Strategies for building pathology reports in an urban rehabilitation process: Project of the Old City Centre of Coimbra

The increasing interest on architectural heritage associated to the recognised building value, at economic, social and cultural levels have stimulated, in the recent decades, the urban rehabilitation and renovation o several cities in Europe. Despite the strategy or method adopted in a city renovation process, its efficiency depends mainly on: type of buildings (structural systems, construction techniques and materials); intervention level (singular buildings, groups of buildings, urban zones, etc.); and, project objective (risk assessment, decision making to support future rehabilitation projects, definition of council maintenance policies, etc.). In what concerns large renovation programs of old city centres, choosing the most adequate approach for inspection, appraisal and diagnosis is a complex task that can determine the success or failure of the project purpose. This paper describes the preparation phase of the inspection of 700 buildings located in the old city centre of Coimbra (Portugal), where a global renovation process is planned for the forthcoming years. In the scope of the renovation and rehabilitation process, the city council contract a complete identification and inspection survey of the buildings, directed on three different domains: (a) architectural typologies, (b) constructive and pathological condition of buildings, and (c) socio-demographic characterisation, of this part of the city. It will be present the check-lists developed and some of the obtained results on point (b), related to roofing systems, and exterior façades. This diagnosis procedure shows that the inspection results quality is quite dependent on the items surveyed for each construction element (roof, façade, internal members, installation efficiency), as well as on the possibility of their correlation for a single building. The adopted method has been applied on 70% of the buildings inspected within the project perimeter. Further treatment of the inspection and appraisal data will allow the developing pathology reports and list repair actions, and estimating rehabilitation costs. It will also help to produce defect level diagrams and seismic building risk maps, but, most important, to improve and guide a renewal strategy and intervention methodology for old buildings

Calculation of the Risk of Lawsuits over Construction Flaws in Flat Roofs

In order to achieve sustainability objectives in the use of a building, its elements’ operating problems should be minimized. From this premise, a total of 497 cases related to construction flaws in flat roofs were analyzed in this research. A matrix was developed indicating the risk of lawsuits by owners according to the degree of nuisance resulting from the construction flaws studied, their technical importance, and the type of pathological origin. Based on these factors, it is possible to predict a greater or lesser probability of an owner filing a lawsuit—risk factor (F). A wide range was found for this probability, with the largest value being 865 times greater than the smallest value. The value of F was divided into 5 categories to classify the diverse results obtained and determine the number of cases and interrelations ascribed to each category. Additionally, the level of presence of said cases was calculated through the analysis of 3 di erent demographic aspects, it being noted that a greater purchasing power and a higher concentration of urban population lead to more stringent requirements and, subsequently, to a greater number of lawsuits. With all these results, building quality can be improved while resulting in greater constructive-financial sustainability and in a reduction of the economic resources required of society (fewer lawsuits and associated human resources)

Fuzzy Decision-Support System for Safeguarding Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage

In the current world economic situation, the maintenance of built heritage has been limited due to a lack of funds and accurate tools for proper management and implementation of these actions. However, in specific local areas, the maintenance and conservation of historical and cultural heritage have become an investment opportunity. In this sense, in this study, a new tool is proposed, for the estimation of the functional service life of heritage buildings in a local region (city of Seville, South Spain). This tool is developed in Art-Risk research project and consists of a free software to evaluate decisions in regional policies, planning and management of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, considering physical, environmental, economic and social resources. This tool provides a ranking of priority of intervention among case studies belonging to a particular urban context. This information is particularly relevant for the stakeholders responsible for the management of maintenance plans in built heritage

Monitor Sustainable Municipalities Report 2019 Key topic Circular Economy. Bertelsmann Stiftung Study 4 November 2019

At first sight, the concept for a recycling economy appears to be just the latest trend in the field of urban development, but in fact conversion to circular value creation also contains numerous oppor-tunities for the creation of long-term sustainable economic, social and environmental benefits for local communities. We have therefore chosen to look at this topic in this, our fourth, Monitor Report. Recycling Economy, Circular Value Creation and Cradle To Cradle are three concepts which – alt-hough each has a different main focus – basically all describe the same paradigm shift: away from a classic linear economy (“Take, Make, Use, Dispose”) towards a model based on restoration and regeneration. The recycling economy principle is actually anchored in the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Devel-opment Goals, or SDGs. Goal 12 calls for sustainable consumption and sustainable production patterns. The recycling economy is also associated with a number of other sustainability goals, as it makes a significant contribution to their achievement. We are convinced that it is worth considering the applicability of the concept to local communities in Germany. What does transferring the recycling economy principle to local communities entail? How can towns be converted into “Recycling Cities”? Where are the obstacles and what potential is there? This Monitor Report is a first – it is the first bilingual version. With the kind permission of the Collab-orating Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) in Wuppertal, we have issued their “Circular Economy Guidebook for Cities” in the original English with a German translation. We hope that, by looking at the bigger picture, we will also generate the impulse to consider how the topic can be adopted in (European) towns and cities, and what the resulting benefits could be. We are fully aware that a one-to-one transfer will not work. “One size fits all” does not apply to local communities. Although something that makes sense in Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Oslo may not necessarily work in towns, districts and local communities in Germany, it is definitely worth looking at how things are done in other countries. I would sincerely like to thank everyone who contributed to the creation of this Report, and especially the CSCP for its trust and invaluable cooperation. We hope you enjoy reading the Report, and look forward as always to your feedback and suggestions

