Unconventional construction technology for the recovery of historic buildings for community

UNIVERSITY OF PADUA (ITALY) Faculty of Engineering Department of ICEA Author: Turrini Umberto (*) Title: Recovering and reusing historical buildings with particular care to non-conventional construction technology and eco sustainable energy resources applied to public buildings for community use. Key words: building technology, renewable technology, eco sustainable public buildings, recovering and reusing historical buildings , nested multi-storey structures, natural lighting. Abstract: Nowadays recovering and reusing historical building are topics getting more and more important. The willingness of recovering new building volumes for the sake of the community operating in an eco sustainable housing perspective has brought to the architectural-structural redefinition of entire historical buildings. This has been very often achieved by operating on the main core of the existing building using "non conventional" techniques. There are many valid arguments concerning recovery and reusing buildings settled in an historical context, among them the centrality of the structure in comparison to the human needs of the surroundings. Schools, libraries, and generally public buildings must be strategically placed near or inside social realities allowing easy accessibility for elderly, young people and in general for everyone. At the same time these buildings should use natural energy sources with low or null environmental impact such as for example solar light. The approach of this work has been the analysis of real data field regarding two buildings in historical context, both of them for community use and intended to university activities. First work (completed) is the new University of Rovereto (Palazzo Piomarta, Trento, Italy). Inside an historical building, two courtyards, originally designed to be open-air walkways, were covered and reused as new library halls. Technologies and materials used are carbon fiber for structural consolidation, steel beams and structural glass for new floors. Structural glass was used for new floors with the aim of giving light to areas of the library with solar radiation coming from top of the building using null environmental impact energies . Second work (executive project) is about a building, property of University of Padua (Complesso S.Giorgio o del Padovanino, Italy) A new structural frame is fitted in the historical building shell to permit new architectural and structural use of the areas. This structure allows supporting the already existing ancient walls and so the re-opening of an original loggia, previously closed, through the making of capitals without columns, totally suspended, aimed at supporting the original arches that are then brought back to the original static function. In conclusion, even in this work it's possible to find innovative building technologies joined to null environmental impact energy sources such as solar radiation used for the library.