scholarly journals A Sustainable Approach for the Refurbishment Process of Vernacular Heritage: The Sesga House Case Study (Valencia, Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9800
Author(s):  
Camilla Mileto ◽  
Fernando Vegas ◽  
Carmen Llatas ◽  
Bernardette Soust-Verdaguer
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Local Construction ◽  
Industrial Materials

The refurbishment of traditional vernacular architecture is currently of interest for the conservation of heritage, historic landscape and cultural landscape, as well as for its potential benefits in the field of environmental sustainability. The carefully selected materials and techniques used in the refurbishment of a traditional dwelling in Sesga (Valencia, Spain) maintain the local construction techniques while causing the least possible environmental impact, saving on transport and transformation and construction energy. This article uses LCA to showcase this contribution, examining three scenarios: the first option is the refurbishment of the case study using natural traditional materials and techniques; the second presents a hypothetical refurbishment using widely used industrial materials; and a third option looks at the demolition of the existing building and the addition of a new construction with widely used industrial materials. This comparison has shown where and why the first option is, broadly speaking, the most sustainable option in environmental, sociocultural and socioeconomic terms.

scholarly journals An ecological assessment of vineyard houses: a case study from Bucak

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
Hacer Mutlu Danaci
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Its Region ◽  
Construction Technique ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Ecological Criteria ◽  
Material Choice ◽  
Building Form

Within cultural landscapes, there exists vernacular architecture that is characteristic in design of its region, construction techniques and materials, but is currently rarely used. Anatolia, a region that encompasses various regions with differing climates and cultures, is considerably rich in architectural splendor. In Southern Turkey, a part of Anatolia, vineyard houses in the Mediterranean Region’s Bucak Borough of Burdur Province are prototypical authentic vernacular architecture samples. Vineyard House use is becoming obsolete and these structures are disappearing. These vineyard houses are a cornerstone of the culture that built them, yet they have not attracted sufficient attraction in literature. Examination of sample relief works of vineyard houses within the borders of Bucak Borough placed their importance in an ecological context. Our goal is to ultimately protect these structures for both planning principles and to preserve the material, construction technique and cultural landscape to make vineyard houses usable to summer vacationists coming from the Antalya Province. This study is to ensure the vernacular architecture of vineyard houses in Bucak, they do not have any official protection status, are processed into literature, and to be a guide to any new designs. Vineyard houses’ have ecological properties in the framework of ecological criteria encompassing regional architecture, settlement structure, building form, place organization, and material choice. 

scholarly journals Life-Cycle Assessment of a Rural Terraced House: A Struggle with Sustainability of Building Renovations

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2472
Author(s):  
Karel Struhala ◽  
Milan Ostrý
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Consumption Energy

Contemporary research stresses the need to reduce mankind’s environmental impacts and achieve sustainability. One of the keys to this is the construction sector. New buildings have to comply with strict limits regarding resource consumption (energy, water use, etc.). However, they make up only a fraction of the existing building stock. Renovations of existing buildings are therefore essential for the reduction of the environmental impacts in the construction sector. This paper illustrates the situation using a case study of a rural terraced house in a village near Brno, Czech Republic. It compares the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the original house and its proposed renovation as well as demolition followed by new construction. The LCA covers both the initial embodied environmental impacts (EEIs) and the 60-year operation of the house with several variants of energy sources. The results show that the proposed renovation would reduce overall environmental impacts (OEIs) of the house by up to 90% and the demolition and new construction by up to 93% depending on the selected energy sources. As such, the results confirm the importance of renovations and the installation of environmentally-friendly energy sources for achieving sustainability in the construction sector. They also show the desirability of the replacement of inefficient old buildings by new construction in specific cases.

