The gap between plan and practice: Actual energy performance of the zero-energy refurbishment of a terraced house

Prêt-à-Loger, TU Delft’s entry to the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 (SDE2014), demonstrated the conversion of a common terraced house to energy neutrality, whilst adding value to its living quality. The house was retrofitted according to principles of smart & bioclimatic design, using local circumstances intelligently in the sustainable redesign....

An integrated design process for a zero-energy refurbishment prototype for post-war residential buildings in the Netherlands

Although refurbishment is a necessary step to reach the ambitious energy and decarbonisation targets for 2020 and 2050, which require an eventual reduction up to 90% in CO2 emissions, the rate of renovation is still relatively low. There is an increasing demand to upgrade both the physical condition and the performance of the building, with the...

A Methodology to Support Decision-Making Towards an Energy-Efficiency Conscious Design of Residential Building Envelope Retrofitting

Over the next decade investment in building energy savings needs to increase, together with the rate and depth of renovations, to achieve the required reduction in buildingrelated CO2 emissions. Although the need to improve residential buildings has been identified, guidelines come as general suggestions that fail to address the diversity of...

Integrating Life Cycle Energy into the Design of Façade Refurbishment for a Post-War Residential Building in The Netherlands

The existing building stock has been in the focus of European Union policies for energy savings. Nevertheless, energy certification schemes refer mostly to operational energy and usually do not consider aspects related to the life cycle of the building. To look at the overall energy cost during the lifespan of a building, the energy used to...

A Facade refurbishment toolbox supporting energy upgrade of residential building skin

Over the next decade investments in buildings energy saving need to increase, together with the rate and depth of renovations, to achieve the required reduction in buildings related CO2 emissions. Although the need to improve residential buildings has been identified, guidelines come as general suggestion that fail to address the diversity of...

Facade Refurbishment Toolbox: Supporting the Design of Residential Energy Upgrades

The starting point of the research is the need to refurbish existing residential building stock, in order to reduce its energy demand, which is a necessary step to reach the ambitious energy and decarbonisation targets for 2020 and 2050 that require an eventual reduction up to 90% in CO2 emissions. In this context, the rate and depth of...

An Integrated Refurbishment Design Process to Energy Efficiency

Given the very low renewal rate of the building stock, the efforts to reduce energy demand must focus on the existing residential buildings. Even though awareness has been raised, the effect on energy efficiency is often neglected during the design phase of refurbishment projects. This paper discusses an integrated approach to energy-efficiency...

Sustainability and within use office building adapations: A comparison of Dutch and Australian practices

Local Authorities worldwide are encouraging adaptation as a means of reducing building related urban energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The City of Melbourne is promoting the retrofit of 1,200 CBD properties before 2020 with sustainability measures as part of their policy to become a carbon neutral city. Australian cities date from...

Re-Face: Refurbishment Strategies for the Technical Improvement of Office Façades

Two thirds of all office real estate in Europe is older than 30 years. While the load bearing structure of a building can last for a century, the interior design is renovated at relatively short intervals. Practice has shown, however, that at the age of twenty to thirty years the facades and climate installations of a building do no longer...

Rietveld originals: Handle with care!

The work of architect Gerrit Th. Rietveld (1888 – 1964) is appreciated throughout the world. Many of the well-known buildings he designed have survived to the present. Some have been restored or refurbished, depending on the condition of the building, current needs of the building users, etc. Rietveld himself had a very clear vision about...

Refurbishment of Residential Buildings: A Design Approach to Energy-Efficiency Upgrades

Refurbishing the existing building stock is an acknowledged issue in the building industry. Even though awareness has been raised, the design phase of refurbishment projects is often problematic. The decisions taken in the early stages of the design determine the final result; however, the assessment of the environmental performance only happens...