Following the Paris Agreement in 2015, the worldwide focus on global warming countermeasures has intensified. The Japanese government has declared its aim at achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The concept of zero-energy buildings (ZEBs) is based on measures to reduce …
Historic buildings are an integral part of the built environment that have historical, cultural, social, and economic value. Sustainable conservation/rehabilitation/renovation of historic buildings that will perform well for decades is therefore critical. Numerous sustainability-rating systems (e.g., LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, etc.) …
Aerogel-based coating mortars are an emerging class of multifunctional wall finishes that stand out for their thermal insulation performance. Commercial and trial mixtures, studied under laboratory conditions, have a declared thermal conductivity of about 30–50 mW/(m∙K). This is comparable to …
Green building technologies (GBTs) have gained significant momentum as a result of the environmental, energy management and societal problems within the building sector. The insulated block/eco-block is a GBT, which consists of an insulation material that prevents hot/cold air to …
This essay raises some reflections on the implications of protected areas in the processes of social construction related to the conception of nature, its limitations as a strategy for environmental policies (related to ecosystem connectivity and over the management of …
The precious timber-framed buildings of both China and Japan have been preserved as heritage. Over time, the conservation and restoration of heritage in both countries have gradually matured. The restoration projects in each country are mostly guided by the documents …
Given that building stock plays a crucial role in achieving long-term sustainable goals and in meeting Europe's climate targets, appropriate resources are needed to transform the sector and increase the rate of sustainable renovations. Considering the key role that sustainability …
The protective energy-saving retrofitting (PESR) of heritage buildings (HBs) is one of the essential aspects of building carbon-dioxide abatement. The present work validates and optimizes PESR measures for a typical rammed earth HB (REHB) based on multi-objective optimization and building …
Cultural value and heritage have been identified as necessary for a sustainable living environment, alongside environmental concern and energy efficiency. In this study, multiple methods, i.e., life cycle assessment, payback, and questionnaires and interviews with tenants, and empirical data from …
Recently, the simulation software (HAM) used for heat and water transport has become a powerful tool for the hygrothermal analysis of building envelopes, particularly for historical buildings. The increased moisture content and poor thermal-insulation properties of historical building materials increase …