Problem of protection of original appearance of prefabricated concrete facades and energy improvement measures - example of New Belgrade

As a result of renewal of the Serbian capital after the World War II, a newly built residential settlement named New Belgrade was erected on the left bank of the river Sava. The most intensive time of its construction includes the period from 1950 to 1980, when prefabricated construction systems were omnipresent. As a manner and reflection of that time, diverse design solutions were applied on residential buildings from New Belgrade in which concrete was the main façade material. The most widespread finishes were: exposed concrete panels with different textures and reliefs; coated, i.e. painted concrete panels; concrete panels with ceramic tiles finishing; combined façades of exposed concrete and brick. Today, in many cases of New Belgrade residential blocks, there are serious damages of concrete façades that require extensive repair. At the same time, some of the blocks enjoy the status of previous protection as cultural monuments. On the other hand, referring to existing buildings, the question of energy efficiency as one of the imperatives of nowadays building practice implies the need for additional thermal insulation along the building’s thermal envelope. This type of intervention is, in most of the cases, applied externally, representing in this way a measure that might significantly change the original building appearance. In both cases, preservation of appearance of concrete façades is questionable, which raises the problem of protection of original appearance of analysed buildings. This paper strives to present the overview of the applied concrete façades and their present condition in selected residential blocks from New Belgrade in the light of energy performance of their facade envelopes in the present state. This review should point out potentials and limitations for their further improvement having in mind the need for preservation of authenticity of the analysed buildings

Effects of window replacement on energy renovation of residential buildings - case of the Serbian building practice

Achieving the desired degree of energy efficiency in buildings has become an imperative of nowadays construction.This requirement is set in relation to both new and existing buildings, in order to reduce their energy consumption, but also to improve the overall comfort, especially thermal, contributing in this way to a creation of a healthier place. Measures that are applied in order to improve energy efficiency in buildings include various interventions on its thermal envelope, which in the case of energy renovation of existing residential buildings is not necessarily all-inclusive.The effectiveness of the measures implemented to assess the appropriate calculation methodology of the energy required for heating, as in the case of existing regulations in Serbia, implies that applied enhancement should contribute to the improvement of their energy class for at least one energy rate. Such improvement, especially in the case of larger buildings, could be achieved only by improving the air-tightness of the existing windows, but their replacement with windows of high energy performances is the most common measure in practice. However, without energy rehabilitation of surrounding façade walls, such intervention could cause condensation along the peripheral, insufficiently insulated, non-transparent structures. Thus, the positive effects of the improvement measures could be questioned. Taking into account the characteristics of the existing building stock in Serbia, typical situations of existing contacts between the façade walls and the corresponding windows are simulated in the paper, in relation to the risk of condensation and consequent potential users’ health problems

The role of brick in the Late Antique architecture of the Central Balkan Roman provinces [predavanje po pozivu]

Complex research of late antique bricks from the area of today's Serbia, conducted at the beginning of the 21st century, included the analysis of this material from several archaeological sites, including the ancient Viminacium. The idea was to determine the similarities and deviations of bricks and brick construction techniques in the observed areas concerning the overall late antique architecture of ancient Rome. Therefore, extensive analyses of the literature and the results of previous research were conducted, in conjunction with fieldwork and laboratory testing of appropriate samples from the field. The research indicated that construction techniques that were used in the area of today's Serbia in the time of late antiquity were completely in line with the way of building in the area of the Eastern Roman Empire. As a rule, they included the use of bricks, and most often it was the opus mixtum technique, performed in a manner of late antiquity, while in the case of smaller buildings, the opus testaceum technique could also be used. The analyzed area had a specific role in the turbulent period of the invasion of barbarian tribes in the Eastern Roman Empire resulting that by the end of the 4th century the area was mostly devastated and depopulated. However, during the 6th century and the reign of Emperor Justinian, the area of northern Illyricum revived and gained strategic importance to preserve the northern borders of the Empire, so that some cities were revived, while completely new fortified settlements were built. The new circumstances have contributed to the intensification of construction activities with noticeably more extensive use of brick and more frequent application of the opus testaceum technique on significantly larger buildings than was the case in the previous period of construction activity during the 4th century. At the same time, there is a certain change in the formats of bricks, which from the elongated rectangular formats that were typical of late antiquity in the observed areas, become closer in shape to the square. Visual observation of 6th-century bricks gives the impression of their poorer quality compared to 4th-century bricks. Morphological, as well as physicochemical analyzes conducted on bricks of the 4th and 6th centuries from selected sites, give an initial picture of the quality of used bricks. The gained knowledge of the quality of the analyzed bricks in combination with their format and applied building technique becomes a good basis for a better understanding of the behavior of late antique buildings, but the real picture of this can be obtained in combination with similar research focussed on mortars that were applied

