Search Results (19)

With the rapid expansion of Chinese cities, traditional siheyuan in some old urban areas and historic districts have gradually transformed into overcrowded courtyard tenements inhabited primarily by rural migrants. Multiple families reside together in one siheyuan, creating a housing model akin to “shared housing”. Due to the complex relationship between property rights holders and users, coupled with the absence of a unified management and supervision system, siheyuan residents are confronted with the predicament of aging buildings, backward infrastructure, and poor living conditions. Finding a means of improving living conditions while maintaining the existing settlement style and population structure is an issue that demands urgent resolution. This study focuses on Mizhi, an ancient city in Shaanxi Province, China. Through the investigation and mapping of 31 typical siheyuan and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 160 families, it reveals the property rights division, current spatial usage, and future demands of the residents of traditional settlements dominated by siheyuan and proposes suggestions for their renewal. This study finds that siheyuan can be categorized into three types based on property rights, that the primary motivation for migration is to access quality educational resources, and that the insufficiency of per capita facilities is the primary source of inconvenience in residents’ lives. Future siheyuan renewal efforts should adopt a multi-stakeholder framework that integrates the government, urban planners, and residents. Improving the residential environment requires a dual strategy: optimizing spatial design and strengthening policy management. This research provides fundamental data for the protection and renewal of siheyuan and has practical reference value for formulating future settlement development strategies. Full article

EU legislation requires introducing a variety of measures to reduce energy consumption. Energy use decrease should be achieved through thermal retrofitting of the least energy-efficient buildings. In the case of cities like Kraków, this means the need to modernize (retrofitting as well as the incorporation of modern HVAC systems) historical buildings. Furthermore, urban morphology is an influencing factor with regards to the energy performance of buildings and therefore of cities (since the influence of shading from nearby buildings cannot be ignored). The paper presents the results of a study on the impact of shading on energy demand for heating and cooling in the historic centre of Krakow. A comparative analysis of the simulation calculation results was performed using the statistical climate as a boundary condition. In the case of a typical five-floor residential tenement house from the turn of the 20th century, an 8% increase in energy demand for heating and a 50% reduction in energy demand for cooling were estimated. As the analysis of the results shows, taking into account the shading from nearby buildings may be crucial for optimizing the volume (power of devices, diameters of ducts and pipes) of the HVAC installation. Full article

In old urban districts with tenement buildings, street markets address the working class’s social and economic needs. They are pivotal in fostering supportive communities, in particular for low-income residents in sub-standard housing. However, their outdated overall environment impedes the delivery of adequate support to residents. Prior research on street markets has focused on those in the Americas and Europe, and has revealed the societal support values of these markets. However, studies on street markets in high-density cities like Hong Kong are lacking. This study introduces an evaluation framework to assess the impact of street markets on the development of supportive communities for Hong Kong’s sub-divided apartment residents. Employing the Pei Ho Street market in Sham Shui Po as a case study, an importance-performance analysis highlights critical but underperforming factors including public facilities, activity venues, commerce, and employment. Based on these findings, the study proposes four improvement strategies for the renewal of street markets in high-density communities, which could apply to other cities with similar high-density urban environments. It concludes that street markets in Hong Kong display unique spatial characteristics shaped by low-income lifestyles in a high-density urban environment, enriching daily social life and promoting sustainable community development. Full article

Krakow has a permanent population of over 800,000. The number of inhabitants is increasing year on year due to the influx of working people and students, who often settle in Krakow permanently. This is leading to increased demand and consequently more flats and houses being put into use by developers. The increasing environmental awareness of the population and the resulting financial benefits—particularly evident in 2022—have meant that the classic, or rather ill-considered, building industry is gradually being replaced by better, environmentally friendly solutions. In the first part of the article, the authors focus on smart buildings, and in the second part, they combine them with financial changes in the real estate market. The aim of the publication is to draw conclusions from the changes in the real estate market in Krakow that have taken place in the last decade and to assess these activities from the point of view of environmental solutions. The data are mainly derived from official statistics and trade reports published by research institutes, marketing agencies operating in the real estate sector in Poland, as well as specialist portals and publications dealing with real estate market analysis. The publication analyzes changes in the real estate market in terms of changes in unit prices, number of transactions, and availability. The analysis covers landed property, the primary and secondary premises market, developed property, and tenement buildings. Full article

