bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Key Performance Indicators for Sustainable Urban Development: Case Study Approach
Authors: Genta C , Lombardi P , Mari V , Moghadam S Torabi 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Built environment energy efficiency improvement at the urban scale plays a key role to reduce the detrimental environmental impacts. However, the design and implementation of sustainable development scenarios is a complex process involving a large number of decision criteria and actors. An on-going Interreg project, “CesbaMED”, emphasizes to employ a common sustainability assessment framework at the urban scale, which is a set of eight regional assessment tools, named CESBA MED SNTool. This tool is an innovative decision-making process, which supports the development of energy efficiency plans for building stock in the context of their surrounding neighbourhoods. Moreover, this tool produces the MED Passport, which compares the sustainability performances of buildings and neighbourhoods. This study aims at presenting the on-going research activities with a specific focus on the selection of the set of relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) among the indicators of CesbaMED project for the case study of the city of Turin (Italy), based on stakeholders’ preferences. A workshop was organized to select the criteria and to assign the stakeholders’ preferences using the “Delphi” survey method. This method is used in order to investigate the stakeholders’ perspectives on the impact of each indicator on the different future sustainable scenarios. The results show that the stakeholders decided to remove and modify some KPIs for the specific case study of Turin with respect to its particularities.
Strategies for the Sustainable Reindustrialization of Brownfields
Authors: Canevaro E , Ingaramo R , Lami I M , Morena M , Robiglio M , Saponaro S , Sezenna E 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
The rapid de-industrialization of Western economies has left an enormous impact on the urban landscape in Europe, leaving behind vacant warehouses and production facilities. Industrial sites reuse is a crucial issue for sustainable land and urban development. This work is concerned with the fundamental aspects of industrial heritage and the ways to incorporate brownfields back into the urban fabric as a value-adding element. Adaptive reuse represents the most sustainable form of reuse, as it is based on maximal conservation of built assets, minimizing time, materials, embodied energy waste, and preserving site identity. For industrial areas redevelopment and reuse often site remediation is required. This activity is usually designed, carried out and assessed before and independently from urban design, planning and real estate strategies. This independence leads to higher remediation costs and often implies demolition of built industrial infrastructures, preventing any potential adaptive reuse. The former industrial site of Acciaierie Lucchini in Settimo Torinese, just outside of Turin, offered the chance to test a holistic approach, based on the multidisciplinary integration of knowledge and skills during the whole design process in order to define real policy proposals trying to improve the technical framework for more sustainable reuse procedures. In the 93.000 m2 area, abandoned and left to degenerate since 2000, trading in ferrous materials and then steel manufacturing were carried out for over fifty years, leaving a legacy in the form of heavy metal contaminated backfill material and underneath soil. Isolation from the city centre, poor accessibility for pedestrians and the location within an industrial zone make this site inadequate for any form of residential development. Whereas re-industrialization of this brownfield can bring new value to the site, transforming the abandoned spaces into an innovative industrial hub able to combine logistic, production, leisure and temporary living, experimenting with mixed-use programs the new relation between innovative production and the city.
Vapor intrusion evaluation for redevelopment of former industrial facilities
Authors: Lonati G , Saponaro S , Sezenna E 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Former industrial facilities in our cities are finding new life as they are repurposed for use as nonindustrial commercial or even residential spaces. Often, these buildings are brownfield properties, complicating redevelopment because of past industrial uses that led to soil and/or water contamination at the site. In case site contaminants include volatile chemicals (VCs), concerns about air quality at the site may arise. VCs can vaporize from the subsurface and migrate through soil to outdoor air or into indoor spaces of overlying buildings, where they may accumulate.
Vapour intrusion is a relevant problem especially at sites where building modernization and revitalization is to be carried out, as environmental investigations may be complicated by the structure of the built environment, and the contamination may remain undetected. Moreover, upgrading structures to meet building codes and energy conservation requirements can create tight buildings that may enhance the effects of vapor intrusion.
For accurately predicting whether indoor air quality is being or will be adversely affected by subsurface contaminations a multiple lines of evidence approach should be used. Many issues can in fact introduce uncertainty in predicting indoor air concentrations related to vapor intrusion, including i) sampling and analytical methods ii) modelling of fate & transport from subsurface into building, iii) indoor/ambient background sources.
