The energy performance upgrade of the historical building of “Loggia”, in Heraklion Crete, Greece

Abstract

This article presents the process of the energy performance upgrade for the historical, Venetian building of “Loggia”, in Heraklion Crete, Greece. The building is currently used as Town Hall of the Municipality of Heraklion. The original Venetian building was constructed and renovated between the 13th century and 1628 during the Venetian occupation of Crete (1205-1669). Through the centuries, the building was gradually and partially destroyed, resulting to its total destruction in the Second World War. The construction of the existing building as a faithful copy of the original started in the ’60s and was completed in the late ’70s. Due to the special protection and conservative regime applied for the “Loggia” building, although, practically, a new one, the possible energy performance upgrade interventions were remarkably restricted. Any alteration of the building’s outer views is strictly prohibited. Eventually, the proposed measures were the installation of new openings, faithful copies of the existing ones, the installation of a new air-to-water heat pump with a hydraulic distribution network and hydronic terminal units for indoor space conditioning, installation of new luminaires and LED lamps and floodlights and a photovoltaic plant on the building’s roof. The building was upgraded to a zero-energy consumption facility.