• Energy Research

The current trend of urbanization growth, take along a substantial increase in the outdoor temperatures within built environments, affecting the liveability of outdoor space, reducing the thermal comfort of citizens. Outdoor thermal comfort is usually evaluated with complex models on large scale, considering neighbourhoods, districts, or cities, without focusing on local and accurate predictions. The present study is aimed at contributing to the topic by proposing a simple yet accurate combined prediction model, able to assess the outdoor thermal comfort around a theoretical isolated building. A set of parameters, such as wind velocity, relative humidity, solar irradiation, and building height, has been used to quantify their effect urban comfort at fixed air temperature. The same parameters have been used for the development of a predictive correlation for the three outdoor thermal comfort indexes (UTCI, PET and SET). Comfort data was calculated by CFD simulations where the environmental parameters was variated in a fixed range. The main contribution to outdoor thermal comfort is provided by solar irradiation affecting the comfort indexes values up to 50%, the second is the wind velocity affecting up to 25% the thermal comfort indexes. The variation of building height is less impacting (around 15% of comfort values) as well as the relative humidity (5%). At least, three correlations have been elaborated for each outdoor thermal index. Correlation’s quality has been evaluated using RMSE and percentage difference, obtaining a maximum average value of 0.71 and 1.48%, respectively.

The current trend of urbanization growth, take along a substantial increase in the outdoor temperatures within built environments, affecting the liveability of outdoor space, reducing the thermal comfort of citizens. Outdoor thermal comfort is usually evaluated with complex models on large scale, considering neighbourhoods, districts, or cities, without focusing on local and accurate predictions. The present study is aimed at contributing to the topic by proposing a simple yet accurate combined prediction model, able to assess the outdoor thermal comfort around a theoretical isolated building. A set of parameters, such as wind velocity, relative humidity, solar irradiation, and building height, has been used to quantify their effect urban comfort at fixed air temperature. The same parameters have been used for the development of a predictive correlation for the three outdoor thermal comfort indexes (UTCI, PET and SET). Comfort data was calculated by CFD simulations where the environmental parameters was variated in a fixed range. The main contribution to outdoor thermal comfort is provided by solar irradiation affecting the comfort indexes values up to 50%, the second is the wind velocity affecting up to 25% the thermal comfort indexes. The variation of building height is less impacting (around 15% of comfort values) as well as the relative humidity (5%). At least, three correlations have been elaborated for each outdoor thermal index. Correlation’s quality has been evaluated using RMSE and percentage difference, obtaining a maximum average value of 0.71 and 1.48%, respectively.

The present contribution deals with an ongoing Italian research which includes several steps and it is approaching to its final stage. The main goal is analysing and testing the feasibility of municipal waste reuse for designing building envelopes for Near Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB), so as to contribute to the decreasing demand for energy and improve eco-friendly waste management in urban areas. First, prefab building components have been designed using selected waste and their thermal and acoustic behaviours have been calculated, according to the European rules; then the economic costs of the obtained building envelopes have been assessed and compared to common building structures to verify their possible appeal on the Italian market, and finally the components have been assembled in the project for a small NZEB building: a didactic classroom for the Mira Porte Primary School (Venice, Italy). This paper refers to the in-depth elaboration of the project, mainly concerning fire and pollutant protection, and it focuses on the reliability check of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) parametric model, especially as concerns non-conventional materials and components. The relative building energy behaviour has been obtained exporting the BIM energy simulation model using the EC770 Integrated Design for Revit plug-in. Finally, a comparison between the results obtained with the traditional energy assessment (according to D.M. 26/06/2015) and those using the BIM model has been made to evaluate the interoperability between architectural modeling software and the energy simulation one.

The present contribution deals with an ongoing Italian research which includes several steps and it is approaching to its final stage. The main goal is analysing and testing the feasibility of municipal waste reuse for designing building envelopes for Near Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB), so as to contribute to the decreasing demand for energy and improve eco-friendly waste management in urban areas. First, prefab building components have been designed using selected waste and their thermal and acoustic behaviours have been calculated, according to the European rules; then the economic costs of the obtained building envelopes have been assessed and compared to common building structures to verify their possible appeal on the Italian market, and finally the components have been assembled in the project for a small NZEB building: a didactic classroom for the Mira Porte Primary School (Venice, Italy). This paper refers to the in-depth elaboration of the project, mainly concerning fire and pollutant protection, and it focuses on the reliability check of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) parametric model, especially as concerns non-conventional materials and components. The relative building energy behaviour has been obtained exporting the BIM energy simulation model using the EC770 Integrated Design for Revit plug-in. Finally, a comparison between the results obtained with the traditional energy assessment (according to D.M. 26/06/2015) and those using the BIM model has been made to evaluate the interoperability between architectural modeling software and the energy simulation one.

Energy sustainability of new service buildings should considers the use of envelope materials able to minimize thermal dispersions avoiding at the same time environmental and landscaping impacts specially in the small islands of Mediterranean sea generally characterized by high environmental and landscaping values. In this context, the paper provides an analysis of local materials for the design of low-energy service buildings in touristic islands, according with the concept of re-use. As a preliminary result, a case study in Favignana Islands is presented designing a modular and temporary structure using local materials and municipal solid waste. The pilot project includes a summer and a winter design, and can be replicated in similar contexts.

Energy sustainability of new service buildings should considers the use of envelope materials able to minimize thermal dispersions avoiding at the same time environmental and landscaping impacts specially in the small islands of Mediterranean sea generally characterized by high environmental and landscaping values. In this context, the paper provides an analysis of local materials for the design of low-energy service buildings in touristic islands, according with the concept of re-use. As a preliminary result, a case study in Favignana Islands is presented designing a modular and temporary structure using local materials and municipal solid waste. The pilot project includes a summer and a winter design, and can be replicated in similar contexts.

Cities are complex and constantly evolving systems where changing social needs have always reshaped the built environment. Considering recent evolutionary trends in housing emergencies, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, and environmental sustainability goals, a rethinking of the building heritage is fundamental. This article aims to promote the conversion of buildings designed initially for nonresidential uses as a process and project strategy based on energy efficiency and a holistic and integrated vision of the circular economy. The methodological approach is based on two main phases: definition of evaluative parameters for the potential reuse of a building, and integration of the evaluation system in a BIM and GIS environment. The result is a tool for rapid automatic pre-evaluation of the potential conversion of a building into a residential space. Applying the developed methodology allows for a practical approach to the significant issue of sustainable construction, with particular attention to energy improvement and the reduction of environmental impact related to the construction of new buildings. The originality of the contribution lies in the systematization of various digital technologies to provide fundamental support for managing and transforming the varied and widespread unused real estate assets in a state of abandonment and degradation.

Cities are complex and constantly evolving systems where changing social needs have always reshaped the built environment. Considering recent evolutionary trends in housing emergencies, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, and environmental sustainability goals, a rethinking of the building heritage is fundamental. This article aims to promote the conversion of buildings designed initially for nonresidential uses as a process and project strategy based on energy efficiency and a holistic and integrated vision of the circular economy. The methodological approach is based on two main phases: definition of evaluative parameters for the potential reuse of a building, and integration of the evaluation system in a BIM and GIS environment. The result is a tool for rapid automatic pre-evaluation of the potential conversion of a building into a residential space. Applying the developed methodology allows for a practical approach to the significant issue of sustainable construction, with particular attention to energy improvement and the reduction of environmental impact related to the construction of new buildings. The originality of the contribution lies in the systematization of various digital technologies to provide fundamental support for managing and transforming the varied and widespread unused real estate assets in a state of abandonment and degradation.