This work refers about the risk management strategy at a site in Milan (Italy) where soil remediation (excavation and off-site disposal) left a residual volume of soil polluted with petroleum-derived hydrocarbons next to redeveloped buildings. Furthermore, the site was also affected by an extended plume of chlorinated solvents in groundwater from an unknown source, likely external to the site. Indoor air, outdoor air, crawl-space air and soil gas samplings were carried out to collect robust information for evaluating decisions points in the vapor intrusion process. Despite few ambient air and crawl-space measurements resulted in episodic high values, as a general trend, the average outdoor and indoor concentrations did not differ significantly from the background values, suggesting other sources than soil pollution were affecting the quality of the air at the site. Although not strictly necessary in terms of time-averaged health risk, a mitigation system of the residual soil contamination was, however, installed to prevent future uncontrolled exposure.
Mobility management at Politecnico di Milano: New infrastructures and behavioural change
Authors: Messori G , Morello E , Perotto E , Infussi F , Mondini G , Faroldi E , Tolentino S , Ugolini M 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Transportation has significant and long lasting economic, social and environmental impacts, making it one of the main challenges to be addressed by policy makers, public managers and scholars worldwide. For Universities, students and staff transportation represents one of the largest impacts on the environment and society, since in many cases it represent a noticeable share of urban traffic. A wide literature is available on the policies that support reducing car usage and improve the environmental and social sustainability of commuting to University. This paper presents the situation in the Politecnico di Milano, recorded through mobility surveys carried out in 2015 and 2017 to investigate the key issues and design possible solutions. The aim of this study is to share the set of actions and activities planned to improve the current mobility patterns of the Politecnico di Milano in favour of more sustainable means of transport. The main strategies will be the redesign of the campuses and the new infrastructure to be installed, together with the promotion of sustainable behaviours among the whole University population thanks to various activities in the framework of the ‘Città Studi Campus Sostenibile’ initiative. A special mention will be given to the ‘Vivi.Polimi’ project, which aims to improve the liveability of the Politecnico spaces, and which will give sustainable mobility a new impulse. Indeed, the planned measures include the reduction of the parking spaces inside the historical main campus while providing new infrastructure targeted at the promotion of alternative means of transport, like increasing the number of bike shelters to encourage active mobility or installing new charging stations for electric cars.
Environmental sustainability of the retrofitting of a vernacular dwelling in the Liguria seaside
Authors: Sabbadini S , Amato C G , Dotelli G 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
In the Genova hinterland, a traditional rural dwelling has been completely restored with the addition of new buildings respecting the landscape and the relationship with the existing vernacular construction. The project, in compliance with all the bio-architecture criteria of intervention associates traditional natural materials such as stone and lime with cutting-edge materials and techniques such as raw earth and hempcrete.
Both the recovery and the new buildings have been the subject of meticulous bio-design in terms of material choices and diversification of construction techniques according to the area of intervention and of the local material culture. The original stone walls have been preserved and consolidated with fibre-reinforced lime mortar applied directly on the stone wall after removing the old mortar. Timber beams and wooden floors have been almost completely renovated, but preserving and consolidating wherever possible the original structures. External walls have been re-plastered with thermo-plaster based on lime and diatomite. On the interior, a hemp lime mortar has been used.
Environmental sustainability of the whole retrofitting has been assessed by using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in compliance with the international ISO standards 14040 and 14044. The scenario is from cradle to construction, i.e. A1-A5 in terms of European directive EN 15804. The study is fully compliant with this directive in terms of impact indicators and additional benefits.
A decision-making process for resilience assessment in adaptive reuse
Authors: Morandotti M , Besana D , Cecchini C , Chiesa A 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
In the field of public heritage valorisation through renovation, resilience assessment is crucial to foresee the impact of each project action, monitor the transformability thresholds and achieve more sustainable restoration projects. Within this framework, methodologies to achieve early evaluation of different project alternatives since the very preliminary design phases are supposed to be a key factor for the success of the building process, as it is highlighted by the Italian public procurement code (D.Lgs 50/2016). Therefore, the role of the contracting authority is crucial, as it is called both to activate the process through the definition of the project requirements and to accomplish the evaluation of the proposed solutions by respecting the principles of public interests, legality, transparency and responsibility.
