Renovation of 20th century modern buildings: Some common challenging architectural details analysed to find optimal insulating solutions

Abstract

Reusing existing buildings is a valid response to the architectural challenge associated with climate change. However, these buildings must be adapted for better performance to ensure low carbon impact in the future. That demands retrofitting strategies which enable thermal comfort, indoor environmental quality, and energy efficiency. In addition, energy retrofit solutions that abide by conservation ethos are needed to ensure higher performance while protecting cultural heritage, architectural features, and identity. Energy retrofits of post-war modern-age buildings pose particular challenges. There is a paucity of general guidance, particularly academic literature, focusing on optimum retrofit strategies for awkward architectural details. These optimum strategies mainly consider the balance between the retrofit cost and the energy-saving potential. Environmental concerns related to the insulation materials are often not mentioned. As the results of this study show, the “optimum” solution might shift once we add this third aspect. In certain instances, no or minimal insulation is often more optimal when considering the environmental effects associated with the insulation and additional materials involved in retrofits.