditions. Time saving is very clear and costs can be reduced.

A key barrier in building façade renovation processes versus new designs is that an initial building model on which the design process is based rarely exists and that the technologies usually employed to create it (e.g., based on point cloud scanning) are costly or require modelling skills. This situation is a clear limitation, especially in early decision stages, where the level of detail required is not very high and the analysis and studies to consider the renovation plan (e.g., simplified energy simulations and renovation potential, or estimation of the number, types, and dimensions of the prefabricated modules incorporating solar panels) highly depend on such digital models. This paper introduces a process that, based on freely available data such as open GIS sources (local cadasters, OpenStreetMap...) and façade images, can semi-automatically generate the 3D building model of the existing conditions and, in a second step, can also suggest the prefabricated façades module layout for building upgrades. Additionally, no on-site visit is needed. When the upgrade is focused on the façade, a big opportunity is identified for generating the building model and a realistic representation of its envelope, only using online data sources as input. The process developed consists of a set of easy-to-use software tools that can be used independently or combined in a workflow, depending on the available data and starting conditions. Time-saving is the main benefit, which also contributes to reducing costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socialist modernist architecture in the Balkan has left a valuable legacy of remarkable buildings from this century, which brought a mixture of new experiences and local traditions. Unfortunately, after the 1990s, many of these buildings have been neglected, improperly treated, or abandoned. This paper focuses on the iconic socialist modernist office building “Rilindja” in Prishtina, Kosovo, which was built in 1979. In 2010, the building envelope was changed in the name of revitalization, without considering the energy aspect. The study aims to present energy performance analysis through cost-optimal renovation measures of the building envelope while restoring the architectural values before the last renovation. Using Archicad and EcoDesigner STAR, a BIM model was created, and energy analysis was conducted. The findings indicate that eighteen proposed energy efficiency measures can achieve a reduction in energy consumption for heating and cooling of more than 80% over the life cycle period of 20 years. The comparison before and after renovation considering restoring and preserving the inherent values, while integrating energy efficiency measures was necessary, as there is a lack of such studies in the general literature. Finally, the potential of restoring the collective memory through cost-optimal analysis is emphasized as an approach for similar cases.

The present paper illustrates the Italian pilot action of the EASEE project (Envelope Approach to improve Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in existing multi-storey multi owner residential buildings), focusing on the analysis of energy refurbishment trends of the Lombardy region residential building stock. More than 60% of the existing building stock in Lombardy region has been built before the 70 s and it is among the main responsible causes of final energy absorption and corresponding CO 2 emissions with a mean primary energy index for heating of about 202.0 kWh/m 2 y. The promotion of renovation measures for such buildings, also through innovative solutions, is becoming increasingly important for both containing the greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the growth of the construction sector. To this topic, the work presents the energy renovation of a residential building in the Province of Milan through the application of innovative prefabricated composite panels that integrate both thermal insulation and exterior finishing with textile reinforced mortar. In detail, the paper describes, on one hand, the main design strategies following the preliminary analysis and, on the other hand, the whole installation process; besides, the performance of the retrofitted envelope is documented by the results of the monitoring campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges of achieving the 2020 goals in terms of energy savings and improving efficiency are guiding numerous research initiatives looking for more insulated envelopes, dealing with thermal performance of insulation materials and envelope systems. Nevertheless, the envelope integrates within the building and this improvement on the insulation performance has to be properly adopted, taking into account the interrelation of main elements composing the overall system (facade, frame, slabs, openings, partitions etc.), as well as side effects originated not only for new erected buildings, but specifically in renovation and retrofitting works. This paper describes real experiences when considering various options for upgrading the facade through the increase of the insulation capacity, starting from external overcladding prefabricated panels and ventilated facades, advancing to more sustainable low carbon systems and ending with even more highly insulated solutions employing aerogels. Lessons from these cases, where energy and hygrothermal assessments have being carried out, demonstrate the influence of the design and construction phases and the relevance of disregarded effects such as minor thermal bridges, uncontrolled craftsmanship on site, and moisture transfer for the different technologies considered. Finally, possible alternatives are provided to overcome some of the detected difficulties, such as combination with non-metallic structural components and building membranes, and being prepared for future challenges and new developments when these isolative elements are combined with other technologies, as for example, renewable energy harvesting devices.

