Reconstruction of the heritage building of the Žiča monastery for the purpose of sustainability

Abstract

The Žiča Monastery was built at the beginning of the 13th century, in Serbia, near the present-day town of Kraljevo, in the village of Žiča, and was declared as a cultural monument of exceptional importance in 1979. Even today, 800 years after its construction, the Žiča Monastery has high signifi cance and represents an uninterrupted spiritual mission of the holy place for all Orthodox Serbs. The subject of the research in this paper is the Dining Room within the Žiča Monastery property which was built in 1935. The aim of the paper is to present a methodology which deals with sustainability and reconstruction in case of adaptive re-use of historic buildings in accordance with modern needs. Restoration of historic buildings that includes energy refurbishment measures will ensure successful reuse of them. An appropriate systematic approach of the reconstruction of heritage buildings is crucial in its preservation. All interventions on historic buildings, aimed at restoring and improving energy effi ciency, are a reversible process and can be done in accordance with the conservation requirements. The results of the research are recommendations for the restoration and adaptive re-use of historic buildings, while meeting modern requirements for comfort and environmental protection. The greatest contribution of this paper is the practical verifi cation of energy refurbishment of the restored historic building, the Dining Room, by applying the principles and measures of energy effi ciency, maintaining its authentic appearance. The possibility of practical verifi cation of the achieved results by applying the principles and measures of energy effi ciency in the restoration of the listed historic building is of great signifi cance.