Preservation of original appearance of exposed concrete facades, case study: residential Block 23, New Belgrade

Abstract

Block 23, located in New Belgrade presents multifamily residential block constructed during 1970s. It was designed in the manner of the era of Brutalism. Consequently, exposed concrete was selected and applied as the main material for bearing structures and façade envelopes. This period was typical for the mass production of multifamily buildings and in the efforts to perform faster construction of buildings, prefabricated building systems were in use. Technique of prefabricated production enabled the production of specific shapes of façade elements. Therefore, architects of the buildings in the Block 23 designed different types of facade elements resulting with specific architectural expression of this urban complex. In general, facade elements can be classified in specific groups by their shapes and dimensions. In the analysed block, five main groups of elements are present such as: parapets, one storey panels, linear elements, panels between windows and decorative elements. After approximately 40 years of exploitation followed with different causes of damages and decay of exposed concrete, the condition of those elements deteriorated and they need to be reconstructed and renovated. Since these buildings do not fulfill the requirements of nowadays regulation regarding energy efficiency of buildings they also require energy rehabilitation. Having all this in mind, this paper strives to analyse potential solutions for reconstruction and energy renovation of these prefabricated concrete facades with respect to the need of preservation of their original appearence. This complex problem is supported by the fact that the block has the status of previous protection as the architectural and cultural heritage of one important period of Serbian architecture.