Building renovation must be attractive and profitable regarding sustainability criteria to be a competitive alternative to demolishment and construction of new buildings. This study presents the global warming potential related life cycle assessment and net present value life cycle costing of three hybrid-timber building renovation and extension systems. The three systems have been developed for three common building types in the Republic of Korea: residential high-rise (cross-laminated timber system), multi-use (glue-laminated and timber frame system), and residential low-rise (steel and timber frame system). The global warming potential of the renovation systems' materials and their net present value has been calculated with a parametric design system that facilitates the streamlined calculation of multiple construction options and the resulting environmental and economic impacts. The results demonstrate that the three systems achieve negative global warming potential (apartment: −4.74 kgCO2/m2, mixed-use −0.74 kgCO2/m2, multi-unit: −0.28 kgCO2/m2). Positive net present value can be achieved by selling or renting additional useable floor space created through building extension and renovation, resulting in economically and ecologically profitable alternatives to new construction. The parametric calculation system facilitates integrated economic and ecologic cost assessment and evaluation and allows for multiple scenario comparisons. • Life Cycle Assessment and Costing of 3 building extension and renovation systems. • Introduction of a parametric economic and environmental cost assessment system. • 50 years life cycle assessment period & materials with minimized CO 2 -eq emissions. • All systems achieve negative CO 2 -eq emissions and positive Net Present Values. • Renewable materials & building extensions are crucial to achieve positive results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building energy consumption for heating and cooling and the comparatively short building lifecycle help account for the increasing ratio of the building sector's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To counteract this increase, sustainable building envelope renovations can minimize GHG emissions through the extension of building lifecycle, saving of construction material, increased energy efficiency, and reduced heating and cooling energy demands. To reduce the GHG emissions of energy efficient building envelope renovation systems, this article compares the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results of different Passive House (PH) certified building envelope components regarding their GHG emissions per area unit. Based on PH-certified components, different building envelope renovation components were developed. The LCA facilitated the identification of components with the lowest carbon emissions, which were applied in the PH-conforming renovation model of an exemplary apartment building in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The LCA results over a service life of 50 years illustrate that the highest GHG emissions are associated with the renovated building's primary service energy demand, followed by windows, and the transport of materials. These research findings facilitate the environmental impact determination of multiple PH-standard building renovation systems, and support the planning of building renovations with minimized carbon footprints and service energy demands. • Sustainable building renovation reduces service energy & material CO2-eq emissions. • Comparison of Passive House certified building renovation systems' CO2-eq emissions. • Application of Passive House building renovation systems on Korean apartment. • 50-year LCA results in positive CO2-eq emissions of all building renovation systems. • Recycling, reuse and transportation have much impacts on CO2-eq emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015, Taiwan's government announced the "Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act", the goal of which was a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, compared with 2005. The residential and commercial sectors produce approximately one third of all carbon emissions in Taiwan, and the number of construction renovation projects is much larger than that of new construction projects. In this paper, we considered the life-cycle CO2 (LCCO2) of a building envelope renovation project in Tainan and focused on local construction methods for typical row houses. The LCCO2 of 744 cases with various climate zones, orientations, and insulation and glazing types was calculated via EnergyPlus, SimaPro, and a local database (LCBA database), and the results were then used to develop a machine learning model. Our findings showed that the machine learning model was capable of predicting annual energy consumption and LCCO2. With regard to annual energy consumption, the RMSE was 227.09 kW·h (per year) and the R2 was 0.992. For LCCO2, the RMSE was 2792.47 kgCO2eq and the R2 was 0.989, which indicates a high-confidence process for decision making in the early stages of building design and renovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]