Seismic and energy retrofitting of residential buildings: a simulation-based approach

The topic of the high seismic vulnerability of housing stock in Italy is back again at the center of political, economic, social and scientific-technical debate following the seismic crisis that struck Marche, Umbria and Lazio regions in 2016. These events have once again raised the need for a massive retrofitting program at National and Regional level, addressing the majority of the existing building stock, realized for 60% prior to the adoption of the first seismic code (Law 64/74), in a territory characterized north to south by high levels of seismic hazard. In recent years, different kinds of tools have been implemented to allow the simulation of natural hazards’ impacts on the built environment and to support strategic choices both in the field of emergency management and resilience-based urban design and planning. Nevertheless, an integrated set of instruments for a quantitatively informed decision support is still missing. Within EU-FP7 CRISMA project, an integrated DSS (Decision Support System) application has been developed, with a set of tools and functionalities addressing the main aspects involved in the decision-making processes for natural hazards preparedness and response

Building Resilient Cities: A Simulation-Based Scenario Assessment Methodology for the Integration of DRR and CCA in a Multi-Scale Design Perspective

Resilience of the built environment and communities to natural and man-made hazards is consolidating worldwide as a key requirement in the field of urban planning and building design, and there is an increasing awareness that Sustainable Development Goals and priorities of the Sendai Framework cannot be achieved without a comprehensive approach able to promote the effective implementation of DRR and CCA measures within regeneration processes at various scales. In this sense, an “all-hazards” approach, addressing multiple risk conditions (including Natech and cascading effects) and integrating DRR and CCA design strategies, show a highly cost-effective potential, maximizing the effect of complementary measures and optimizing mitigation/adaptation design techniques within a multi-scale (building/neighbourhood/city) resilience perspective, delivering at the same time socio-economic benefits linked to the improvement of urban spaces’ liveability and environmental quality. Vulnerability and impact assessment represent an essential component of a simulation-based methodology aimed at increasing the potential for use of scientific results by decision-makers, through multi-hazard and dynamic impact scenarios combined with cost-benefit and multi-criteria analyses to assess the effectiveness of alternative options. The paper presents the methodological approach developed at PLINIVS Study Centre and the experimental applications implemented within recent EU and National projects, such as H2020-ESPREssO and SIMMCITIES_NA

Computational LEED: computational thinking strategies and Visual Programming Languages to support environmental design and LEED credits achievement

Since environmental and energy issues and challenges continues to emerge as key global concerns, Green Building Certification Systems are becoming increasingly relevant in the construction industry. In this regard, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is considered one of the most widely recognized environmental assessment methods used globally in the construction industry today. However, due to the high level of complexity of the LEED system, the tools usually used to verify the achievement of the credits lack of “design friendliness” and hardly communicate effectively with the conventional tools used by architects and engineers (e.g. CAD, BIM). This makes difficult to fully take into account, especially at the early design stage, the many interconnected aspects that contribute to the green certification, with consequent issues often arising in the design validation and/or construction phases, resulting in time delays and cost increments. The application of innovative problem-solving methods, such as computational thinking, together with coding techniques, represents an effective way to deal with this issue. This kind of methodology, in fact, allows the requirements of a specific LEED credit to be digitally parametrised and flexibly incorporated into a “designer friendly” working environment. In particular, Visual Programming Languages (VPLs), due to their high simplicity of usage, allow architects and engineers to develop algorithms and thus implement their technical knowledge in the field of environmental design with computer programming skills, useful to improve their tools and keep them constantly updated. The aim of this paper is to illustrate a methodology through which, by merging computational thinking strategies with VPL tools, is possible to keep under control, in the same working environment, all the parameters required to verify in real time the achievement of LEED credits. To demonstrate the flexibility of the approach, dedicated tools developed for the verification of some specific credits at different scales – neighbourhood and building – are illustrated as operational examples of the proposed methodology

Climate-resilient urban transformation pathways as a multi-disciplinary challenge: the case of Naples

The effects of climate change in cities are already visible with extreme events globally increasing in both frequency and intensity. It is essential to consi- der the impact of urban regeneration strategies on local microclimatic conditions in order to guide urban planning and design in a resilient key. The complex ma- nagement of information required to define adequate intervention strategies at a local level is a growing challenge for public administrations. The paper presents the first results of the ongoing H2020 project CLARITY (2017-2020) aimed at developing climate services for the integration of adaptation measures in urban redevelopment actions focused on activities performed in partnership by the UNINA team and the City of Naples, one of the project’s case studies

Climate change risks and environmental design for resilient urban regeneration. Napoli Est pilot case

