Public Housing Stock between Recovery and Sustainability: The Case of Tor Bella Monaca in Rome

Abstract

The buildings and construction sector is responsible for 37% of energy-related CO2 emissions and over 34% of energy demand globally. The redevelopment of the existing residential building stock has become a consolidated policy of the European Commission to implement the objectives of economic recovery and energy transition towards climate neutrality by 2050. This paper illustrates the design experimentation conducted by the Sapienza University team on the recovery of the public housing compartment R5 in Tor Bella Monaca, Rome. The research proposes an original methodology that is ideally replicable for regenerating large public housing districts built on the outskirts of major European cities, characterised by significant technological and social degradation and energy deficiency. This paper provides an overview of the interventions and an evaluation of the method and set of tools developed in drafting the Technical and Economic Feasibility Study at both the neighbourhood and building levels. This contribution is addressed to researchers and public and private organisations dealing with the complexity of the social housing recovery topic, emphasising overall sustainability aspects of interventions in terms of typological and energy refurbishment of buildings, re-activation of open spaces and enhancement of landscape components, and envisioning new services through participatory methods that promote social inclusion.