Abstract
After the enormous advancement of urbanization from the past 30 years, the functional and environmental quality of a large number of existing residential buildings poses a serious challenge to the sustainability of urban living. It is of great significance to retrofit the existing residential buildings in order to improve the living quality. However, due to complexity of residential issues, retrofitting of existing residential areas is not only some simple revising and reconstructing projects of residential buildings and environments, but also multidimensional and interdisciplinary theoretic research and engineering practices. Thus, this research study, taking the residential buildings built between 1980 and 2000 in Northeast China as the research objects, attempts to systematically put forward a regenerative method that offers an overall sustainable retrofitting plan of residential buildings. This paper, starting from investigating the complex issues of existing residential buildings, summarises the contradictions between the requirements from residents and current retrofitting approaches. Then, to resolve the contradictions, hierarchical theories, such as Open Building and Shearing Layers, are introduced based on documentary analysis and case studies. And finally, a sustainable regenerative design approach is proposed to hierarchically control the qualitative and quantitative retrofitting of existing residential buildings. The findings of this research will extend and improve the role of occupants’ participation in the retrofitting of residential buildings. It can also provide methods for the achievement of the long-term effectiveness and environmental sustainability.
Highlights
After the enormous advancement of urbanization from the past 30 years, the functional and environmental quality of a large number of existing residential buildings poses a serious challenge to the sustainability of urban living
The current retrofitting methods in China mainly consist of the followings [5] [6] [7]: 1) Retrofitting method based on energy saving reconstruction of residential buildings, which only aims at the residential building level in accordance with the mandatory standards for energy saving of residential buildings, including envelope structure (Figure 1, taking the retrofitting of enclosure structure as an example), heating system, heating and cooling system, lighting equipment, and hot water supply facilities
The contradictions between the requirements from residents and current retrofitting approaches leaded by government and constructional companies are the actual issues of retrofitting existing residential buildings, which are multiple and complex
Summary
The residential building itself had low design standards at the time, low construction levels and aging components, which caused thermal insulation and other residential functions could not meet residents’ comfort requirements at the current stage [3]. In the existing retrofitting methods in China, there is no complete theoretical and practical guidance to solve the problems of low quality of existing residential environment, degraded residential building performance and low interior space adaptability. In addition to the expansion of the retrofitting scope compared to energy-saving retrofitting pattern, the essence of the comprehensive regeneration methods has not changed, it only proposes single solution to individual problem and cannot solve multiple and complex residential issues. This research study based on the three levels of residential environment, residential building and interior space, summarizes the suitable retrofitting design pattern of the existing residential areas through literature review and case study
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