Retrofit of Residential Buildings in Europe

Abstract

Recently, many cities in Europe are encouraging the recovery of the existing residential heritage. To maximize the benefits of these campaigns, a multi-purpose campaign of architectural, functional, and structural retrofit is essential. Additionally, a fast-changing society requires new living criteria; new models need to be developed to respond to the developing requirements of communities and markets. This paper proposes a method of analysis for 49 residential retrofit projects, a range of “best practices„ presented through the definition of strategies, and actions and thematic packages, aiming at reassuming, in a systematic way, the complex panorama of the state of the art in Europe. Each project was analyzed using a data sheet, while synoptic views and tables provided key interpretations and a panorama of strategies and approaches. The analysis of the state of the art showed that lightweight interventions achieved using dry stratified construction technologies of structure/cladding/finishing are a widespread approach to renovation and requalification both for superficial/two-dimensional actions and volumetric/spatial actions. The study also highlights the leading role of the envelope within retrofit interventions. The retrofit approaches appear to reach the greatest efficiency when reversible, because only in this way do they ensure environmentally friendly actions with the possibility of dismantling. The intervention should improve the flexibility of the existing construction with a correct balance between planning for the present and planning for the future.

Keywords

• social housing
• building retrofit
• building renovation
• residential heritage
• integrated retrofit
• building envelope