Housing and Contemporaneity: Recent Renovations in Lisbon's Baixa Pombalina

The Plan of 1758 for the reconstruction of Lisbon's Baixa Pombalina followed principles of unparalleled efficiency and regularity. The grid of rectangular urban blocks with pre-designed street façades had a lasting impact on urban identity. Today, the original features of the blocks of flats allow renovation strategies that address changes in domestic life and present-day comfort demands: making use of alcoves and the enfilade to address intimacy; turning kitchens into social areas; using multiple entrances for flat division; introducing lifts according to staircase design. Recent renovations show how the flats' original features contribute to unconventional flexible layouts adapted to contemporary living

Urban identity: heritage protection and comfort regulations in Geneva’s current housing

This contribution proposes a comparative analysis of how legislation on built heritage protection and regulations on energy demands affect current 19th century housing buildings in the city of Geneva. Four measures of protection are analysed, looking at how comfort legislation and heritage protection come together in the recent renovation of roofs, walls and windows. The aim is to identify possibilities for good compromise or possible conflicts when renovating these elements in current 19th century housing ensembles. Their key value – which might sometimes be disregarded – often lies in the repetition of proportion, layout and detail, forming ensembles that contribute to the definition of urban identity in many cities

Renovation strategies: use and changes to Lisbon’s domestic spaces

This contribution proposes a comparative analysis of the original and transformed domestic layout in recent renovations of late 18th and early 19th century housing in Lisbon’s Baixa Pombalina. We specifically look at modifications of room function and connections between spaces according to three main strategies: re-using alcoves for new bathrooms or storage; addressing the kitchen’s present role in domestic sociability; creating additional housing units through flat division. The aim is to identify solutions in contemporary interventions that take advantage of original typological features while simultaneously addressing changes in family life and new comfort demands

Habitação na Baixa Pombalina: Análise de Tipos e Estudo de Intervenções

The theme of this dissertation is the study of housing in Lisbon's Baixa Pombalina blocks of flats. It aims to understand the spatial organisation of houses and to study the ways of qualified intervention, thus seeking possible guidelines for future projects. A priority of intervention in the Lisbon's Baixa is the qualification of housing, which would allow for a more diversified and effective occupation. The research is divided into three parts. First, we looked into the evolution of anti-seismic structure in wood and of colective urban housing. Secondly, the specific organisation of housing was studied, through the analysis of first floor living plans, which were originally collected by Jorge Mascarenhas (1996). This research was further developed through the in-depth analysis of qualified interventions. Twelve cases of intervened buildings or flats were studied, most of which were designed by architects. Whenever possible the organisation of the flats, the structure and the function of the rooms were compared before and after the interventions. Finally, with reference to the Space Syntax model, the functional and spatial organisation of the flats was graphically represented in a simplified way, by means of justified graphs, which make it possible to compare the relations between convex spaces

Windows and renovation: The case of 19th century ordinary housing in Switzerland

Ordinary residential buildings dating from late nineteenth century and early twentieth century are an essential part of the European urban built environment. Today, it is important to address the comfort of residents through renovations improving the buildings’ energy performance. Nevertheless, strategies aiming for a drastic reduction of energy consumption – such as outside insulation currently applied to new buildings – are often incompatible with their original architectural character. Considering the absence of systematic protection measures, that could sometimes be too restrictive, ordinary buildings are often at risk of being completely disfigured, namely through interventions concerning the windows. This contribution examines the original features and renovation strategies for windows of ordinary residential buildings in French-speaking Switzerland. The aim is to compare the energy performance of different interventions, as well as assessing their architectural impact. We first identify four types of windows. The joinery techniques used are examined by looking at building manuals of the time and by conducting metric surveys in situ. Secondly, three types of intervention strategies are compared: adapting windows with single glazing to insulated glazing; replacing existing windows for some types of new windows; adding a second window with insulated glazing in front or behind the original window. The interventions are examined in collaboration with joiners to observe the construction processes. For each type of intervention, the architectural and thermal insulation impact are compared using the same criteria, drawings at the same scale and by calculating heat transfer coefficients. The aim is to show that an apparently simple procedure such as window renovation can induce important changes to buildings. Not only are the aspects to consider often contradictory, but the multiple intervention strategies are often little known. It is therefore essential to contribute to research concerning historic windows and to make public alternative solutions to their replacement

