Renovation of a Historic Building Respecting the Preservation of Cultural Heritage Improving the Energy Efficiency

To achieve the European energy and climate goals by 2050, meaningful refurbishment actions are necessary for the existing stock sector, including historic buildings. A relatively new trend in contemporary design emphasizes reusing existing structures instead of constructing new ones, revisiting and reinterpreting practices that have been experimented with in the past. The pertinent question today is how to reconcile the requirements for building protection with the implementation of energy efficiency measures. In this contest stands Villa Manganelli, a creation of the renowned architect Ernesto Basile, showcasing Italian Art Nouveau in Catania from the early twentieth century. Currently, Villa Manganelli needs to be re-functionalized to enable its reuse. A master plan has been developed that encompasses both the functional changes needed to accommodate new activities and energy-efficient measures aimed at reducing the building’s energy demands, all while preserving the architectural appeal of this remarkable structure. Due to the lack of data regarding the thermo-physical features of the building envelopes, the first phase of this study consists in an experimental set of measurements carried out to characterize the thermal properties of the building masonry and the indoor thermal conditions. A second phase entails the dynamic numerical simulation of the investigated building through the Design Builder software and its calibration and validation through the comparison with the experimental data. Finally, based on the developed analysis, a first hypothesis of not invasive energy efficient measures for re-functionalization of this building is presented.