Building survey and energy modelling: An innovative restoration project for casa del fascio in como

Abstract

Historic buildings are fragile systems to be managed and protected during time: in the task of heritage restoration, efficiency improvement interventions should enable a more sustainable building conservation and use. Such measures might be defined within the combination of building survey and energy performance simulation. A good knowledge of materials and physics characteristics is fundamental to weigh correctly any improvement intervention. This can be supported also by documentary research and diagnostics, to detect existing resources and conservation issues. However, how to match all collected qualitative and quantitative data with a building energy model is still an open question. Energy simulation alone gives a partial vision of heritage needs, excluding information which do not affect the thermal performance of the model; on the contrary, a whole building approach is necessary for defining restoration interventions. With the aim of suggesting a methodology to combine both fields of investigation, a case study has been chosen to our purpose: Giuseppe Terragni's Casa del Fascio (1936). A multidisciplinary process with the combination of building survey, monitoring campaign, on-site investigation and energy modelling has been functional to the understanding of the real building needs and the definition of interventions. Furthermore, the analysis has given to the rediscover of Terragni's microclimatic control system (not more existing), leading to the choice of reinventing-in a modern way-the existing devices (as curtains), well-balanced on building needs.