A multidisciplinary approach for Modern Architecture retrofitting
(2021) CONFERENCE RECHERCHE INTERDISCIPLINAIRE ET TRANSDISCIPLINAIRE « TRANSITION ET DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE » — Location: LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE (26.November.2021)
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- The latest European programs related to energy efficiency underline the communitarian goal of improving sustainability of existing building stock, responsible for 40% of total energy consumption. Accounting for almost 45% of existing buildings, the architecture of the second half of the twentieth century is considered the main target. Its construction techniques, widely regarded as leaky and poorly insulated, made it especially vulnerable, and difficulties in the heritage recognition permitted radical alterations, with insufficient consideration about its cultural value and energy potentialities. The final result of the sole-energy approach is the ongoing modification of our urban landscape, a design flattening, that is causing the progressive loss of the architectural richness. Effectively, only in recent years, researchers have analysed the topic of combining architectural safeguard and energy retrofitting, assessing the benefits of historical conservation and energy improvement through a single intervention. The lack of a cohesive retrofitting approach specifically tailored to Modern Architecture remains today an open challenge. Furthermore, no methods have been developed for interventions on light buildings’ façades, although in Modern Architecture curtain walls are often representative of much of the aesthetic and architectural value, and constantly exposed to climate and anthropic-induced decay. Starting from previous research conducted by the laboratory of Techniques and Preservation of Modern Architecture at EPFLausanne (Graf, Marino), this contribution aims to present an innovative methodology for the retrofitting of Modern Architecture, capable of integrating thermal improvement, architectural preservation and social inclusion. This challenging objective is reached through the development of a transdisciplinary approach, that involves a plurality of actors, in an integrated process of knowledge co-construction. The overall process is structured into five major phases: 1)Architectural inquiry; 2)Technological Analysis; 3)Thermal diagnosis; 4)Design variants proposition; 5)Multicriteria comparison. The different skills required in each phase, necessarily ask for the close collaboration of multiple experts, such as historians, architects, technical physicists, structural and building engineers. The fifth phase, through the application of a cross-evaluation matrix, is intended as the final synthetic step, that allows to select the most effective and appropriate actions. The methodology is practically demonstrated for Chauderon Administrative Complex (Lausanne, 1970-1974), conceived by the architects Willomet and Dumartheray, with Jean Prouvé expertise. According to thermal simulations and building surveys, the retrofitting proposition allows to reduce by 58% the energy demand, respecting at the same time the main architectural features. Even without reaching the strictest legal standards, currently adopted by the European countries’ majority, the solution is recommended. The methodology in fact does not aim to drastically change the existing building to construct a net-zero energy/carbon one, but to find the right balance between heritage preservation and energy improvement, as the two are mostly complementary to each other. They are both legitimate issues, that fundamentally refer to the same preoccupation: to promote sustainable development. It finally deals with the preservation of irreplaceable resources, natural or cultural as they are. In this sense the research, stimulating a multidisciplinary debate, strives to delineate a new way toward future retrofitting approach, capable of overturning a common, well-established, but short-sighted practice.
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Galbiati, G., & Marino, G. (2021). A multidisciplinary approach for Modern Architecture retrofitting. CONFERENCE RECHERCHE INTERDISCIPLINAIRE ET TRANSDISCIPLINAIRE « TRANSITION ET DÉVELOPPEMENT DURABLE », LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/239949