This paper presents the results of measuring and calculating the final energy consumption for heating and domestic hot water preparation in six apartments located in pre-war tenement houses in Wroclaw (Poland). The calculations were carried out based on energy models of dwellings calibrated with measurement data. Calculation variants were characterized by seven internal parameters (indoor air temperature, heat transfer coefficient by transmission through the internal partition, internal heat gains, air exchange multiplicity in the dwelling, domestic hot water consumption, and domestic hot water temperature and cold water temperature) and two external parameters (outdoor air temperature and insolation). By comparing calculations with measurements, the energy performance gap (EPG) values associated with each parameter were determined. The presented results indicate how much of the differences could be attributed to weather conditions and how much to other factors. It is quite common for the influence of some factors to cancel out the influence of others. Identifying and understanding the real causes of the energy gap may allow for the proposal of better retrofitting solutions or appropriate financial support to households at risk of energy poverty. It is important to note that only in-depth interviews with residents and measurements, such as those carried out in this case, allow such situations to be identified in detail. Full article

Restoring historic buildings is a challenging task in an environment where any insensitive or unprofessional intervention can cause irreparable damage. Among the most important demands currently placed on the construction industry are the protection of structural details, materials and technologies, and the extension of the life of these historic buildings. In this context, we should mention the protection of the high number of tenement buildings in European cities from the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, whose structural quality is relatively high and where many other building details and elements have been preserved. The brick dwellings of the period, which are between 85 and 170 years old, do not fully comply with many of the requirements and provisions of the current regulations and standards. The serious shortcomings of brick tenement buildings include, among other things, the inadequate thermal resistance of the envelope and infill structures and the high energy consumption of the operation of these buildings. This paper focuses on analysing this situation and defining the requirements for renovation, while preserving the architectural and historical values of urban buildings; achieving acceptable compliance with the requirements and provisions of the currently applicable regulations and standards; and demonstrating cost-effectiveness. Full article

The article presents an analysis of the color evolution of tenement houses in Wroclaw in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their various colors, confirmed by research, prove the term “Colorful Wroclaw”, appearing in the 1930s the architectural journals. The considerations were supported, i.e., by iconographic material presenting the varied colors of renovated tenement houses in Wroclaw. The aim of this analysis is to show the role of scientific and conservation research in restoring the historical value of buildings. Examples of tenement house restoration projects show the practical application of scientific research to formulate conservation guidelines and organize renovation work. Renovation work also requires traditional and increasingly modern construction techniques. These historical buildings belong to the country’s cultural heritage. They are usually entered into the Monuments Register and are subject to conservation protection. Restoring their former appearance and character is possible thanks to the participation of national and international institutions. It deals with supporting the flow of knowledge and financial resources. The following research methods were used: archival and literature studies, analytical studies of selected conservation techniques and stratigraphic studies of paint coatings, and case studies when discussing renovation projects for selected tenement houses. Full article

During the Renaissance and Mannerist periods, in most European countries the fashion for decorating walls with sgraffiti covered a large part of continent, from Portugal to Romania, and from Central Italy to the German countries and Poland. Its popularity in the middle part of Europe peaked in the 16th and 17th centuries. In many regions, sgraffito was the dominant method of decorating buildings. Sgraffito styles were differentiated by design, artistic level, local conditions and investor preferences. In many regions north of the Alps, sgraffito decorations were, on the one hand, a frequently used method of modernizing medieval buildings, and, on the other, a form of expressing views, often religious ones. Everywhere, however, they expressed supranational belonging to the world of a post-medieval, revival community. It was no different in Silesia, where the sgraffiti madness arrived, thanks to artists who came from the northern regions of Italy around 1540 and settled down until the middle of the next century. The research carried out by the author has proven that, for Silesia, sgraffito was an iconic sign of the architecture of that period. In this region, then belonging to the Habsburg Monarchy, sgraffito decorations covered a wide variety of architectural objects, from barns, walls, and gates to tenement houses, manors, castles, and churches. In the case of the latter, research has shown that temples in Gothic style are heavily decorated with sgraffiti, which should be considered a distinctive feature when compared to other regions. At the same time, it was found that the vast majority of them appeared in forms and themes known to us from other countries covered by the sgraffito fashion. The frame composition made in this technique and, most probably modeled directly on the template by S. Serlia (Tutte L’opere d’Architettura et Prospettiva) from 1619, should be considered as the Silesian contribution to the sgraffito heritage as well as oval bossages. While studying Silesian sgraffito, some local technological differences were also noticed. With the advent of the Baroque period, a large part of the sgraffito decoration was covered (and thus preserved) with a new, baroque decorative costume. We still discover them in the present while carrying out conservation works (sometimes multiple) on historic buildings. Many others, those constantly on display, have been restored to preserve their original shape, or have been reconstructed. Various and simultaneously modernized methods are used to implement these works. Their correct selection depends on in-depth knowledge of sgraffito (historical, artistic, technological and technical) and their regional specificity. It also depends on the constant exchange of experiences between all those dealing with sgraffito heritage. Full article