E(nergy) p(erformance) c(ertificate) of buildings and dwellings Influence of Disposition and Orientation

Following the guidance set by the Directive on the energy performance of buildings (recast) (EPBD2), current regulations in Serbia which refer to the issue of energy efficiency and energy certification of buildings provides an opportunity of certification of selected unit of a building, such as a dwelling. This measure was set in order to make it possible for owners or tenants of the building or the building unit to assess and compare its energy performance. From the user's perspective this measure is very important since, apart from reviewing the quality or the deficiencies of space in which they live, it would be an important parameter of economic evaluation of the apartment in the future. As energy performance of the apartment is not a priori identical to that of the whole building, the paper will analyze and compare these values for different positions in a horizontal and vertical plan of the same apartment within the building. Comparison of the results obtained for individual dwellings and for a building as a whole, will provide insight into the extent to which the disposition and the orientation of the apartment affect its energy performance

Promotion of the cultural heritage of Mediterranean city in the scope of upgrading cultural tourism

World and especially European trends of tourist economy are mainly focused on development of diversity in cultural tourism. Cultural tourism is a complex of numerous activities that enables not only the affirmation of cultural-historic motives, but also provides important resources for renewal of cultural-historic monuments, tangible and intangible heritage and resources. Today, there is no serious and ambitious country that does not prefer development of tourism in its development strategies as a planetary phenomenon and development sector. This specially refers to cultural tourism, as a competitive segment, based on local authenticity, unique areas, urban entities and ambiance, different historic layers and monuments, local tradition, myths and customs, affirmative mentality of population, geographic and ecological resources, in brief - complex and original identity of its area and its population. Cultural tourism in Montenegro has a modest tradition and only recently through valuable but sporadic initiatives and encouragements from Europe, attempts to valorize its own potentials, making them competitive through creative projects and programs. It is most certainly that the Montenegrin coast is a deeply settled part of complex Mediterranean cultural sphere that possesses certain characteristics which marks it as a unique cultural space in which different historical, geographic, confessional and other influences from surroundings intersect, predefining it for development of cultural tourism. This paper represents an effort to create a professional study report, although limited to single destination - city of Budva that treats cultural tourism in correlation with evaluation of renewal and use of cultural-historic and built heritage. From the mentioned reasons and within described context, this paper tends to be a small, but precisely created contribution to the future actions of creating complex tourist offer at Montenegrin coast, especially in Budva as its 'capital', as it is often emphasized with reasonable expectations in public.

