Innovative Structural Interventions and Ecological Treatments for Resilient Built Environments

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue invites contributions that span the spectrum of building protection, encompassing two key interconnected themes:

Structural Rehabilitation: This theme delves into the engineering principles, advanced materials, and technological innovations employed to restore, reinforce, and upgrade the structural integrity and performance of existing buildings.

Built heritage biodeterioration and nature-based solutions: This emerging and increasingly vital theme explores the application of biological and ecological principles for the sustainable protection, remediation, and restoration of building materials and indoor environments. This includes understanding the role of microorganisms in decay and developing bio-inspired solutions.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

1. Diagnosis and Assessment of Structural Damage: Non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques, structural health monitoring, computational modeling for damage prediction.

2. Novel Materials and Techniques for Repair and Strengthening: Advanced composites (e.g., FRPs, textile-reinforced mortars), high-performance concretes, seismic retrofitting strategies, masonry repair, timber strengthening.

3. Rehabilitation of Historic Structures: Preservation of architectural heritage while ensuring structural safety and adapting to modern requirements.

4.Enhancing Durability and Resilience: Strategies for corrosion protection, moisture control, fire resistance, and improved performance against extreme events (e.g., earthquakes, floods).

4. Sustainable Structural Interventions: Use of recycled materials, low-carbon solutions, and energy-efficient rehabilitation methods.

5. Biodeterioration of Building Materials: Fungal growth, algal colonization, insect infestation, and their impact on material properties and structural integrity.

6. Bioremediation and Biocleaning Techniques: Use of microbial communities or biological and biochemical processes to remove pollutants, salts, organic compounds and biological growth from building surfaces.

7. Bio-inspired Materials and Coatings: Development of self-healing materials, anti-fouling surfaces, and bio-receptive materials for specific applications.

8. Indoor Air Quality and Microbiome Management: Strategies to mitigate harmful biological agents in indoor environments and promote healthy building ecosystems.

9. Ecological Engineering for Building Envelopes: Integration of living systems (e.g., green roofs, living walls) for thermal regulation, air purification, and biodiversity enhancement, contributing to building resilience and sustainability.

10. Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Regeneration: How biological restoration contributes to urban greening and the overall health of urban infrastructure.

Suggested themes and article types for submissions:

• Innovative Structural and Ecological Interventions (novel materials and coatings; integrated design strategies; bioremediation and biocleaning)
• Enhancing Resilience of Structures and Treatments (climate change adaptation; durability of treatments; nature-based solutions for structural resilience; life cycle assessment and sustainability (LCA); heritage conservation and modern structures; policy standards and best practices)

We look forward to receiving your contributions 

Dr. Eduarda Vieira
Dr. Alice Tavares Costa
Dr. João Miranda Guedes
Dr. Patrícia Raquel Moreira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• structural rehabilitation
• building repair/maintenance
• biodeterioration
• nanotechnologies
• non-destructive methods
• sustainable conservation
• green conservation
• indoor quality air
• heritage resilience
• AI and machine learning approaches