In order to achieve these goals, the research proposes a standard methodology composed of a list of synthetic indicators and the criteria for their combination, aiming to assess the residual performances of the building and evaluate the compliance with new intended uses through the match with a set of conceivable design strategies. In this direction, two assessment tools are defined: the PAV (Performance Adequacy and Vulnerability), which is calculated on the actual state of the building for the evaluation of its residual efficiency with reference to some transformative hypothesis and then integrated in a grid of design strategies, and the RTE (Resilience Threshold Evaluation) though to measure the expected transformative impacts on the building and their positive or negative implications within its resilience thresholds.
The methodology is implemented in a BIM-based process with the definition of a simplified informative model that makes it possible to retrieve all the information and to define the calculation rules in order to activate the defined methodology with the advantage of ensuring time-saving, data-safety and transparency in the process.
Occupant perception of spectral light content variations due to glazing type and internal finish
Authors: Potočnik J , Cadena J D B , Košir M , Poli T 
Published: July 2019

AbstractIndoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is a key issue in the design and renovation of any indoor building environment. It is comprised of different aspects (e.g. visual, thermal, acoustic comfort, etc.), which directly affect the building occupants’ wellbeing. Studies on this topic have grown rapidly in recent years, as the time that occupants spend indoors is increasing. In this regard, indoor luminous conditions are crucial for providing sufficient task illuminance as well as to stimulate the human circadian system. Insufficient lighting conditions have been proven to be related with reduced productivity/learnability, mood swings and health disorders, thus emphasizing the necessity for further research in this field. Therefore, proper performance evaluation criteria for managing and optimizing lighting spectral composition is needed. For instance, indoor lighting conditions can be evaluated by quantity, intensity, and/or uniformity, but also by spectral content, which determines the energy conveyed and the level at which the human body is stimulated. This spectral content can vary depending on the preferred or prevalent light source, interior finishes and glazing properties generating a singular indoor lighting environment. Thus, a preliminary study on the variation of the indoor daylight spectral content is conducted using a scaled model, applying various glazing types and interior finishes. Then, daylight simulations are performed on a calibrated virtual model to evaluate the effect of various environmental conditions. Results show a considerable impact of the interior finishes as well as glazing type on the attained circadian potential of studied indoor environment.
Environmental consequences of refurbishment vs. demolition and reconstruction: a comparative life cycle assessment of an Italian case study
Authors: Pittau F , Amato C , Cuffari S , Iannaccone G , Malighetti L E 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
In the building sector, the new standards for energy efficiency are reducing the energy consumption and the carbon emissions for building operation to nearly zero. As a result, the greenhouse gases emissions and related environmental impacts from materials production, and especially insulation, are becoming dominant. In the next future, most of building stock is expected to be refurbished and a great amount of construction materials will be consequently required. A relevant share of waste is generated from building construction and demolition and limiting the volume is a priority of the EU community. In this work the renovation of industrial buildings in a dismissed area located in Lecco, Italy, was considered as case study. Five alternative construction systems for renovating the building envelopes were assumed, and a life cycle assessment (LCA) adopted in order to measure the environmental impact of each alternative. The results where compared with a scenario which includes demolition and reconstruction of a similar building with the same net volume and thermal resistance. The results showed that timber and concrete are the most valuable materials to rebuild the structures in case of demolition, contrarily to steel which leads generally to higher environmental impacts, except land use. Refurbishment scenarios generally account for a lower global warming potential (GWP) even if demolition, waste treatment and benefit from recycling/reuse are taken into account.
Rehabilitation of public housing buildings in a life cycle perspective
Authors: Guardigli L , Ferrer C , Peters C , Fotopoulou A , Bragadin M A , Ferrante A 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
Planning the life cycle of a building, that is designing its resilience, is progressively increasing its relevance: the rehabilitation is considered a sustainable approach to the performance improvement of the built patrimony, which enables the extension of the useful life, compared to the more radical intervention of demolition and reconstruction. The most relevant aspects related to building performance regard the seismic rehabilitation of structures and the energy retrofitting of envelopes and installations. However, these are invasive and economically relevant interventions, that a private investor unlikely faces without specific normative or economic inputs. For this reason, the rehabilitation of public buildings and, particularly of public housing assumes a leading role in the building sector. The integrated approach of deep renovations leads to new strategies of life cycle planning and management based on the identification of environmental performance indicators with the goal of evaluating intervention alternatives, balancing the two – seismic and energy – strategies. An innovative approach to the seismic and energy rehabilitation of public housing in the Mediterranean area has been studied in the European research project Pro-GET-onE, coordinated by the University of Bologna. The research is based on the realization of an experimental exoskeleton to improve the combined seismic and energy performances. The solution also generates an economic surplus as a consequence of the increased living surfaces. This paper reports some results of the Life Cycle Assessment and the Life Cycle Cost Assessment related to this project.
