Hidden Flaws of Energy Efficient Refurbishment of Buildings in Brutalist Architectural Style

Abstract

The paper presents energy efficient refurbishment practices in Serbia, highlighting the problems of applying the standard improvement measures for energy saving on buildings of a specific era and style. The focus is on the brutalist buildings in Belgrade that are not protected as such, nor is their façade or project in general — even though they are considered to be examples of good practice by architects today. Form and geometry of these objects themselves arise many challenges in terms of thermal insulation of facade walls. The most problematic are cold bridges (parts of the primary concrete construction that are also seen on the exterior), which will bring the issue into the interior — by accelerating the phenomenon of condensation and dew points along the line of connection of two planes with different temperatures. The chosen subject of research is the object of Elementary school Ratko Mitrovic, New Belgrade (block 38), which is a brutalist building from the 1970s, designed by architect Petar Petrovic — that has not undergone any changes since its first day (can still be seen in its original state today). The specific school was chosen because it is also a subject of an ongoing project of energy efficient refurbishments for schools in Serbia — where the hidden flaws of using the standard improvement measures for energy saving can be calculated and the weaknesses of the project can be targeted — questioning whether these proposals are to be considered improvements of the existing state.