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Renovation of Buildings and Modernization of Built Areas

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (26 March 2023) | Viewed by 15317

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Beata Nowogońska

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Guest Editor

Institute of Civil Engineering, University of Zielona Góra, Poland
Interests: building diagnostics; durability and life cycle of buildings; service life prediction; predictive maintenance; renovation needs; degradation of buildings; assessment of the technical condition; rehabilitation of buildings; building materials in historical buildings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Leonard Runkiewicz

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Guest Editor

Institute of Construction Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: building diagnostics; durability and life cycle of buildings; service life prediction; predictive maintenance; renovation needs; degradation of buildings; assessment of the technical condition; rehabilitation of buildings; building materials in historical buildings

Prof. Dr. Wojciech Bonenberg

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Architecture, Poznań University of Technology, Poznań, Poland
Interests: requirements engineering in architectural design; BIM technology in architectural design; sustainable architecture and infrastructure; prefabrication and modular building; research methods and techniques applied in architecture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Without investment and construction activity, as well as renovation and modernization, there is no social and economic development of the local community. The construction of housing, public buildings and services, and technical and road infrastructure allows the needs of society to be met, while renovation of buildings and the modernization of built areas bring the living conditions of inhabitants to the level of modern civilization requirements. The point is, however, that all these investment and revitalization undertakings should always be rational and effective, as well as in line with public interest. We can achieve this goal both through investment activities in delimited new building areas and through comprehensive revitalization of existing buildings and the modernization of space.

Unfortunately, we continue to be passionate about successive investment projects, while so little attention is paid to the maintenance of buildings in proper technical condition, their standard, harmony, and the aesthetics of urban space. Although we do not have to convince each other of the advisability of undertaking revitalization projects and the preservation of cultural heritage, the effects of these actions are very small and are not sufficient in relation to the needs and expectations of society. Individual examples—often very valuable, but unfortunately, only spectacular—do not solve anything. The degradation of building resources, destruction of historic buildings, and disorganization and devastation of space is constantly intensifying.

We encourage our contributors to prepare original manuscripts containing current research findings and scientific discoveries that study:

- Building renovation in sustainable building development;

- Revitalization of building stock;

- Renovation problems of residential buildings;

- Adaptation of buildings for utility purposes;

- Modernization of built areas;

- Renovation of historic buildings;

- Building materials in historical buildings;

- Material, construction and execution issues in the field of renovation and restoration;

- Problems of revitalization funding;

- Methods for diagnosing building structures, in particular, historical buildings.

Prof. Beata Nowogońska
Prof. Dr. Leonard Runkiewicz
Prof. Dr. Wojciech Bonenberg
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Sustainability 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.

Keywords

Renovation of historic buildings
Renovation of buildings
Revitalization of building complexes
Diagnostics of damage
Adaptation of structures to the needs of use
Modernization of residential areas
thermo-renovation and damp protection of buildings
Renovation in sustainable building development
Issues related to determining and monitoring the technical condition of buildings
Material and constructional issues in renovation and rehabilitation
problems of renovation funding
Organisational and technological problems in renovation and repairs.

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of the Decision to Select Renovated Elements in a Heritage Building on Further Stages of the Aging Process of the Building—A Case Study

by Aleksandra Kurowska and Beata Nowogońska

Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16926; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416926 - 18 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 651

Abstract

The successful use of buildings requires experience, interdisciplinary knowledge and skills. Wrong decisions made by building owners or managers to implement repair projects have a negative impact on the aging of buildings, which is closely related to sustainable development. Renovation projects in more degraded buildings must be carried out to a greater extent, which has a negative impact on the environment in the form of more building waste. This article presents the results of research on the impact of refurbishment decisions on the technical conditions of buildings. The development of an optimal building renovation strategy will result in a safe and comfortable building. A comparative analysis of the impact of the choice of repair building elements on further aging changes in the building was carried out. The reason for the subject is the frequent consideration by managers of the hierarchy of building elements that improve the technical condition of the building, the reason for which is the lack of financial resources to carry out overall renovation works. To date, two refurbishment strategies have been adopted, as well as assumptions about the building’s material and structural solutions and the building’s service life. Theoretical assumptions were applied to determine the repair needs of the Bialkow palace. The method shows the superiority of the impact of structural elements over non-structural elements in improving the technical condition of a building. Developing a renovation plan with the implementation of the presented strategy will significantly reduce the technical condition of the entire building with a moderate budget, limiting the occurrence of a building disaster and the serious carbon footprint associated with the demolition of the property. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renovation of Buildings and Modernization of Built Areas)

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17 pages, 4294 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adaptive Reuse in the Realm of Architecture: Global Research Trends and Gaps for the Future Studies

by Berkan Kahvecioğlu and Semra Arslan Selçuk

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 9971; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15139971 - 22 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2885

Abstract

The effort to preserve historic buildings for the future has always been on the agenda of experts on local and global scales and been supported by many initiatives and strategies. Within the scope of this research, the concept of “adaptive reuse” which is often preferred as a conservation strategy for historic buildings, is discussed. The focus is on the adaptive reuse studies of historic buildings in literature that have managed to physically survive in the face of changing conditions; comprehensive and systematic research with a bibliometric analysis is presented. The study has been scanned in the Web of Science database under the heading “Title/Abstract/Keywords” and the data has been analyzed in detail with the VOSviewer program. The findings indicate the research trends in the literature and gaps for the future research. The results highlight the innovative approach for historic buildings in the context of the adaptive reuse strategy and present the field’s challenges, limitations and opportunities. It is expected this study will help researchers and policymakers to understand the evolutionary implications of conservation strategies and develop other theoretical and practical initiatives to be applied in this field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renovation of Buildings and Modernization of Built Areas)

