Recovering industrial heritage: restoration of the wine cellar cooperative in Falset (Catalonia, Spain)

Awareness regarding conservation of industrial heritage is recent. Several policies have been adopted to start protecting these buildings because of their historic, artistic and scientific values. Wine cellars are an important example of industrial heritage in Catalonia due to the tradition of this product in the territory and the influence of Art Nouveau and Catalan ‘Noucentisme’ in their construction and style. The wine cellar in Falset, built by Cèsar Martinell in 1919, has recently been restored and still maintains its original function. This article analyses its history, its architectonic and construction characteristics, as well as the restoration process carried out in 2009, which consisted of recovering its original appearance and allowed to emphasize the architectural value of the building. This restoration is a prototypical example whose experience can be applied in other cases of restoration of wine cellars both for the characteristics of the building and for its good restoration practices. This restoration enabled the wine cellar to continue carrying out its original industrial function, providing suitable conditions to add a new cultural use as wellPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Caracterización sintética de las actuaciones de adición de plantas en los edificios históricos del ensanche de Barcelona

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Architectural and environmental strategies towards a cost optimal deep energy retrofit for mediterranean public high schools

Deep energy retrofit of the existing public stock is a crucial strategy to promote environmental targets at national and EU private levels, as required by EU Directives. The article presents a deep energy renovation strategy focused on high school buildings. The research is carried out in a sample of school buildings in Catalonia in which their possibilities of energy rehabilitation are analysed, developing a toolkit for prioritizing the buildings to intervene and the standardization of possible energy improvement measures for high school buildings. Such methodology is specifically developed to promote the replicability of deep renovation in Mediterranean schools, the model is applied to a specific case enquiry focused on the climatic zone Cfa according to Köppen (and equivalent to the Zone D3 at the Spanish level according to Spanish Technical Building Code), in accordance with a volume and constructive characteristics replicable in large schools built at the same period (70’s). Despite being schools that are over 50 years old, their demolition is not considered appropriate but it is preferred to gradually improve their construction elements and facilities system throughout their lifespan. It is worth noticing current thermal discomfort and low air quality in schools, particularly during the summer months when overheating can be a significant issue, given the absence of an active cooling system. It should be noted that the technical aspects evaluated in this first phase are those that meet the definition of an nZEB building under the cost optimal methodological framework: (1) prioritize demand reduction (minimizing heating demand with the aim of not penalizing cooling demand decisively enough to require the new implementation of refrigeration equipment to avoid overheating), (2) followed by the energy optimization of the installations’ consumption in relation to their performance and, finally, (3) promoting the implementation of renewable energies. Next, a methodology is proposed to discriminate and prioritize the intervention measures to be carried out, in a cost optimal deep energy renovation strategy, considering environmental aspects such as the life cycle of the building. This methodology is validated and its application in a representative case study is shown. Four key strategies are followed: (1) inspection and evaluation of the reference scenario, (2) establishing the strategic vectors for deep renovation according to the official definition of nZEB, (3) Considering the life cycle analysis of the interventions carried out to assess their environmental impact beyond the use phase, and (4) evaluation of the economic performance between investment and economic benefit of the energy bill with respect to the environmental benefit, in order to guarantee a cost optimal deep energy renovation. The research aims to show that energy rehabilitation solutions, seen from an environmental impact point of view during the use phase of the building, cease to be relevant when the environmental impact of all phases of the building (LCA) is introduced. In this case we can see how the environmental impacts generated by the improvement interventions are compensated at most after 3 years of use of the building. It can be concluded that the reduction in demand reaches values around 40%, versus the slight increase in cooling demand (less than 10%). However, the study has managed to reduce the coolingAuthors wishing to acknowledge the Departament d’Ensenyament of the Generalitat de Catalunya for their collaboration and encouragement to promote case studies in the field of the new energy models for school buildings, as a consequence of the established link in the European project ZEMedS–Promoting renovation of schools in a Mediterranean climate up to nearly zero-energy buildings (IEE/12/711/SI2.644.745)Postprint (author's final draft

Informe sobre l'estat de les façanes recobertes amb pedra de l'Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona

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Mechanical characterization of a new architectural concrete with glass-recycled aggregate

Concrete is a material which is widely used in architecture, not only for structural purposes but also for architectural elements for its versatility and excellent performance. However, the manufacturing of this material as a mixture of water, cement, and ¿ne and coarse aggregate comes with a high environmental cost, such as gas emissions, among other things. This is the reason why di¿erent alternatives are being proposed in order to replace coarse aggregates with other recycled materials, as it is one of the less sustainable components of the mixture in terms of extraction. One of these alternatives is recycled glass coming from drinking bottles, crushed into small grains and mixed in the same proportions as regular aggregates. This study proposes the mechanical characterization of a new architectural concrete mixture by using white Lafarge cement and glass-recycled aggregates. This proposed concrete is made especially for architectural elements like façade panels, rather than structural elements. The mechanical evaluation of this new material is done through a set of experimental tests under compression and also bending, comparing three di¿erent ratios of glass aggregate in the mixture.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The role of cultural heritage in urban reuse