Dragon Garden

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Nicolson
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Garden Design ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Floral Displays

Case study 2: Dragon Garden is a designed cultural landscape that is still largely intact and serves as a valuable counterpoint to the loss of Tiger Balm Garden. The garden was owned and designed by Lee Iu-cheung, a philanthropic businessman who based the layout on fung shui principles as well as sustainable construction techniques which were advanced for their time. The garden was integrated sensitively into the surrounding landscape, incorporating stream courses and ornamental pools. It became known for its iconic dragon motifs, sculptures, seasonal floral displays, and being featured in the Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Despite being sold to a developer, the garden was saved by the timely intervention by a descendent of the founder who recognised the heritage value of the site. Subsequent detailed study of the garden design has revealed subtle layers of meaning and symbolism that had previously been overlooked.

STRAW IN THE RETROFITTING EXISTING BUILDINGS: SURVEYS AND PROSPECTS

Rivista Tema ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (N.2 (2021)) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
International Debate ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Traditional Construction ◽  
Architecture And Design ◽  
Initial Research

The article aims to investigate the feasibility of straw as an alternative to traditional construction materials, with particular reference to the retrofit of buildings. This paper is part of the international debate on environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, and rehabilitation of the existing building heritage and reports the results of research carried out at the Department of Architecture and Design of the Politecnico di Torino. After initial research and classification of the main construction techniques that can be used to realize straw thermal coats, a survey was started to collect opinions on the use of straw in construction from professionals and potential users. At the same time, one on-site measurement campaign was carried out to assess the thermal transmittance of the straw insulation coat. The different investigations – literature research, surveys, experimentation – highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the use of straw and identified possible scenarios for its wider application in Italy.

scholarly journals Understanding the Perceptions of Sustainable Coffee Production: A Case Study of the K’Ho Ethnic Minority in a Small Village in Lâm Đồng Province of Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1010
Author(s):  
Quan Vu Le ◽  
Grace Jovanovic ◽  
Don-Thuan Le ◽  
Sanya Cowal
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Coffee Production ◽  
Farm Productivity ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Central Highlands

This case study used anthropological and culture concept methodologies to evaluate the perceptions of sustainable coffee production of the K’Ho ethnic minority in Di Linh district, Lâm Đồng province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Sustainable production is a means of mitigating the increasing impacts of climate change upon the region. The Central Highlands is a major coffee production hub and Di Linh is the largest coffee growing region of Lâm Đồng province. The case study included in-depth interviews with farmers based on open-ended questions and a questionnaire about sustainable coffee indicators. The survey invited farmers to quantify the current status of their social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Our study revealed that the unique, government sponsored development of coffee farms led to fast production rates and quick economic prosperity. But, it also resulted in a prolonged monoculture system of coffee production and high chemical use; causing farm productivity to decline and social, economic, and environmental vulnerability to increase. The K’Ho farmers in a small village are noticing the devastating long-term effects of agrochemicals, but have had some initial success exploring the potential benefits of reverting to traditional farming methods.

scholarly journals ADOBE VERNACULAR HOUSING TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN CALIMAYA DE DÍAZ GONZALEZ, STATE OF MEXICO

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIV-M-1-2020 ◽  
pp. 1005-1010
Author(s):  
D. S. Romero Olguín ◽  
L. F. Guerrero Baca
Keyword(s):  
Social Transformation ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Architectural Analysis ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Local Construction ◽  
Spatial Shape ◽  
A Site ◽  
Local Materials

Abstract. Climate, topography, hydrology, and all the factors of the natural environment affecting a population, as well as accessibility to materials and its ease of transport have constituted the variables determining the vernacular housing characteristics. In the territory which now covers Calimaya various cultural groups settled, making evident the syncretism of various building traditions. Since its formation the place was a site of passage, which communicated various goods transport, generating a peculiar urban physiognomy and cultural exchange, leading to the introduction of buildings, typical of this place. The town’s current situation is characterized by a rapid process of urbanization and social transformation, generating new needs of usage and habitability. This growth transforms the architecture of the place, replacing it with buildings with physiognomic features that do not correspond to the original context, causing loss of local construction techniques. Assuming that typology is a theoretical and creative activity allowing the definition and structuring of a system of conceptual relations, within certain limits, in order to determine the representative elements of vernacular architecture of the site, a typological analysis is being carried out to identify local materials and buildings systems, its characteristics, and spatial shape. Likewise, a constructive and architectural analysis, identifying traditional building techniques, which will favour the development of solutions facing the problem of conservation, maintenance and sustainability in the locality, is being carried out.