Attic extension and thermal renovation of the residential building: Case study

Buildings are the only resource growing constantly. Although relevant data for Serbia is not available, it is presumed that even more than 50% of energy production is spent on buildings in our country. This conclusion is based on two facts: the present industrial production and the state of buildings. In order to establish measures for energy efficient refurbishment, one residential building was analyzed in Belgrade. The chosen building represents the construction period when application of thermal insulation was not obligatory according to building regulation. As more than 35% of buildings were built in that period, they represent great potential for energy savings through the process of refurbishment

Preservation of authentic expression of prefabricated concrete facades - case study: residential building in block 29, New Belgrade

Concrete and brick were typical materials of building fabric of multifamily residential buildings from Belgrade, from the 1960s until the 1980s. This was the period of intensive building construction, supported and financed by the state, when new parts of the Belgrade were erected, and New Belgrade was one of such new residential settlements. High intensity of construction that was typical for the period in question was followed by the application of various prefabricated construction systems that offered possibilities of creating diverse design solutions. Nowadays efforts to improve the quality of existing residential buildings through the implementation of energy rehabilitation measures, raises the question of the need for preservation of original appearance. When such need exists, usual energy renovation measures such as addition of external thermal insulation and finishing layers are not considered appropriate. Therefore, such buildings seek for other type of intervention on the existing building fabric. Having this in mind, this paper presents a case study of one of the residential buildings from the Block 29 in New Belgrade, designed by the Serbian architects Milosav Mitić and Mihailo Čanak during the 1960s.Thanks to its architectural values, today this blockhas the status of previous protection.Three main types of materialisation prevail on the building’s façade planes: concrete prefabricated elements with ceramic tiles as finishing, elements with exposed concrete and bricks applied on the walls. Today this building is approximately 50 years old, so the prefabricated facade elements are not in good condition and needs to be repaired, but the building as a whole also needs to be energy renovated. Taking it all into account, problems and potential solutions of energy renovation and repair of prefabricated concrete facades that preserve their original appearance are examined on the example of the selected residential building

Promoting bio-based building materials as a means of bridging the urban-rural divide in Serbia

Due to the difficult economic situation within Serbia, rural areas find themselves on the margins of investment and development, creating a deep rural-urban divide. Much of Serbia can be characterized as rural with a large segment of the population living in rural settlements defined by socio-economic stagnation or degradation. Revitalizing rural regions is thus important for the socio-economic wellbeing of the entire country and mitigating the rural-urban divide can be key to the sustainable development of urban areas. Much of the built environment in Serbia has a low level of energy efficiency and though public perception has improved, the focus is on improving operational energy, while the embodied environmental impact of building materials is rarely considered. This paper details and analyses the main problems facing rural areas in Serbia. As agriculture is still the primary economic activity in rural areas, it suggests that the development and application of bio-based building materials created from the by-products of agriculture, can be an important element of further strategies for sustainable development in Serbia. In particular industrial hemp, which was once an important and abundant crop in Serbia, is currently experiencing a significant resurgence. This paper demonstrates that hemp-lime concrete may be a particularly suitable building material for encouraging new economic activity in rural areas and promoting sustainable design in both rural and urban areas

Environmental features of building materials of traditional Ohrid house and their contribution to its human design

Selection of materials for the construction of a house can significantly affect the extent to which it will be characterized as a "healthy home". Having this in mind, the paper discusses the environmental impact of applied building materials in the case of a traditional Ohrid house which was selected as a representative of vernacular architecture in the Balkan region. Respecting the principle of relying on local resources which is a characteristic of vernacular architecture, materials used for the construction of Ohrid houses are natural, non-toxic, most of them are organic, and none of them causes environmental pollution during the deconstruction, i.e., does not threaten its natural course. Consideration of the impact of building materials on the environment emphasizes the positive characteristics of selected natural materials as well as sustainable character of building principles of Ohrid masters. The following criteria were analysed: the amount of energy embodied in the particular material; the use of natural materials; locally produced building materials; use of durable materials; level of toxicity; recyclability; waste minimization; reuse of materials and the biodegradability of materials. The aim of this paper is to point out that the principles of environmentally responsible construction applied on the case of the Ohrid vernacular architecture are timeless guidelines in construction of healthy and sustainable architecture. The established character of being ecologically friendly and healthy which is typical for applied materials on selected examples of vernacular architecture, offers the opportunity for a review of sustainable strategies that are used for several centuries, but still keep their significance in contemporary sustainable practices and environmental design