Use of UAVs for technical inspection of buildings within the BRAIN massive inspection platform

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more and more popular for use in a various sectors of the economy. The paper presents the results of experiments using a UAV, equipped with a high resolution digital camera, for a visual assessment of technical condition of a building with connection to a big project implemented in Barcelona that required visual data about buildings and their changes with time. Authors try to find out possibilities for the usefulness of digital images obtained from the UAV deck in concrete examples and figure out if they may be complementary to traditional ways used so far in a project called Building Research Analysis and Information Network, which is a platform for analysis to allow strategic decision-making for the maintenance and the sustainability of building stock.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Comparing Energy Improvements and Financial Costs of Retrofitting Interventions in a Historical Building

In Italy, energy improvements of historical buildings are one of the key aspects to reach the EU 2020 goals on energy efficiency. Many papers are available in literature to recover and retrofit historical buildings, considering different types of interventions aimed to increase energy efficiency in existing building. Considering the most common retrofit interventions in historical building, this paper focuses on the estimation of the energy improvements and related financial costs of four considered scenarios on the building envelope of the “pharmaceutical chemistry” historical building located in the Sapienza University Campus of Rome. Additionally, a cogeneration system and the installation of a PV system have been included among the considered scenarios, in order to analyze their energy performance jointly with feasible retrofitting interventions. Research methods included a dynamic simulation of building thermal loads in the current state and in the scenario after each considered intervention carried out using TRNSYS software. Furthermore, yearly savings, investment cost and payback periods have been evaluated for each considered scenario, taking into account both the purchase prices of the saved energy and the amounts needed to realize related retrofitting interventions. In conclusion, among the feasible interventions in historical buildings, the obtained results provide useful data about what strategy offers the best energy performance improvement if compared with its financial costs. Results could provide recommendations for other historical buildings that need retrofitting interventions for improving their energy efficiency

Design of Dwellings and Interior Family Space in China: Understanding the History of Change and Opportunities for Improved Sustainability Practices

This paper reviews briefly the recent history of dwelling design in China. It notes the rapid changes that have taken place since the 1980s and identifies the way contemporary procurement processes leave out the final fit-out and decoration/refurbishment. A range of stakeholders were interviewed, and access was gained to drawings and other technical data that indicated how the secondary processes were carried out. These are largely ungoverned by regulation in the same way necessary for initial design. The key group is the occupants who drive the fit-out and decoration according to personal and cultural requirements, but often with less than perfect understanding of sustainability. The interior design industry has developed rapidly over the same period and was initially lacking in professional knowledge and understanding (something which can still be found). Advice provided to dwelling occupants was based more on appearance than function and efficiency. Over the same period, beneficial modifications to construction processes have been introduced in relation to structural design, and it should be possible to do the same for sustainability-related design issues. The paper advocates: more regulation; better assessment techniques; more information and guidance for home-owners; and a greater focus on energy issue

SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES IN ENGINEERING INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: SELECTED SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA STATES CASE STUDY

It is an undeniable fact that production of maintenance- free infrastructure is not feasible. The reality is that all the elements and components that make up an engineering infrastructure unavoidably, deteriorates with time due to inherent defects in design and construction, and the effects of environmental agents and users activities. All engineering infrastructures are subject to aging, wear and tear in the performance of their functions and deterioration by exposure to outside operating environment. Hence, left to themselves, engineering infrastructures will eventually become inefficient, unreliable and fail. The issue then is how the existing infrastructure can be sustained to the extent that the functions they are designed to perform will not be compromised. To this end, this study will researched into sustainability strategies that can be adopted in engineering infrastructure maintenance. Data will be collected for purpose of extracting information on deployable strategies, including the use of Public engineering infrastructure in Southwestern part of Nigeria as case study. The study will later recommend strategies than can be adopted to aid this present generation provide solution to their environmental needs without compromise ability of future generation to meet their needs, which concept of sustainability has birthed

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