This historic 1927 ArtNouveau home was practically in its original state, untouched by renovationefforts that would have deprived it of its beauty and dignity.Our daily commitment is toevery aspect of sustainable architecture. This is especially important withhistorical buildings, the renovation of which requires respect, reversibility,restoration, and where possible, the use of renewable energy sources.Re-use and recycling ofprimary resources and building materials are the cornerstones of our designs.The grey energyincorporated in all building materials is great.  A such, the decision tosacrifice valuable and still usable architectural components results in a greatloss of energy. Substitution with new materials involves an even further lossof energy in terms of the costs of transport, production and disposal.This project design wasthus constrained by a series of objectives that guided the choices throughoutits execution:

1. Respect for the façade'smoldings and friezes that so strongly define the Art Nouveau movement;

2. Restoration of themasonry walls damaged by moisture;

3. The systematic recoveryand reuse of all possible original materials, including large southern exposedwindows and the original external French doors;

4. The use of materialsoriginating from renewable resources5. The systematic adoptionof removable and/or reversible designs in construction and interiors.Principal Modifications Completed:·  Excavationaround the entire perimeter of the house to create an external passage in whichair circulates, allowing for both the drying of walls and masonry and theplacement of insulation both above and below ground.·  Placementof external insulation comprised of two layers of wood fiber panels to a totaldepth of 12 cm.·  Inthe portions of the façade with moldings and friezes of architectural interest,the wood fiber panel insulation was placed internally.·  Theroof was insulated with one layer of wood fiber panels to a depth of 20 cm.·  Speciallydesigned roof ventilation allows for evaporation of excess humidity.

Systems:

·   Since the house is completely insulated and present day livinghabits involve much time spent away from home, the necessary exchange of airinside the building is no longer guaranteed by the manual opening and closingof outside doors and windows, or by drafts let in by poorly fitted windows.This results in a less healthy environment within the home. 

·   For this reason, and also to reduce energy lost forventilation purposes, the building has been outfitted with a centralizedMechanically Controlled Ventilation System for the recirculating of heat. Inhistorical buildings such as these, in which internal wall insulation isrequired so as to maintain unaltered the external façade, the control ofinternal humidity levels becomes an absolute necessity.

. ThermalSolar and Photovoltaic Energy Supply

How can the building help to improve the quality of life in a city?

The house is a valuable asset, that should pass down from generation to generation. In houses and in buildings, we spend most of the time of our lives: family time, work time, leisure time. In buildings we need more energy than elsewhere, since the energy is essential for their construction and functionality, as well as for maintaining our standard of living: we can say that they are responsible for half of global energy consumption. In this context we can therefore find the greatest potential for energy savings to significantly reduce the environmental implications, without changing our standard of living. The building can help to reduce CO2 emissions and to improve the air quality of a city.
The building undergoing a renovation and at the same time improving energy helps to preserve and respect the memory of our historical heritage with renewed potential for comfort and energy savings. Although it is a building characterized by timeless materials such as wood, stone, brick, clay and lime, has an efficient technology heart that makes it a cutting edge machine.

In addition:

. It helps to keep alive the typical character of the place in which it is located, the memory of the city
. Increases the use of old construction techniques that we should remember, helping local craftsmen keeping alive some trades

. Improves indoor air quality through the use of environmentally friendly materials, free of pollution and chemicals

. Prevents loss of land that today is not more sustainable for our country, whose landscape undergoes continuing violence for years

How can the building make a positive contribution to the infrastructure of the "city of the future"?

Design based on the intrinsic features of the site, the latitude, the solar gains, the exposure of the building, is one of the cornerstones of the city of the future. Sustainability will shape the cities of the future, and this will affect the morphology of the area.
The havoc perpetrated since the war, have made our city uninhabitable, polluted and socially disintegrating.
Networks of energy-efficient homes, built on the principles of biocompatibility will become the city of the future, which, in some ways, is nothing more than the city on a human scale of our past.

Ferry historical heritage into the future also means to build on constructive rules that never grow old and, indeed, are increasingly present.

Specifically:
. domotics allow an efficient method of control and management of facilities and devices for energy efficiency
. geothermal energy sources are environmentally advantageous from the economic point of view which allows winter heating and summer cooling
. preparation for district heating represents an important opportunity for rational use of energy resources and control of local pollution, as well as a containment system of energy expenditure both for the community and for individual users.

. the potential recycling of water, tanks and irrigation tanks constructed wetlands are designed to save water smartly. In addition, the mixing of air and flow regulators is a great help for a timely and effective water saving

. an appropriate study of green areas can be very useful for creating a microclimate davourable to comfortable living and efficient urban shading.

- The testimony of building techniques that are no longer used, processes and products into disuse will enrich the city of the future

How can the building be integrated into the infrastructure of the "city of the future"?

. the preparation of the double drain for wastewater and drinking water is very useful in anticipation of a new urban network becoming more dynamic with separate collection

. keeping the permeability of the land is a good way to avoid flooding during summer storms which become more copious

. in the case of future new construction projects there will be no need to provide for disposal of special waste (mineral fibers, cement, polystyrene, resins, toxic paints, glues components). Most of the materials used can be reused or recycled.

photos by Arch. Alberto Andrian