HERIT4AGES

Project Info

For decades, heritage buildings have been an example of resilience, but also low emissions. They form the core of our cities, towns and villages. A building that has no use or purpose is abandoned and lost. It is imperative to ensure their conservation and maintenance by making them accessible, affordable and easy to maintain, but also habitable. That is only possible when comfort is considered as the main target. Heritage buildings represent an important part of our cultural identity. It is time to include them in the adaptation to a new social and energy model.

This project aims to demonstrate that it is possible to improve the overall performance of heritage buildings while preserving their architectural and cultural identity. Given that the spectrum of heritage buildings is very broad and the laws that protect them may allow for different levels of intervention, the project aims to develop a set of solutions that can be replicated in different parts of Europe. The aim is to solve the problem of lack of comfort in many heritage buildings, where in many cases either there is no heating/cooling system or the use of the existing one entails a significant economic expense due to the need to air-condition large volumes of air.

Achieving acceptable levels of comfort will not only benefit the health of users but also make these buildings attractive places to develop for different uses, thus helping to preserve them. When faced with the energy rehabilitation of a heritage building in which there are often construction elements with high thermal inertia, the recommended solution is usually to insulate the exterior with hygroscopic materials. Unfortunately, in many cases, this is not possible due to problems with the alignment of the street or because the façade is protected. When the only solution is to insulate on the inside, other problems arise.