[EN] Cities face the challenge of transforming existing buildings to be reused, particularly those that are underused or not used at all. Tackling this issue, the European Commission approved in 2014 a package of measures to promote a circular economy. According to this agreement, our cities can be more sustainable and resilient by transforming these underused existing buildings with proposals for their adaptive temporary reuse, favoring the citizens’ well-being and quality of life and promoting social inclusion and economic growth with respect for the environment. This paper studies the role of heritage education in adaptive urban reuse, exploring the possibilities and methodologies for the reprogramming of existing buildings for different types of activities to offer citizens and communities the opportunity to participate in the life of the city, favouring their social inclusion. In contrast to the common new-builds or refurbishment commissions, reuse offers a greater possibility of disseminating, transforming and reinventing architectural methodologies and approaches to integrate in the design process forms of citizen participation, favouring the transition towards a model of a circular economy and more sustainable consumption. The paper analyses the possibilities of urban reuse applied to five major public heritage buildings in Barcelona: the Post Office Building, the Old Customs House, the France Train Station, the Martorell Museum and the Castle of the Three Dragons. Each of them has a particular condition regarding current uses and its public owning institution and presents specific characteristics regarding building typology, heritage protection, conservation and construction materials and techniques. The buildings date either from the late 19th century or the early 20th century and are grouped along a 1 km axis on the threshold between the historic center and the port of the city. This unique location represents a great strategic potential for the regeneration and urban reactivation of the city.This work is part of the project Co-inhabiting Barcelona - five case studies in Ciutat Vella for urban reuse and the promotion of innovative production models, supported by the City Council of Barcelona and Barcelona Science Plan and granted at the call “Scientific Research Awards for Urban Challenges in the City of Barcelona 2020”.Domenech Rodríguez, M.; López López, D.; Cornadó Bardón, C. (2022). The role of cultural heritage in urban reuse. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 607-614. https://doi.org/10.4995/HERITAGE2022.2022.1439260761

Residential vulnerability of Barcelona: methodology integrating multi-criteria evaluation systems and geographic information systems

This article presents the methodology and results of a pioneering investigation in the determination and mapping of socio-residential vulnerability in the city of Barcelona according to a multi-criteria synthetic analysis. The methodology followed is based on a system of indicators elaborated from the exploitation of habitual statistical Open Data complemented with specific unprecedented data elaborated and supplied by the Barcelona City Council. The analysis is based on secondary data and it is structured in georeferenced axes, components, and indicators, which allow determination of the sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and urban and residential space characteristics at neighborhood, population census unit, and urban block level. The objective of the research was to detect, determine, and establish a measure of differentiation relative to the degree of residential vulnerability of some neighborhoods with respect to others, in order to seek prioritization measures for action in the most vulnerable areas. The results of the research provide a series of maps that allow us to define the areas where the highest levels of vulnerability indicators coincide according to a synthetic multi-criteria analysis.info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MICINN/2PE/RTI2018-101342-B-I00Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::10 - Reducció de les DesigualtatsObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::1 - Fi de la PobresaObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats SosteniblesPostprint (author's final draft

Evaluación preventiva de la seguridad de los edificios de la manzana Escodines de Manresa (Barcelona)

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El uso del hormigón armado en los sistemas estructurales de los edificios residenciales modernos del Área Metropolitana de Barcelona

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New approach to design and assess metaverse environments for improving learning processes in higher education: the case of architectural construction and rehabilitation

This research paper has defined and applied a new approach to develop and optimize augmented reality-based metaverse environments for learning construction and rehabilitation in architectural studies. This research paper is part of a broader project that aims to improve the learning process of architectural students by approaching construction and rehabilitation realities to the classroom in a feasible and pedagogical way. The approach has been applied successfully to develop a new environment with augmented reality that allows teachers to carry out activities using com puters, tablets, cellphones and smartphone headsets in classrooms. Students’ satisfaction regarding the new environment is high, though there is room for improvement. The assessment of this new environment has involved both questionnaires and a multicriteria decision-making method which have holistically evaluated the new proposal by achieving complementary results. The main advantages of this new environment are in terms of application and inclusion, while its weaknesses will be solved in future steps that will introduce both mixed reality, to enlarge students’ perception and comprehension, as well as neuroeducation, to diminish students’ potential annoyances and dissatisfaction.Postprint (published version