Evaluation of a retrofitted heritage building in downtown Cairo as a best-practice example

Abstract

Energy retrofitting standards and guidelines, together with benefitting from best existing experiences, are effective in retrofitting heritage buildings towards low-carbon emissions. In Downtown Cairo, many heritage buildings are exposed to adaptive reuse practices, after moving to the 'New Administrative Capital'. Integrating energy saving in said practices has become a crucial aspect. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate a recent retrofitted heritage building called 'La Viennoise' as an example of best practice for retrofitting processes in Downtown Cairo. The study carried out a field survey for data gathering. A monitoring-based simulation model was created and calibrated, and the building envelope and energy use were evaluated. The simulation results are presented into two cases. The first includes the original state as a base case, showing a very low building envelope thermal performance. The second includes the current state as an improved case. A comparison of both cases shows that the implemented retrofitting scenarios in the case study effectively improved its building envelope and reduced annual energy consumption, and CO2 emissions. This paper allows further benefit from such example by setting a retrofitting guideline to expand this concept in other buildings with similar conditions to achieve a low carbon-built heritage.