The major intent of this article was to determine the amount of energy received by two active systems used to convert solar radiation and to estimate their impact on reducing the emission of pollutants. Thermal solar collectors with an area of 51.36 m² and photovoltaic panels with an area of 50.4 m² were subject to comparative analysis. It was assumed that either of the two systems could be installed on the roof of an old tenement house located in Poznan (Poland), which is planned for renovation. Computer simulations made with DesignBuilder software were used as a research tool. Two main conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the year-long operation of both systems in the conditions of a typical meteorological year. Thermal solar collectors can produce 469 kWh of heat from 1 m² of the device annually, while PV panels can generate 136 kWh of electricity per year from 1 m² of active area. However, it turned out that the use of photovoltaic systems can contribute to a higher reduction in pollutants emitted to the atmosphere as a result of the alternative combustion of fossil fuels. Additionally, the optimal angle of inclination of devices for solar radiation conversion located near Poznan was determined. Full article

The basic urban tissue of medieval European cities consisted of brick townhouses. In the cities of northern Europe, these tenements were characterised by a block based on an elongated rectangular plan, covered with a gable roof with a ridge oriented perpendicularly to the street. The side walls of the tenement house were common for both neighbours and constituted a basic structural element. The gable façades were not loaded with ceilings, providing freedom in shaping them. The aim of this work is to determine the reasons why this method of shaping tenement houses in historical city centres has survived to the present day, becoming an archetype for contemporary architectural and construction solutions, despite the passage of time, numerous historical events, war damage, changing architectural styles, fashions and building techniques and technologies. The historical centre of Gdańsk has become the research material in this paper, where by means of such methods as historical source material analysis (iconographic), observation (operationalisation of preserved historical objects), comparative analysis of completed contemporary investments, and 3D modelling of structural systems, an attempt has been made to determine the main factors determining contemporary architectural and structural solutions. The reason for the extraordinary durability of this type of construction model can be found in the enormous rationality and efficiency of this solution. It allows for very intensive use of land, easy access of all front elevations to the main communication routes, cheapness of construction resulting from small spans and use of common structural walls for the neighbouring buildings, ease of shaping gable elevations, and fire safety. Aesthetic considerations are probably also important here, although it should be assumed that their significance began to grow only in the second half of the 19th century. However, it seems that the most important factor which made the model of the mediaeval bourgeois tenement house become an archetype for contemporary architectural and construction solutions is the timeless message contained in this model, a specific code allowing it to be unambiguously identified as a form of urban house—a place of safe living and at the same time a visible sign of the rich history of European cities, an element creating their cultural and spatial identity, a component of the living, constantly transforming urban fabric. Full article

The results and conclusions of the research presented in the article concern the topic of the technical maintenance and wear of traditionally erected residential buildings. The cause and effect relations between the occurrence of damage to the elements of tenement houses, which are treated as an expression of their maintenance conditions, and the size of the technical wear of these elements were determined in a representative and purposefully selected sample of 102 apartment houses built in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Wroclaw, Poland downtown district “Srodmiescie”. Recognition of the impact of the maintenance of residential buildings on the level of their technical wear was carried out using quantitative methods from fuzzy set categories, and also with the use of the authors’ own model. The created model, based on the Zadeh function, was created in fuzzy conditions for the purpose of assessing the degree of damage to selected building elements. The treatment of the problem with regard to fuzzy criteria allowed for the synthesis of elementary criteria, which give the greatest approximations at the technical research stage of a residential building, into a global assessment of the degree of the wear of its elements. Moreover, it also significantly reduced the subjective factor of this assessment, which had a significant impact on the results of the research obtained in the case of good, medium and poor conditions of tenement houses. It was proven that the conditions of maintenance and use of buildings determine the amount of technical wear of their elements. The state of exploitation of the examined tenement houses is reflected in the mechanical damage to the internal structure of the elements (determined in fuzzy categories). This damage has a significant frequency and cumulative effects, and is characteristic for buildings with satisfactory and average maintenance. Full article