The paper shows the results of the first phase of the research project “METROPOLIS - Methodologies and Technologies for integrated and sustainable adaptation and security of urban systems” developed by STRESS Scarl - High Technology District for Sustainable Building of the Campania Region. The project is aimed at the development of innovative strategies for a resilient urban system and design guidelines for appropriate choices of urban regeneration based on the assessment and mitigation of natural and man-made hazards. The paper describes the results concerning the definition of innovative methodologies for the knowledge and mapping of urban vulnerability to climate risks in the East Naples area. The cross-disciplinary and multi-scale approach integrates knowledge and technology from university and industrial partners to develop a decision support tool in the field of urban regeneration. The study of the impacts of extreme weather events, based on the simulation of climate change scenarios in the area of East Naples, includes the data management in a GIS environment from satellite remote sensing, direct surveys and simulation software, focusing on the environmental and technological performance of urban spaces and elements. The research results report risk scenarios for pluvial flood and heat waves hazards according to both climatic variables, both aggravating phenomena arising from the characteristics of urban settlements. The complex reading of the buildings-open spaces system and its response to climate change conditions has allowed to define the vulnerability of elements at risk, as well as adaptation and mitigation solutions to be implemented within urban regeneration interventions, identifying critical issues in relation to comfort and environmental risk conditions, consumption and efficient use of resources, compliance of the technological choices to specific requirements.

Seismic and energy retrofitting of residential buildings: a simulation-based approach

The topic of the high seismic vulnerability of housing stock in Italy is back again at the center of political, economic, social and scientific-technical debate following the seismic crisis that struck Marche, Umbria and Lazio regions in 2016. These events have once again raised the need for a massive retrofitting program at National and Regional level, addressing the majority of the existing building stock, realized for 60% prior to the adoption of the first seismic code (Law 64/74), in a territory characterized north to south by high levels of seismic hazard. In recent years, different kinds of tools have been implemented to allow the simulation of natural hazards’ impacts on the built environment and to support strategic choices both in the field of emergency management and resilience-based urban design and planning. Nevertheless, an integrated set of instruments for a quantitatively informed decision support is still missing. Within EU-FP7 CRISMA project, an integrated DSS (Decision Support System) application has been developed, with a set of tools and functionalities addressing the main aspects involved in the decision-making processes for natural hazards preparedness and response

Multi-scale and adaptive-mitigation design methods for climate resilient cities

Effectively addressing the issue of climate resilience in urban areas requires the development of innovative design methods that can handle the complexity of the information needed to guide sustainable urban regeneration and retrofitting strategies, as well as to manage the technological and environmental solutions in a multi-scale perspective. The paper presents the methodology developed by the ARC3-2 Urban Planning and Design working group of the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) and the results of the experimental activities conducted within Studios and Workshops promoted in New York, Paris and Naples by the New York Institute of Technology, the Polytechnic of Milan and the University of Naples Federico II

Seismic and energy retrofitting of residential buildings: a simulation-based approach

The topic of the high seismic vulnerability of housing stock in Italy is back again at the center of political, economic, social and scientific-technical debate following the seismic crisis that struck Marche, Umbria and Lazio regions in 2016. These events have once again raised the need for a massive retrofitting program at National and Regional level, addressing the majority of the existing building stock, realized for 60% prior to the adoption of the first seismic code (Law 64/74), in a territory characterized north to south by high levels of seismic hazard. In recent years, different kinds of tools have been implemented to allow the simulation of natural hazards’ impacts on the built environment and to support strategic choices both in the field of emergency management and resilience-based urban design and planning. Nevertheless, an integrated set of instruments for a quantitatively informed decision support is still missing.Within EU-FP7 CRISMA project, an integrated DSS (Decision Support System) application has been developed, with a set of tools and functionalities addressing the main aspects involved in the decision-making processes for natural hazards preparedness and response

CAESAR II Tool: Complementary Analyses for Emergency Planning Based on Seismic Risks Impact Evaluations

Italy is a country with high seismic hazard, however since the delay in the seismic classification of the national territory, most of the existing building heritage does not comply with the current technical standards for buildings. The seismic events that have hit different Italian regions in recent years have highlighted the complexity of the challenge for the public bodies both in the emergency management and post‐event reconstruction and in the planning of effective risk prevention and mitigation measures to be implemented in ‘peacetime’. These difficulties concern, in particular, the capacity to properly manage the financial and technical resources available and to identify the intervention priorities throughout the entire emergency cycle. For correct management, the priority is to quantify and localize, through simulations, the quantification of probable damages and to evaluate in terms of cost‐benefits the possible alternative strategies for mitigation, also taking into account the potential, in terms of cost‐effectiveness, of integrated measures for seismic and energy retrofitting. In this framework, the project CAESAR II (Complementary Analyses for Emergency planning based on Seismic Risks impact evaluations) has been developed as a Decision Support System for Public Authorities in charge of developing Disaster Risk Reduction plans, with the possibility of programming mid to long‐term investments for public and private properties, as well as defining custom financial support mechanisms and tax incentives