Reuse and upcycling of municipalwaste for zeb envelope design in European urban areas

Building energy efficiency and urban waste management are two focal issues for improving environmental status and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The main aim of this paper is to compare economic costs of new building envelope structures designed by authors reusing and upcycling municipal waste in order to decrease energy demand from the building sector and, at the same time, improve eco-friendly waste management at the local scale. The reuse of waste for building envelope structures is one of the main principles of the Earthship buildings model, based on the use of passive solar principles in autonomous earth-sheltered homes. This Earthship principle has been analyzed in order to optimize buildings’ energy performance and reuse municipal waste for new building envelope structures in urban areas. Indeed, the elaborated structures have been designed for urban contexts, with the aim of reuse waste coming from surrounding landfills. The methods include an analysis of thermal performance of urban waste for designing new building envelope structures realized by assembling waste and isolating materials not foreseen in Earthship buildings. The reused materials are: cardboard tubes, automobile tires, wood pallets, and plastic and glass bottles. Finally, comparing economic costs of these new building envelope structures, the obtained results highlight their economic feasibility compared to a traditional structure with similar thermal transmittance

A sustainable requalification of Bracciano lake waterfront in Trevignano Romano

This paper describes the first interventions carried out in accordance with the results of the three years bilateral research SoURCE (Sustainable Urban Cell) performed by CITERA (Inter department Centre for Territory, Building, Conservation and Environment) of the Sapienza University of Rome and the Department of Urban Planning and Environment of the Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm (KTH) regarding urban redevelopment and distributed micro-generation of buildings. The location is the municipality of Trevignano Romano in the area (urban cell) of the lake waterfront aimed at the integration of all facilities that will increase the tourist accommodation of the area. The concept of the project is to utilize empty spaces, in all lake waterfronts, for the construction of public toilets and showers, introduction of electric boat and bike rental for sightseeing with charging stations and construction of an energy efficient wooden prefabricated building to be used as a general shop for tourists (closest analogue service is about 3 km). The research is included in the executive programme for the scientific and technical cooperation between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Republic of Italy, in the area defined ‘Energy and Environment: Sustainable Cities’

Energy-efficient solutions: a multi-criteria decision aid tool to achieve the targets of the european EPDB directive

The building and construction sector has a significant impact on the CO2 emissions and pollutants released into the atmosphere, which contribute to climate change. The EPDB Directive mandates the achievement of minimum energy class E for all residential buildings by 2030 and energy class D by 2033. Particularly, in Italy, about 86% of the existing building stock predates the enactment of any energy laws or regulations, making it imperative to apply the energy efficiency interventions. This paper provides a support decision tool for the identification of the standardized interventions in the building envelope, the air conditioning system, and domestic hot water production. This study is focused on a specific construction period class (1976–1990) in six different climatic zones. The methodological approach is based on a cataloguing phase and the definition of ante operam energy classes as well as on case study identification, energy requalification intervention identification, solution simulations, and cost estimation. By simulating the standardized interventions for each climatic zone, a range of possible combinations is identified. The most advantageous ones are determined based on a cost–benefit analysis considering the potential class jump achieved. The research result is a matrix of energy efficiency interventions that is applicable to each climatic zone and can be extended to the existing housing stock

Historical analysis and refurbishment proposal of the “Red schools” in Viterbo

To hinder climate change, EU legislation requires that by 2020 each European state achieves the objectives set by the 2020 Climate and Energy Package. Particular attention is paid not only to new constructed buildings, the so-called Near Zero Energy Buildings, but also to the existing building stock: in Italy in fact, in addition to the National Action Plan to increase the NZEB buildings (PANZEB), the Strategy for Energy Renewal of the National Real Estate Park (STERPIN) is planned. The aim of the thesis work is a primary school built in 1938 within the historical centre of Viterbo. The work touched on three different areas of design: the design of the internal and external spaces, annexed to the school building, finding solutions for a flexible and functional distribution in line with the theories of modern pedagogy, moving from a school of homologation to a school of diversity enhancement. This was joined by a study concerning the original elevations and constructive features, bearers of historical and aesthetic values, which resulted in the proposal for conservative restoration of the Terranova plaster and the original iron-window profiles. Finally, attention was paid to energy upgrading and efficiency, in line with regulatory provisions. The interventions did not only concern the building envelope (through a thermal upgrading of the original iron-windows, the insulation of the flat roof and the indoor thermal coat of the perimeter walls), but also the system (through the replacement of the boiler with a heat pump, integrated with the photovoltaic system placed on the roof, the inclusion of thermostatic valves and lighting design with the replacement of fluorescent lamps with LED ones)

Technology park in connection with national filing of radioactive waste

The starting project idea arises from the need to provide a national disposal for radioactive waste as required by the European Union, in order to adjust Italy to the rest of the other European countries. The site will replace the temporary disposals realized near to the four former nuclear plants in the Italian territory, to permit plants decommissioning and the subsequent environmental rehabilitation of those areas. The disposal will be realized according to the most modern standards of environmental safety and ensuring maximum sustainability of the site thus using all the ‘Best Available Technique’ for the construction of Near Zero Energy Buildings and energy production systems from renewable sources. The Project is based on data coming from SOGIN (the Italian society for the decommissioning of nuclear plants) for the national radioactive waste disposal able to contain 90,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste and divided into two parts, allowing separate storage of the waste of first and second level, respectively, in quantities of 15.000 mc and 75.000 mc. The Technology Park close to the disposal, will be done with maximum transparency criteria, so to make the site not only accessible to citizens, but even a tourist attraction and a meeting area for the scholars, university students and researchers. In this technological park there are strong requirements for high security systems and an adequate transport and mobility plan designed even for critical situations. In fact in the designed Park there are even special protection systems from physical agents with the possibility, in case of danger, of an access to the closed collection points that are able to insulate workers and visitors from fire or radiation danger