Ethnic Networks and a Cultural Landscape in the Backcountry

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher C. Fennell
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Ethnic Networks ◽  
Architectural Patterns ◽  
Loudoun County ◽  
German Immigrant ◽  
House Site

Principal influences on consumer preferences in the Potomac and northern Shenandoah region and period included ethnic affiliations and local social networks. “Ethnic Networks and a Cultural Landscape in the Backcountry” addresses the cohesiveness of German immigrant populations in this region. Their use of material culture to convey their group affiliations was evident in a number of ways. For example, those residents employed vernacular architecture traditions in building their houses that included techniques and styles that communicated their shared heritage. Fennell examines a case study of such architectural patterns at the Demory house site in Loudoun County, Virginia, and relate it to larger-scale studies of German-American building traditions in this region and period.

Earthen architectural heritage in the international context: values, threats, conservation principles and strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Mileto ◽  
Fernando Vegas López-Manzanares
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Architectural Heritage ◽  
International Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Conservation Principles ◽  
Earthen Architecture

PurposeThis research aims to highlight the values, principles and recommendations for conservation in order to establish valid strategies for the conservation of earthen built heritage. This is done following a methodology which uses indirect (bibliography) and direct (case study) sources systematically analysed from different perspectives: the values of Earth as a material and of architectural and vernacular heritage; the heritage conservation principles found in international documents; and the analysis of over 3,000 case studies from which good practices in earthen architecture conservation are extracted.Design/methodology/approachEarthen built architectural heritage is found widely in all parts of the world, in archaeological sites and monumental and vernacular architecture, which research centres and researchers are increasingly studying and cataloguing. However, despite its richness and historic and cultural values, as well as its many merits in environmental sustainability, sociocultural and socio-economic terms, the value of this heritage has not been fully recognized in fields with major repercussions in conservation.FindingsFinally, these data are cross-referenced to establish the broadest possible strategies to guarantee all aspects to be taken into account in the conservation of earthen built architectural heritage.Originality/valueThe text provides an overview of the different methodologies in order to extract specific strategies applicable to the conservation of this heritage, both locally and globally.

scholarly journals The energy-environmental efficiency of the existing building stock through morphological-constructive solutions: the case study of a singlefamily building in Sicily

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 199-204
Author(s):  
F. Blundo ◽  
◽  
F. Foti ◽  
F. Leone ◽  
F. Nocera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Environmental Efficiency ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
A Current

The protection of environmental resources, both energy and natural, is a current and urgent necessity for contemporary society. Since the building sector is responsible for a large part of energy and environmental consumption, the possibilities for savings in this sector are vast, starting with improving the quality of buildings. Therefore, the ecological orientation of the construction sector today represents a valid and necessary response to the sustainable development requirement to reduce the pressure on the environment in terms of impacts and consumption of resources. This is especially true if applied to the recovery and energy-environmental efficiency of the existing building stock. The aim of this study is to propose a methodology of "good practices" for the rehabilitation of nonhistoric buildings in terms of formal, functional, comfort and environmental quality, a methodology that combines the theme of architectural quality with that of environmental sustainability. In particular, the aim is to demonstrate how morphologicalconstructive solutions can be a valid response to the requirements of energy performance, environmental sustainability and occupant wellbeing. To this end, a case study of the renovation of a single-family building from the 1970s in the municipality of Ispica is reported, in which the proposed methodology is applied.

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