Sustaining historical buildings, with their high energy consumption, does not easily align with the ambition to promote sustainability in the built environment. In this paper we delineate the dynamics and strategies that spring from this basic tension, by following the development and use of a dedicated valuation method. Our method is derived from both Actor Network Theory and the Dynamics of Standards. The Dutch DuMo-method seeks to balance the historical value and energy performance of historical buildings in a combined metric. The historical value is assessed with expert judgment of the so-called 'touchability' of the building, expressed in a multiplying factor, whereas sustainability is measured with Greencalc+, a quantitative environmental assessment method.
DOCUMENT
The ambition of a transition to a sustainable society brings forth the dual challenge to preserve historical buildings and simultaneously improve the energy performance of our built environment. While engineers claim that a dramatic reduction of energy use in the built environment is feasible, it has proven to be a difficult and twisting road.In this paper we focus on historical buildings, where difficulties of energy reduction are paramount, as such buildings provide local identity and a connection to our past. It is a EU policy objective to conserve and redesign heritage buildings like prisons, military barracks, factories, stations, and schools. Such redesign should also ensure reduction of energy use without compromising historical identity. In this paper we conceptually and empirically investigate how the two conflicting aspirations unfold. In particular we elaborate the obduracy and scripts of buildings, to clarify how they resist change and invite a specific use. We analyse the tensions between identity and energy conservation in a case study of a restoration project in Franeker. This buildinghas recently undergone a restoration, with energy efficiency as one of its goals.Scripts and networks are traced by a combination of methods, such as studyinglayout, materials and building history, and qualitative interviews with restoration architects and users. We identified three types of strategies to conserve identity and energy: design strategies; identity strategies and network strategies. Such strategies are also relevant for other efforts where conservation and innovation have to be reconciled.
DOCUMENT
Environmental values are becoming increasingly important in restoration of historical buildings, while energy interventions can seriously damage historical qualities. Cultural-historical values and environmental values are often considered difficult to commensurate, with energy engineers and heritage experts adhering to widely differing values and relating to different discourses. Valuation instruments are devised to deal with such value conflicts in restoration projects. In this article we study what such instruments perform in the case of assessing historical buildings. We ask how these instruments work, and how they afford, support and guide valuation processes? Furthermore, we enquire what is achieved and what is lost in the reconciliation of values. Theoretically, we start from the notion of commensuration, which allows comparison of values through a shared metric. Empirically, this research note examines the history and use of DuMo, an instrument that aims to reconcile cultural – historical and environmental values and provides a range of sustainable restoration strategies. We find that DuMo indeed performs commensuration of these conflicting values, but also keeps intact the epistemic authority of the two professions. Our claim thus is that valuation instruments can successfully perform commensuration while at the same being contested by involved professionals.
DOCUMENT
The paper briefly describes the outcome of two inventories: 1) an inventory based on fact sheets about daily use and energy consumption of historical buildings (mainly relative small churches) in the North of the Netherlands, and; 2) an inventory based on interviews with owners of historical buildings about motives to reduce energy consumption.
DOCUMENT
Existing unreinforced masonry buildings in seismically active regions are in urgent need of consolidation and preservation against seismic action to prevent damage and loss of financial resources. In this research, an experimental study of externally confined brick masonry piers, which are frequently preferred as load-bearing elements in historical buildings, was conducted. The confinement system included a combination of open-grid basalt textile and mortar. Eighteen masonry pier specimens were produced using solid bricks collected from a historical building constructed in approximately the 1930s and a local mortar with substandard mechanical characteristics to simulate mortar properties in existing heritage buildings. All the square/rectangular pier specimens were tested under concentric compressive loads. In general, confinement of the tested textile-reinforced mortar (TRM) improved the energy dissipation of the masonry piers significantly. A comparison was made between the experimental results and theoretical predictions using the available analytical models. The compressive strengths predicted by the models are satisfactory.