Technical and economic assessment of a battery storage system for a nZEB in the Mediterranean climate
Authors: Causone F , Tatti A , Pagliano L 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
In recent years, the promotion of nearly-Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB), has become a priority for European member states. In order to get this label, typically, a monthly or yearly energy balance of energy use through the exploitation of renewable energy sources (RES) is required, but not a hourly balance. This approach may determine a low exploitation of the RES on site in the case of solar and wind energy, because they are intermittent by nature. Moreover, energy production and energy use peaks are often in mismatch during the day. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) offer a solution to better integrate RES into buildings as well as into the grid, increasing its reliability and minimizing interactions. The cost of these systems is rapidly decreasing, opening new economic opportunities for investors. However, for many applications they do not yet represent the optimal cost-effective solution due to the lifespan of their short-lived components. The paper investigates the technical and economic feasibility of integrating a BESS into a high-performance residential building in the Mediterranean climate based on the outcomes of an original case study based research. The existing photovoltaic system combined with the BESS may substantially optimize the energy use, maximizing the self-consumption and minimizing grid interactions; nevertheless, the pay-back time may become fully-attractive for the analysed building, only if BESS costs will halve by 2030.
Smart envelope and climate context
Authors: Milardi M , Musarella C C 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
The construction sector today is characterized by demands for new qualities in the field of energy efficiency. This attention has taken on an even more incisive role with the European Directives 2010/31/UE and 2012/27/UE, which obliged Member States to implement actions for energy saving by paying more attention to the planning phase. The general goal of the research is to analyse the smart envelope by verifying the influence that the reference climate context has on the energy efficiency of buildings, making progress in the study of the principles of smart buildings linked to an integrated renewable energy system monitored in order to put it directly in communication with the final user. In fact, it is important not only the choice of materials, but also the right contextualization and their correct installation to provide more information for better control and more efficient energy management from the building level up to small urban areas, “matrioska effect”. The envelope thus becomes the protagonist par excellence for the correct management of energy flows both in and out.
The energy efficiency of buildings, in fact, is mainly determined by the performance of the envelopes, the efficiency of the facilities, the use of renewable energy sources, the passive control systems of winter and summer comfort. Performance that depends on various factors, such as shape, orientation, transparent surfaces, solar gains, ventilation, technological systems used, materials … This need to design in a “renovated” has changed the concept of technical construction elements developing increasingly smart components following the rules of automation, or more specifically those of automation and management of technologies through the use of domotic for existing interactions with the climate context of reference. Therefore the research aims to develop a methodology that provides more information on the energy performance of home automation systems.
Present and future potential of natural night ventilation in nZEBs
Authors: Erba S , Sangalli A , Pagliano L 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
The increase in the energy need for cooling is one of the major challenges in nearly Zero Energy Buildings. Recent constructions are characterized by high thermal insulation levels, which can be effective in preventing summer discomfort in combination with accurate control of solar gains through glazed surfaces and discharge of overall gains via ventilation. In addition, urbanization, densification and the global warming trends registered in the last decades can increase the risk and magnitude of overheating effect if an accurate design and use of correct technologies and good practices are not considered. The paper investigates the effects and the potential of natural night ventilation, as a strategy to reduce the energy need for cooling even taking into account the evolution of surrounding urban area with the exacerbation of urban heat island under future weather projections. Among the different tools available for the assessment of the cooling potential in buildings, the research focuses on two methodologies, which are adaptable to the conceptual design phase, where a first approximation of the natural ventilation potential is required. The study is developed on the weather datasets referred to the area of Milan and shows the future evolution of the night cooling potential, highlighting the importance of orienting building design towards greater integration between different passive cooling strategies for the summer period.