Profile

Email

claudio13dias@gmail.com

Science ID

D91E-C2D3-8828

Ciênciavitae

ORCID

Lab2PT Group

LandS - Landscapes and Societies

Scientific Area

Arts; Architecture

Supervision

Carlos Maia Jorge M. Branco

Project Title

Prefabricated wood system for sustainable renovation of RC building envelopes

Abstract

In Portugal, a large part of the building stock was built in the 70’s and 80’s, being buildings dated from the 60’s and 70’s the ones with the most anomalies and less quality of construction and, therefore, with the worst energy performance due to the lack of legislation. The renovation of those buildings makes it possible to correct and improve their energy efficiency and with that, to promote a more sustainable building stock. Currently, most of the solutions applied in rehabilitation are low-cost and focus exclusively on increasing the energy efficiency of buildings. Thus, the ETICS system is used and the existing window frames are replaced by others with better thermal and sealing performance. Despite being a strategy that improves energy efficiency at a low cost, it does not solve most of the existing problems in buildings, such as structural problems and problems of interior organization, being necessary to apply different rehabilitation techniques to correct different problems. With the development of new wood-based materials such as CLT, new possibilities for more sustainable interventions and prefabricated solutions have appeared. In addition to being an innovative material for the rehabilitation of existing buildings, it also makes wood-based systems more efficient and sustainable, due to its ability to store carbon dioxide, as it is a natural and efficient material and therefore contributes to a better ecological footprint of buildings. In this regard, combining renovation of the building’s envelope with the confinement derived from the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the current environmental problems, the goal of this investigation is to develop a wood-based prefabricated system, capable of improving the energy performance and structural safety of buildings, solving preexisting anomalies based on sustainable principles and incorporating spatial and comfort value. This goal is achieved through the application of a sustainable system based on timber pre-assembled components for the building envelopes. In this regard, it is proposed to transform the existing building by adding external volumes, which create energy-efficient buffer zones and increase the building’s volume, such as balconies, sunspaces, extra rooms, and winter gardens. Therefore, it allows for an increase in acoustic comfort and indoor air quality and a substantial increase in the real estate value of the buildings and market attractiveness. The study object focuses on the post-60’s-reinforced concrete (RC) structures, which represent the majority of the Portuguese building stock.

Keywords

Energy efficiency; Architectural transformation; Structural resilience; Wood

FCT Reference

PRT/BD/154469/2022

Organic Unit

School of Architecture, Art and Design of the University of Minho