Optimization of design and management of a hydroponic greenhouse by using BIM application software

The paper deals with hydroponic greenhouses that can be used both for crops cultivation and as a space for hosting events, thanks to its transformability characteristics. The project combines the concepts of circular economy and agricultural activity, creating environmentally sustainable hydroponic greenhouses, from the design to the management phase, thanks to the use of a multidisciplinary BIM approach (Building Information Modelling). The use of application software in BIM logic such as MC4® Energy and Arch Energy (Tool developed by Sapienza University of Rome) for the energetic performance evaluation and Tally® Environmental Impact Tool for LCA Analysis, has improved the design of a modular and flexible architecture, energy-efficient and water-efficient, with advanced climate control. The project offers a possible solution to the main future challenges of food production such as the limited space, the urbanization process, the scarce availability of resources such as water, fossil fuels, minerals and the increasing demands of consumers in terms of functionality and product quality

Support Decision Tool for Sustainable Energy Requalification the Existing Residential Building Stock. The Case Study of Trevignano Romano

The control and improvement of energy-environmental quality in buildings are responsible for almost 40% of the emissions related to energy and processes, and are essential to achieve the commitment of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) United Nations (UN). This paper provides a support tool to planners and administrators of the territory for the identification of interventions aimed at the energy requalification of the existing Italian building heritage, mainly for residential use. The purpose of this tool is to reduce energy consumption by intervening on the building envelope with specific solutions that are identified through a matrix resulting from the study. In the first part of the study, an analysis was carried out on various factors such as the existing residential building, the building and construction types and the materials of the envelope typical of each construction period, which are critical for energy efficiency issues. In the second part of the study, the analysis of the state of the art of the insulating materials existing on the international and national market was carried out, in order to standardize the efficiency interventions of the building envelope. By exploiting the potential of the proposed matrix, and integrating it with Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, it would be possible to create a database containing information regarding the characteristics of the building envelope of the residential building stock and to identify a set of insulation interventions more suited to each specific case near Rome, Italy

Assessment of a urban sustainability and life quality index for elderly

The research here presented originates from some of the ongoing challenges of our society: the demographic changes and the high share of population living in urban areas. The aim of the research is the definition of an index of sustainability and quality of life for elderly at suburban scale, not only able to outline aspects related to the local territorial context but also to represent the neighbourhood level. This would provide significant added value to existing indicators that represent the quality of life for much larger areas as cities, regions and nations. Indeed, it is universally recognised that the quality of life varies quite considerably depending on whether you live in different neighbourhoods or urban areas. The index proposed with the research is elaborated on the base of objective and subjective indicators integrated with the judgment of experts, in order to give an accurate and truthful weight to each indicator. Moreover, it has been elaborated for microscale analysis, dividing urban areas into cells, in order to highlight more in detail the real needs of each specific zone. As a result, the elaborated index would be an available tool to be provided to the local public administration to facilitate and optimise the urban planning and management, prioritizing interventions on the base of the sustainability principles and subjective needs of the population, in particular of elderly

Feasibility of municipal waste reuse for building envelopes for near Zero Energy Building

This paper deals with the experimental stage of an Italian research aimed at testing the feasibility of municipal waste reuse for the designing of building envelopes for Zero-Energy Buildings. The first stage dealt with the designing of the single components, whilst the stage described in the present contribution is about the project for a pilot didactic class for the “Mira Porte” Primary school, located in the town of Mira (Venice, Italy). It is the result of a research agreement between the Interdepartmental Centre for Territory, Building, Conservation and Environment of the Sapienza University of Rome (CITERA) and the Municipality of Mira. Energy efficiency of public buildings and the creation of safe and healthy schools are central topics in current national and local Italian politics, topics which include incentives and funds. The paper describes the main architectural, technological and plant characteristics of the classroom project. The building is an NZEB, configured as an additional independent volume, placed in the courtyard of the existing school. It is composed of a room for 25 students and an adjoining winter garden which has both a bioclimatic and a didactic function. The main feature of the project is the use of prefab building components made from solid urban waste, in particular wooden pallets and tyres, instead of traditional building materials, so as to contribute to a decreasing demand for energy and improve eco-friendly waste management. The present experiment aims at demonstrating the authentic behavior of the components once they have been assembled into a built structure and the overall functioning of the building structure and its systems

New millennium construction sites: an integrated methodology for the sustainability assessment

According to the Global Status report for Buildings and Construction, the building and construction sector accounts for 36% of global energy consumption and 39% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Specifically, the construction site represents one of the most significant sources of environmental impact, making it a pivotal element in achieving sustainability within the construction industry. The construction process and maintenance activities on buildings are, therefore, critical phases in which the construction industry is tasked with finding a balance between economic development, social well-being, and environmental protection to ensure a sustainable future for both current and future generations. To promote a construction model focused on environmental, economic, and social sustainability, this paper introduces a Performance Protocol. This protocol serves as an operational tool that allows both the construction company and the contracting authority to manage these aspects throughout the entire construction process. Digital technologies such as BIM and Digital Twin can take advantage of such model to integrate and develop sustainability analysis and simulation during the entire life cycle of a building. The use of digital tools is one of the challenges for the future of the built environment that needs to address not only the issues related to costs and management but also considering the social and environmental aspects of sustainable development