The technical maintenance of old tenement houses traditionally constructed is an ongoing problem, and will continue to be so in the coming years. The subject of the article includes old residential buildings from the turn of the XIX and XX centuries, which are a part of Wroclaw’s downtown district. They can be understood as an essential link in the process of shaping the cultural and social microenvironment of man. The ability of them to meet the multiple expectations of residents depends on the natural aging of tenement houses’ materials, the methods of their maintenance and use, and the influence of the many factors that cause their accelerated wear. The assumed durability is the main reference parameter of the changing age of the inspected tenement houses. The course of the theoretical and observed degree of the technical wear of these buildings was compared with their durability. For the age of these buildings, the technical wear should reach 100%. It was observed that in the first period of use of tenement houses, the phenomenon of “infradurability” occurs, and after exceeding a certain age—depending on the maintenance conditions of the building—the phenomenon of “overdurability” of the building occurs. It was shown that the durability of important elements of old buildings, as a parameter that was defined “a posteriori”, ranges from 153 to 177 years, and is greater than the corresponding literature values indicated “a priori”. The probability of reaching such an age of an element, in which the observed values of technical wear exceed the theoretical values, is much higher than the probability of an opposite event. A comparative analysis of the distribution functions of these probabilities indicates that the probabilities of theoretical wear values are higher than those observed in the case of the assumed literature durability of elements. There is also an inverse relationship for durability that corresponds to the age of the oldest examined elements of tenement houses. Full article

An urban residential building from the second half of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, the so-called tenement house, is a significant representative of the architecture of the developing urban fabric in Central Europe. The vertical and horizontal load-bearing structures of these houses currently tend to show characteristic, repeated defects and failures. Their knowledge may, in many cases, facilitate and speed up the design of the historic building’s restoration without compromising its heritage value in this process. The article presents the summary of the most frequently occurring defects and failures of these buildings. The summary, however, is not an absolute one, and, in the case of major damage to the building, it still applies that, first of all, a detailed analysis of the causes and consequences of defects and failures must be made as a basic prerequisite for the reliability and long-term durability of the building’s restoration and rehabilitation. An integral part of the rehabilitation of buildings must be the elimination of the causes of the appearance of their failures and remediation of all defects impairing their structural safety, health safety and energy efficiency. Full article

The research presented in the article, which includes methods, models, and conclusions, contains synthetic and analytical model solutions concerning the problems of the technical maintenance and wear of residential buildings with a traditional construction. The cause and effect relationships between the occurrence of damage in the elements of tenement houses (treated as proof of their maintenance conditions), and the size of the technical wear of these elements were determined using a representative and purposefully selected sample of 102 residential buildings erected during the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Wroclaw’s “Downtown” district. Quantitative damage analysis, which was carried out using empirical (visual) methods of assessing the technical condition of a building, indicates the type and size of damage to the building’s elements that are characteristic for the relevant maintenance conditions. Research concerning the cause–effect relationships (“damage–technical wear”) in observed states allows for a numerical approach to the impact of building maintenance conditions on the degree of the technical wear of its components. The maintenance and exploitation conditions determine the degree of the technical wear of the elements of an old residential building. The exploitation condition of these buildings is manifested by damage to elements caused by water and moisture penetration, which is especially important for poorly maintained buildings. The article shows that the age of the elements of an old residential building with a traditional construction is of secondary importance in the process of the intensity of losing its serviceability value. It was calculated that no more than 30% of the damage of building components is explained by the passage of time, and it is therefore not age that determines the course of the technical wear of the elements of the analyzed tenement houses. Full article

This paper presents the results of measuring the final energy consumption for heating and domestic hot water (DHW) preparation and indoor conditions in 15 apartments located in pre-war tenement houses. The measurements were compared to the computed energy consumption. The calculations ware made based on the model calibrated by field measurements. The discrepancies between measurements and calculations were assessed using the energy performance gap (EPG). Calculations were made separately for energy for heating and for DHW preparation. Additionally, the results of EPG calculations for different levels of analysis are presented aiming at assessing the impact of weather, temperature in the surrounding zones and users’ behavior. Users’ behaviors influencing the size of the EPG were divided into typical (energy saving or excessive energy consumption) and forced (energy poverty, response to the apartment’s surroundings, technical limitations. The connection between the heating sources and the heating habits has been clearly observed in the research. The former (typical) behaviors were the origin of the energy gap in the apartments heated with natural gas and district heating. The latter (forced) were the origin of the gap in the apartments heated with mostly electricity and solid fuel (with one exception: one apartment that utilized the district heating). Full article