An Investigation of the Energy Efficiency of Traditional Buildings in the Oporto World Heritage Site

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquim Moura Flores
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Energy Efficiency Improvement ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Improvement Measures ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Historic Cities

Abstract Oporto’s traditional buildings are the major contributors for shaping the World Heritage Site Despite this, and as is the case in most European historic cities, they are not individually listed and any adaptations to make them comply with current energy efficiency requirements may cause negative impacts on their authenticity and integrity. This paper aims to identify which energy efficiency improvement measures can be applied without damaging the buildings’ heritage value. For this purpose, fieldwork and simulation data of ten case studies were used. On-site results revealed that the energy consumption in Oporto’s traditional buildings was below European average and the households expressed that their home comfort sensation was overall positive. Simulations showed that introducing insulation and solar thermal panels would be ineffective in terms of energy and cost efficiency as well as comfort improvement. This study reinforces the idea that traditional buildings perform better than expected in terms of energy consumption and can be retrofitted and updated at a low-cost and with passive solutions.

scholarly journals Protocol Development for Point Clouds, Triangulated Meshes and Parametric Model Acquisition and Integration in an HBIM Workflow for Change Control and Management in a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1083
Author(s):  
Adela Rueda Márquez de la Plata ◽  
Pablo Alejandro Cruz Franco ◽  
Jesús Cruz Franco ◽  
Victor Gibello Bravo
Keyword(s):  
Urban Area ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Laser Scanner ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage Site

This article illustrates a data acquisition methodological process based on Structure from Motion (SfM) processing confronted with terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) and integrated into a Historic Building Information Model (HBIM) for architectural Heritage’s management. This process was developed for the documentation of Cáceres’ Almohad wall bordering areas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The case study’s aim was the analysis, management and control of a large urban area where the urban growth had absorbed the wall, making it physically inaccessible. The methodology applied was the combination of: clouds and meshes obtained by SfM; with images acquired from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Single Lens Reflex (SLR) and terrestrial photogrammetry; and finally, with clouds obtained by TLS. The outcome was a smart-high-quality three-dimensional study model of the inaccessible urban area. The final result was two-fold. On one side, there was a methodological result, a low cost and accurate smart work procedure to obtain a three-dimensional parametric HBIM model that integrates models obtained by remote sensing. On the other side, a patrimonial result involved the discovery of a XII century wall’s section, that had supposedly been lost, that was hidden among the residential buildings. The article covers the survey campaign carried out by the research team and the techniques applied.

INHERITING THE CITY: HISTORIC URBAN LANDSCAPE OF GEORGE TOWN UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohayah Che Amat
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage ◽  
Landscape Values ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage Site ◽  
Community Evaluation ◽  
George Town

This research presents the value of historic urban landscape (HUL) elements in influencing the character of George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS), Penang, Malaysia. The values were perceived by the local community of different social-cultural groups that occupied the study area. The historic urban landscape elements constitute towards the protection of its townscape. The identification of the heritage elements influenced by the community interaction with their environment. This study also helps to define the character of a place, as well as reflecting its historical significance. The study adopted four techniques to gather both qualitative and quantitative data, including questionnaire survey, in-depth interview, visual survey and content analysis. In general, the local community has the capability in valuing the historic urban landscape values. The outcomes of their perceptions became the statement of the historic urban landscape values, which are expected to lead to the development of the areas. The community evaluation and perception can be expanded in implementing any development of the historic urban area by the authority.

scholarly journals Integrating Ecosystem Services and Human Demand for a New Ecosystem Management Approach: A Case Study from the Giant Panda World Heritage Site

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Fu ◽  
Pei Xu ◽  
Yukuan Wang ◽  
Yingman Guo
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Management ◽  
Giant Panda ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Trade Offs

Ecological management based on the ecosystem approach promotes ecological protection and the sustainable use of natural resources. We developed a quantitative approach to identify the ecological function zones at the country-scale, through integrating supply and demand of ecosystem services. We selected the biologically diverse hotspot of Baoxing County, which forms a part of the Sichuan Giant Panda World Heritage Site, to explore the integration of ecosystem services supply and demand for ecosystem management. Specifically, we assessed the various support, provision, regulating, and cultural services as classified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. We applied the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) model to spatially map habitat quality, water retention, and carbon sinks, and used statistical data to evaluate food products, animal husbandry, and product supply services. We then quantified the demands for these services in terms of population, protected species, hydropower, water, and land use. The relationship between areas of supply and areas of demand was discussed for each township, and the spatial variability in the supply–demand relationship was also considered. As a result, we spatially divided the county into six ecological functional areas, and the linkages between each region were comprehensively discussed. This study thus provides a detailed methodology for the successful implementation of an ecosystem management framework on a county-scale based on the spatial partitioning of supply and demand.

scholarly journals The Wadden Sea as a National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site: Students’ Word Associations with These Two Conservation Designations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 8006
Author(s):  
Till Schmäing ◽  
Norbert Grotjohann
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage ◽  
Word Associations ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Unesco World Heritage Site ◽  
Significant Difference

The Wadden Sea ecosystem is unique in many respects from a biological perspective. This is one reason why it is protected by national parks in Germany and by its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In biology didactics, there are only a few studies that focus on the Wadden Sea. This work investigates students’ word associations with the two stimulus words “national park” and “UNESCO World Heritage Site”. The survey was conducted among students living directly at the Wadden Sea and among students from the inland. The analysis of the identified associations (n = 8345) was carried out within the framework of a quantitative content analysis to be able to present and discuss the results on a group level. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups. Overall, results showed that the students made subject-related associations as well as a large number of associations to both stimulus words that could be judged as non-subject-related. In some cases, a connection with the region of residence could be found, but this was not generally the case. Even students’ immediate residential proximity to the Wadden Sea is no guarantee that they have knowledge of the two considered protection terms.

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