Towards a systematic approach for energy refurbishment of historical buildings: the case study of Albergo dei Poveri in Genoa, Italy

The monumental complex “Albergo dei Poveri” was built between the late seventeenth century and the middle of the nineteenth, as a structure for charitable purposes and it represents an important urban structure. The building was completely abandoned for more than a decade. Therefore a renewal project was defined in order to allow a complete use of the building as a university campus. Given its size and location in the heart of the city, the building could represent in the future a great opportunity for urban renewal. The University Rector assigned to the Postgraduate School in Architec-tural and Landscape Heritage the task of preliminary researches related to the building refurbishment. In particular, a feasibility study was drawn up, considering the main fea-tures of the structure to obtain an efficient use of energy resources. Supported by Ansal-do Energia, an analysis to define the most suitable solutions for energy efficiency was started. Considering the importance of the structure at urban level, this study has been proposed to take part at the project “Genova Smart City”. In this paper, the general criteria for the building refurbishment, in relation to the architectural and historical commitments, are presented