The “Mandolesi Pavilion”: an information model for a process of integrating multidisciplinary knowledge

The Mining Engineering Pavilion was designed by Enrico Mandolesi in 1962. It represents an icon heralding the transition from masonry to reinforced concrete and the use of “new” materials. Its recovery may become an important starting point for integrating all scientific levels, from the construction history, which reconstructs the history of the project and that of the building site, up to the most sophisticated energy diagnoses that include the definition of an integrated information system on the building, to be used in cutting-edge style with the BIM approach or even with experimentation in a first-step evolution towards a cognitive building

Building Process Management In Green Public Procurements

Today more than ever, the world of Public Procurement is regulated by a large and diverse body of law, constantly updated and enriched. The environmental issue is one of the subjects that is gaining more and more on the international level and so the new regulations of Procurement must consider it in its articles. The process, therefore, must meet the requirements of convenience, considering both time and costs, but also the quality of supply, which will be evaluated both on the basis of the design proposals (traditional requirements) and on the convenience of its life cycle (current requirements, LCC and LCA). The forecast period of each tender will be no more evaluated from the moment ("now"-the day of submission of the tender) but to the future ("then"-the ordinary value of the subject of the contract). The present study aims to determine the state of the art of the existing regulations and the current procedures for the award of public supply, to highlight what are the (new) criteria and the critical issues that follow their implementation; the goal is to determine whether the management of procurement actions, as we face today, is appropriate or not to the "green" needs and, if not, what new ways may configure

Bright Cities and City Information Modeling

The increasing urbanization and above all the increasing demand for more efficiency in energy consumption and in the management of natural resources makes ever more urgent to tackle the construction of buildings and the planning of cities in an innovative and sustainable way. In this perspective, some research lines have emerged referring to the concepts of smart, intelligent, and green/sustainable buildings. Starting from this analysis, the article aims to highlight how it is possible to synthesize both the environmental quality aspects and the integrated control of a building in the concept of bright green buildings, and how thus a wider conceptual reference framework is necessary: identified in the Bright City based on the implementation of a City Information Modeling (CIM). This methodological framework allows managing the urban transformation operations in an integrated way and represents a synthesis of the current paradigmatic references: sustainability, smartness and resilience

Numerical Approach for the Design of Cost-Effective Renovation of Heating System Control in Buildings

This chapter focuses on advanced tools for transient energy simulation of existing buildings. Budget constraints often hinder the possibility of implementing large-scale retrofit projects. As a consequence, designers must work out low-cost renovation, which asks for a deep knowledge of the current state of the buildings. Furthermore, the performances of heating plants in existing buildings can be enhanced through the improvement of the control of the system. These types of retrofit actions can be carried out with a limited budget, but asks for the availability of very accurate transient energy simulation tools, which can compare the current and the renovated scenarios. On top of them, cost–benefit analyses can be developed. In this chapter, a model of a small hospital is developed in the Dymola/Modelica environment. The high flexibility of the transient simulation model and the very good agreement between numerical estimations and measurements are shown. Then, one scenario regarding enhanced regulation of the heating system by means of a customized ambient temperature control system is developed, and the expected energy savings are estimated

The effectiveness of an Intelligent System For Real-time Hygrothermal Management In Low Energy Buildings

This paper proposes an intelligent model for realtime control of the hygrothermal behaviour in low energy buildings. Through the management of information related to internal and external conditions combined with the design and context data, the built network lead to assess the correct strategy for an adequate hygrothermal behaviour (choosing between active and passive systems for control of indoor air-quality). The expected benefits are a healthy environment, the stable performances of materials, the containment of maintenance costs, the reduction of the use of passive systems in order to cut CO2 emissions

BIM and IoT Sensors Integration: A Framework for Consumption and Indoor Conditions Data Monitoring of Existing Buildings

The low accessibility to the information regarding buildings current performances causes deep difficulties in planning appropriate interventions. Internet of Things (IoT) sensors make available a high quantity of data on energy consumptions and indoor conditions of an existing building that can drive the choice of energy retrofit interventions. Moreover, the current developments in the topic of the digital twin are leading the diffusion of Building Information Modeling (BIM) methods and tools that can provide valid support to manage all data and information for the retrofit process. This paper shows the aim and the findings of research focused on testing the integrated use of BIM methodology and IoT systems. A common data platform for the visualization of building indoor conditions (e.g., temperature, luminance etc.) and of energy consumption parameters was carried out. This platform, tested on a case study located in Italy, is developed with the integration of low-cost IoT sensors and the Revit model. To obtain a dynamic and automated exchange of data between the sensors and the BIM model, the Revit software was integrated with the Dynamo visual programming platform and with a specific Application Programming Interface (API). It is an easy and straightforward tool that can provide building managers with real-time data and information about the energy consumption and the indoor conditions of buildings, but also allows for viewing of the historical sensor data table and creating graphical historical sensor data. Furthermore, the BIM model allows the management of other useful information about the building, such as dimensional data, functions, characteristics of the components of the building, maintenance status etc., which are essential for a much more conscious, effective and accurate management of the building and for defining the most suitable retrofit scenarios

The building information modeling for the retrofitting of existing buildings. A case study in the University of Cagliari.

Italy's very consistent buildings stock has become the major field for real estate investments and for the related projects and actions. The urge of working on built environment is however facing some crucial issues. The first is the lack of documentation on the construction history and on the real constructive layout of existing buildings (in terms of components, installations, plants, etc.). The second is the poor activity in surveying their current status, with reference to use (energy behaviour, real consumptions, etc.) and maintenance (conservation status, previous maintenance works, compliance with current regulations, etc.). These obstacles cause a deep inefficiency in the planning, programming and controlling of requalification and/or refunctionalisation works. Starting from these assumptions, this paper shows the findings of a research shared by the Politecnico of Milan and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari. It is aimed at testing the use of building information modeling (BIM) to structure the necessary knowledge to evaluate intervention scenarios. The research is focused on the Mandolesi Pavilion of the University of Cagliari, designed by Enrico Mandolesi. It is a highly stimulating architectural object because it incorporates values that require a conservative approach, but at the same time, like most contemporary buildings, it was designed and built for innovation and not for “long duration”. The work has actually led to the realization of a BIM model of the case study. It represents the first prefiguration of an approach that develops from construction history and continues with advanced diagnostics on the statical and energy performances of the building. The model formalizes knowledge and information on a significant building, aimed at its management. It allows also the setting of intervention scenarios that can be evaluated with real-time simulations of cost, time and ROI

BIM-3D GIS: an integrated system for the knowledge process of the buildings

The low accessibility of information regarding the design and construction phases and the current state of the buildings is the main cause of inefficient actions on existing buildings. The lack of ‘as built’ documentation and the complex task of detecting their current status in terms of use and maintenance cause deep difficulties in planning appropriate interventions. This paper shows the findings of a research aimed at testing the integrated use of BIM and 3D GIS in order to structure knowledge. The work led to the development of a BIM-3D GIS workflow that was tested on two case studies in Italy