Renovation of historic buildings: analysis of the best-practices

Eurac Research in collaboration with Aalborg University, Uppsala University, and the Bavarian State Office for Heritage Preservation, published a new scientific paper for the Journal Heritage. The work delves into a detailed examination of 69 case studies centered on enhancing the energy efficiency of historic buildings through retrofitting.

The study reveals various obstacles faced during renovations, such as intricate heritage assessments, restrictions on modifications, coordination issues with authorities, technical constraints, higher costs, and knowledge gaps. Conversely, it identifies factors that encourage renovation, like showcasing energy savings while honoring heritage, early collaboration between planners and authorities, and accurately quantifying investments, which could motivate property owners and authorities.

The study offers valuable insights into successful projects, stressing the importance of scalability, knowledge sharing from innovative policies, and targeted policy development for effective replication. The study concludes by advocating for the further enhancement of the HiBERatlas (Historic Building Energy Retrofit atlas), an extensive resource for historic building renovation. This involves expanding its database, fostering collaboration with agencies, and tailoring guidance for stakeholders to promote energy retrofits in heritage buildings.

Our researchers led the analysis, especially the parts related to building services and energy efficiency, and they are also responsible for the management of the HiBERatlas online platform.

"Goal was to analysed the sample of best-rpactice renovations gathered in the HiBERatlas in order to draw some conclusions and lessons learned that could support the renovations of historic buildings. In other words, what are the aspects that make a renovation successful? Best practices are often analysed separately, whereas in this work we looked at a sample for nearly 70 renovations from different contexts like different climates, regulatory frameworks, constructions, etc..." Says Daniel Herrera, first author of the study.

The original scientific article can be read here