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22 pages, 28092 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Home to Inn: The Evolution of Rural Dwellings in the Taihang Area of Northern Henan

by Wei Duan, Xinyu Yang, Ting Zhang and Haoxian Cai

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2293; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032293 - 26 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1334

Abstract

With the rapid development of China’s economy, rural tourism is developing in full swing throughout the country, attracting significant capital inflow with its unique historical features and natural landscapes. In recent years, vernacular architectures are experiencing a spontaneous transformation. The evolution of vernacular architecture presents a development trend of “self-organization”. In order to study the evolution of vernacular architecture in the context of tourism development, the authors consider tourism villages in the southern Taihang area. Samples of rural vernacular architecture were selected, analysing spatial typologies and the theory of self-organization in the development process. Finally, the article finds that the evolving development mechanisms are considered as vernacular architecture of the region shifts from disorder to order. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renovation of Buildings and Modernization of Built Areas)

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14 pages, 1276 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Equations for Calculating the Thermal Conductivity of Capillary-Porous Materials with over Sorption Moisture Content

by Abdrahman Alsabry, Beata Backiel-Brzozowska, Vadzim I. Nikitsin and Serafim K. Nikitsin

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 5796; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105796 - 11 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1258

Abstract

This article is the result of the authors’ work on the method of calculating the effective thermal conductivity of moist capillary-porous materials used in wall partitions. The proposed methodology was developed based on the theory of generalized conductivity and geometric modeling of the structure. Materials are considered as heterogeneous ternary systems consisting of a solid skeleton, gas and liquid, and all components are simultaneously taken into account in the calculation. In this work, additional equations are constructed that allow calculation of the effective thermal conductivity of capillary-porous materials with over sorption moisture, thus extending the scope of application of the method to the entire possible range of changes in moisture content. The details of calculating the thermal conductivity of moist capillary-porous materials are demonstrated using experimental data for wall ceramics samples. It is shown that the proposed equations are capable of predicting the thermal conductivity of moist capillary-porous materials with sufficient accuracy. Knowledge of the thermal conductivity of materials in conditions of their actual moisture is fundamental in the sustainable design of new buildings as well as thermo-renovation and dump protection of historic ones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renovation of Buildings and Modernization of Built Areas)

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36 pages, 31876 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Reasons for the Structural Collapse of Historic Buildings

by Łukasz Drobiec, Krzysztof Grzyb and Jakub Zając

Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10058; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810058 - 08 Sep 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3283

Abstract

Each historic building or cultural heritage site requires proper care at every stage of its life cycle. Appropriate interventions aim to prevent building disasters and preserve invaluable cultural objects from ageing or deterioration processes. This article is a case study of mistakes made in various phases of a building’s life—in the design, execution, and use. The work aims to point out various aspects of the errors made during the building’s restoration. The conducted material research, computational analyses, laboratory tests, and documentation studies comprehensively consider the presented examples. The structural analysis of the buildings consists of its load-bearing capacity and its stability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renovation of Buildings and Modernization of Built Areas)

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13 pages, 2146 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Substitution of Building Components in Historic Buildings

by Anna Sobotka, Kazimierz Linczowski and Aleksandra Radziejowska

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9211; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169211 - 17 Aug 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1918

Abstract

Historic buildings that have survived to the present day have been subject to maintenance, repair, and overhaul. Repair work is being carried out so that it can be enjoyed by future generations. However, there have been changes in the construction technology: some construction products have been discontinued and replaced with others of different quality parameters, lower prices, etc. It is necessary to use substitute products during construction work—that is, replacement products that are shaped after the original. Therefore, there is a problem of selecting the best possible substitute material, taking into account many important factors, including the recommendations and requirements of the conservator. This paper presents a methodology for the process of material substitution planning and selection of a substitute with the use of multicriteria analysis, by implementing it in the refurbishment of a historic building façade. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renovation of Buildings and Modernization of Built Areas)

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19 pages, 3705 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Wooden Buildings in Market Squares of Polish Small Towns: Bielsk Podlaski and Kleszczele—The Issue of Preserving and Restoring Historical Values of Market Spaces

by Aleksander Owerczuk

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6779; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126779 - 15 Jun 2021

Viewed by 1737

Abstract

In the past centuries, small towns in Podlaskie Voivodeship were dominated by wooden buildings. Nowadays, there are not many of them left. However, they can still be found in the centers of towns, including some market squares. These are often inconspicuous objects, mainly wooden houses. This paper discusses the issue of the significance of wooden buildings, especially houses, in maintaining and restoring historic values of market spaces in small towns of Podlaskie Voivodeship in the examples of Bielsk Podlaski and Kleszczele. The research determined the moment of rapid changes, during which most marketplace buildings lost their historic form. The existing condition was analyzed in terms of its historical values. Conclusions were formulated on the scope and type of restoration works for individual market squares. Finally, general conclusions from the research on the market squares of Bielsk Podlaski and Kleszczele were presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renovation of Buildings and Modernization of Built Areas)

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