LINK
Dealing with and maintaining high-quality standards in the design and construction phases is challenging, especially for on-site construction. Issues like improper implementation of building components and poor communication can widen the gap between design specifications and actual conditions. To prevent this, particularly for energy-efficient buildings, it is vital to develop resilient, sustainable strategies. These should optimize resource use, minimize environmental impact, and enhance livability, contributing to carbon neutrality by 2050 and climate change mitigation. Traditional post-occupancy evaluations, which identify defects after construction, are impractical for addressing energy performance gaps. A new, real-time inspection approach is necessary throughout the construction process. This paper suggests an innovative guideline for prefabricated buildings, emphasizing digital ‘self-instruction’ and ‘self-inspection’. These procedures ensure activities impacting quality adhere to specific instructions, drawings, and 3D models, incorporating the relevant acceptance criteria to verify completion. This methodology, promoting alignment with planned energy-efficient features, is supported by BIM-based software and Augmented Reality (AR) tools, embodying Industry 4.0 principles. BIM (Building Information Modeling) and AR bridge the gap between virtual design and actual construction, improving stakeholder communication and enabling real-time monitoring and adjustments. This integration fosters accuracy and efficiency, which are key for energy-efficient and nearly zero-energy buildings, marking a shift towards a more precise, collaborative, and environmentally sensible construction industry.
DOCUMENT
The article engages with the recent studies on multilevel regulation. The starting point for the argument is that contemporary multilevel regulation—as most other studies of (postnational) rulemaking—is limited in its analysis. The limitation concerns its monocentric approach that, in turn, deepens the social illegitimacy of contemporary multilevel regulation. The monocentric approach means that the study of multilevel regulation originates in the discussions on the foundation of modern States instead of returning to the origins of rules before the nation State was even created, which is where the actual social capital underlying (contemporary) rules can be found, or so I wish to argue. My aim in this article is to reframe the debate. I argue that we have an enormous reservoir of history, practices, and ideas ready to help us think through contemporary (social) legitimacy problems in multilevel regulation: namely all those practices which preceded the capture of law by the modern State system, such as historical alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices.
DOCUMENT
Designs for improving energy efficiency in historical buildings are tailor made. For initiators the flexible character of design processes raises uncertainty about why certain energy measures are (not) allowed. How is decision making in thedesign process organised? And what mechanisms influence tailor made designs? In this paper we present an integral design method for energy efficient restoration. Our theoretical background draws on two sources. Firstly, we follow design theory with distinct generic and specific designs. Secondly we use the ‘heritage-as-a-spatial-factor’ approach, where participants with different backgrounds focus on adding value to heritage. By applying the integral design method, we evaluate decision making processes and reflect on heritage approaches. We suggest how the integral design method can be improved andquestion the parallel existence of heritage approaches.
DOCUMENT
It is historically a fact that Turkey experiences frequent earthquakes, on the order of one damaging earthquake of magnitude 6–7 approximately every 2 years, causing extensive losses to economy, life and limb. Every strong earthquake leaves behind poverty and tens of thousands of homeless people. In order to mitigate especially the losses of life due to earthquakes, a rapid scoring technique called the P25 – Preliminary Assessment Method is proposed herein. The purpose of the method is to determine, for a reinforced concrete-framed building, whether there is any vulnerability to collapse during a strong earthquake. By identifying those buildings, which are most likely susceptible to collapse inside a particular building stock, and consequently strengthening or demolishing them, practically no loss of life will occur. In this presentation, details of P25 – Preliminary Assessment Method are discussed and the high degree of prediction reliability of the method is demonstrated on 323 case study buildings, which experienced wide ranges of damage during past earthquakes.
LINK
The conservation of our heritage buildings is a European wide policy objective. Historical buildings are not only works of art, but embody an important source of local identity and form a connection to our past. Protection agencies aim to preserve historical qualities for future generations. Their work is guided by restoration theory, a philosophy developed and codified in the course of the 19th and 20th century. European covenants, such as the Venice Charter, express shared views on the conservation and restoration of built heritage. Today, many users expect a building with modern comfort as well as a historical appearance. Moreover, new functionality is needed for building types that have outlived their original function. For example, how to reuse buildings such as old prisons, military barracks, factories, or railway stations? These new functions and new demands pose a challenge to restoration design and practices. Another, perhaps conflicting EU policy objective is the reduction of energy use in the built environment, in order to reach climate policy goals. Roughly 40% of the consumption of energy takes place in buildings, either in the production or consumption phase. However, energy efficiency is especially difficult to achieve in the case of historical buildings, because of strict regulations aimed at protecting historical values. Recently, there has been growing interest in energy efficient restoration practices in the Netherlands, as is shown by the 'energy-neutral' restoration of Villa Diederichs in Utrecht, the 'Boostencomplex' in Maastricht and De Tempel in The Hague. Although restoration of listed buildings is obviously focused on the preservation of historical values, with the pressing demands from EU climate policy the energy efficiency of historical building
MULTIFILE