Assainissement de fenêtres: Immeubles d'habitation 1850 - 1920

Les bâtiments d'habitation urbains, construits entre la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle et la première décennie du XXe siècle, représentent une partie importante du parc immobilier des villes suisses, tout en contribuant à la définition de leur caractère et de leur identité. Les démarches, visant la réduction drastique des besoins énergétiques, s'appliquent difficilement à la nature de ces immeubles, notamment quand ceux-ci présentent des articulations dans le traitement des façades qui rendent le recours à une isolation extérieure incompatible avec le maintien du caractère architectural. Dans de nombreux cas, il serait impensable de sacrifier l'expression d'une culture régionale ou urbaine aux impératifs énergétiques. En l'absence d'une systématique de classement ou de protection, qui pourrait être, dans certains cas, trop contraignante, ces bâtiments sont souvent les plus exposés au risque d'être littéralement défigurés, notamment par l'intervention sur les fenêtres. La recherche s'est donc orientée vers la question de l'assainissement des fenêtres de ce type particulier d'édifice en analysant différentes stratégies de rénovation. Ceci dans le but de mettre en évidence non seulement leurs performances énergétiques, mais aussi les impacts architecturaux et patrimoniaux, induits par ces interventions sur la façade et les logements. La première partie du travail présente les différents types de fenêtres couramment utilisées au tournant du XXe siècle. La consultation des manuels de l'époque et des relevés in situ ont permis de documenter les techniques utilisées dans le temps. Dans parties suivantes, les interventions d'assainissement ont été analysées selon trois catégories: - la modification des fenêtres anciennes à vitrage simple pour permettre la pose d'un vitrage isolant; - le remplacement des fenêtres existantes par divers types de fenêtres neuves; - l'ajout d'une deuxième fenêtre neuve, munie d'un vitrage isolant devant ou derrière la fenêtre existante. Tous les cas d'étude ont été analysés selon une trame similaire en abordant des critères constructifs, énergétiques, architecturaux et patrimoniaux. Ce travail a permis de démontrer que le "simple" assainissement d'une fenêtre ancienne est de nature complexe et peut déterminer des changements importants sur le bâtiment. Non seulement parce que les diverses contraintes sont souvent contradictoires, mais aussi parce que les possibilités d'intervention sont multiples et souvent méconnues. Les résultats du projet pourraient alimenter le débat concernant la question sensible de la rénovation des fenêtres anciennes et porter à la connaissance des planificateurs et des décideurs des solutions alternatives au simple remplacement par des fenêtres standards

Housing, street and health: a new systemic research framework

As the world’s population grows in cities, urban dwellers spend a large amount of time inside their home, making housing health ever more important. Critical for residents’ health, the interactions between indoor residential environments and outdoor environmental conditions (e.g. air pollution, noise, heat) are mediated by the controversial and evolving relationship between housing and the street. Currently, there is a lack of ways to integrate and explore synergies among the plurality of perspectives that have addressed the interactions between housing, street and health (HSH). This paper proposes a systemic research framework to address conceptually, spatially and temporally HSH interactions. With a focus on European cities, determinants of housing health are identified through six perspectives, comprising environmental health, domestic architecture, building technologies, socio-economic inequalities, housing prices and urban planning. Their interrelationships are organised in a causal loop diagram, which can be used to highlight gaps in research and data. Subsequently, the paper explores the research and practical applications of the resulting systemic understanding, taking the context of Geneva, Switzerland, as an example. In sum, this study illustrates ways to integrate systemic, transdisciplinary and spatiotemporal approaches essential to holistically address the complexity of HSH relationships. // Practice relevance: The interactions between housing, street and health (HSH) have been approached from different and often siloed perspectives, addressing issues ranging from diseases to architectural design and history, building technologies, socio-economic inequalities, housing prices and urban planning. This fragmentation hinders the coordination of interventions aimed at improving the health of residential environments, limiting the identification of synergies and trade-offs. This paper proposes a research framework enabling the integration of knowledge on the HSH interactions. The resulting holistic and systemic understanding is instrumental in fostering collaborations across disciplinary fields and among a variety of stakeholders, in raising awareness of the risks and opportunities associated with HSH interactions, and in supporting the design and implementation of health and wellbeing agendas at the building, neighbourhood or city level

Housing, street and health: a new systemic research framework

As the world’s population grows in cities, urban dwellers spend a large amount of time inside their home, making housing health ever more important. Critical for residents’ health, the interactions between indoor residential environments and outdoor environmental conditions (e.g. air pollution, noise, heat) are mediated by the controversial and evolving relationship between housing and the street. Currently, there is a lack of ways to integrate and explore synergies among the plurality of perspectives that have addressed the interactions between housing, street and health (HSH). This paper proposes a systemic research framework to address conceptually, spatially and temporally HSH interactions. With a focus on European cities, determinants of housing health are identified through six perspectives, comprising environmental health, domestic architecture, building technologies, socio-economic inequalities, housing prices and urban planning. Their interrelationships are organised in a causal loop diagram, which can be used to highlight gaps in research and data. Subsequently, the paper explores the research and practical applications of the resulting systemic understanding, taking the context of Geneva, Switzerland, as an example. In sum, this study illustrates ways to integrate systemic, transdisciplinary and spatiotemporal approaches essential to holistically address the complexity of HSH relationships. Practice relevance The interactions between housing, street and health (HSH) have been approached from different and often siloed perspectives, addressing issues ranging from diseases to architectural design and history, building technologies, socio-economic inequalities, housing prices and urban planning. This fragmentation hinders the coordination of interventions aimed at improving the health of residential environments, limiting the identification of synergies and trade-offs. This paper proposes a research framework enabling the integration of knowledge on the HSH interactions. The resulting holistic and systemic understanding is instrumental in fostering collaborations across disciplinary fields and among a variety of stakeholders, in raising awareness of the risks and opportunities associated with HSH interactions, and in supporting the design and implementation of health and wellbeing agendas at the building, neighbourhood or city level