Building technologies towards achieving sustainable heritage

Abstract

Various aspects of building technologies are integrated into contemporary design approaches in sustainable heritage treatment. From the basic analysis of buildings, starting from applied materials and structural characteristics to the complex design interventions and their impact on future building performance, strategies, and tools related to technological issues are constantly being developed. These tools are used throughout the design process and serve for testing and validation of various concepts. On the other hand, many strategies and approaches integrate technological issues in the core steps of building design, starting from the initial concepts. Usually used as an adjective for the word design (environmentally responsive, energy conscious, climate- sensitive, carbon neutral, etc.) these numerous concepts carry an added value, which contributes to the qualities of environmental protection and/or comfort issues. While these diverse tendencies should be encouraged, there is also a raising need for all those values to become integral to the design process. This approach is being encouraged by legislation, and to a larger extent by market uptake (through labelling), but still, all the mentioned values are too often being regarded as an added feature, relying on technological solutions. Mapping the overlaps in the different approaches and actions which all have a similar technological background is the first step in defining a common methodology for sustainable heritage treatment.