Green meditarreanean arhitecture
courtesy : venture well
green mediterreanean arhitecture
This project incorporates energy analysis, structural design, tradition, and innovation into a retrofit of a community schoolhouse. The student team set out to revitalize the local schoolhouse that had been damaged from recent natural disasters and needed an energy retrofit as part of an older, less efficient building stock. They used analysis throughout their design process to inform their design decisions to improve energy use and return the school to the community as a symbol of the Italian village’s identity. Unfortunately, due to competition restrictions, we were unable to award this project an Excellence in Analysis Award, however we would if we could.
Project Title:
Messina Schoolhouse
Project Designers:
Vincenzo Panasiti & Nicolas Ombres
Project Date:
Nov 2013
Autodesk Software Used:
Student
Project Background
In Italy, seventy percent of public buildings were built before building energy regulations were instated. As a result, many of Italy’s public buildings are not as energy efficient as needed. Additionally, rural Italian villages, such as those surrounding Messina, are declining in population. As younger generations move to the cities, the declining population can lead to loss of tradition and culture that Italy is known for.
Altolia is a typical, small Italian rural village near Messina, Sicily. It is located amongst vineyards, and citrus and olive tree groves on rolling hills and has a mild Mediterranean climate.
Most of the village has been developed and settled on the north and northwest side of a hill. Altolia was heavily impacted by the floods and mudslides of 2009 that affected northeastern Sicily. Many of the existing architecture was destroyed, however some buildings only sustained minor damage.
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Altolia, located in northeastern Sicily.
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The Existing Schoolhouse
The schoolhouse in Altolia was one of the buildings that only sustained minor damage in 2009. Previously it was a central meeting point for the local population. It also served as operations headquarters during the floods. As a result, it became a symbol of identity for the village.
The schoolhouse was built in the 1950s. Given that it only sustained minor damages from the floods and renovation has a lower environmental impact when compared to building new, the team decided to renovate the existing schoolhouse instead of designing a new one for the conceptual design project.
The schoolhouse is a two story building with a brick bearing wall structure. It is located on the southern side of a hill with the classrooms in the southeastern corridor of the building. This placement of the classrooms and the lack of efficient thermal insulation meant that the building relied largely on active systems to keep the classrooms comfortable year round. There is also a large courtyard oriented to the south that cannot be comfortably used due to the lack of shading.
Design Concept
In the Mediterranean climate, cooling is most important for thermal comfort, and is often the most energy intensive in this climate. To reduce the energy used to meet cooling loads, the team decided to explore several passive design strategies that Mediterranean buildings have been using successfully for the past centuries. These strategies include blocking direct solar radiation by featuring thick exterior walls and integrating internal spaces with external shaded spaces.
To block direct solar radiation during unwanted times and create shaded external spaces while maintaining the original structure of the schoolhouse, the team decided to design an external shell that encompasses the entire existing structure. This shell features an aluminum cutout wall on the southwest face. The shell then extends over the roof, shading the entire site.
The roof of the shell is made of wood, a natural material that performs well in an environment like Altolia which is at high seismic risk. The façade of the enclosure is composed of cells of aluminum connected by rivets.
Design Concept
In the Mediterranean climate, cooling is most important for thermal comfort, and is often the most energy intensive in this climate. To reduce the energy used to meet cooling loads, the team decided to explore several passive design strategies that Mediterranean buildings have been using successfully for the past centuries. These strategies include blocking direct solar radiation by featuring thick exterior walls and integrating internal spaces with external shaded spaces.
To block direct solar radiation during unwanted times and create shaded external spaces while maintaining the original structure of the schoolhouse, the team decided to design an external shell that encompasses the entire existing structure. This shell features an aluminum cutout wall on the southwest face. The shell then extends over the roof, shading the entire site.
The roof of the shell is made of wood, a natural material that performs well in an environment like Altolia which is at high seismic risk. The façade of the enclosure is composed of cells of aluminum connected by rivets.
Design Concept
In the Mediterranean climate, cooling is most important for thermal comfort, and is often the most energy intensive in this climate. To reduce the energy used to meet cooling loads, the team decided to explore several passive design strategies that Mediterranean buildings have been using successfully for the past centuries. These strategies include blocking direct solar radiation by featuring thick exterior walls and integrating internal spaces with external shaded spaces.
To block direct solar radiation during unwanted times and create shaded external spaces while maintaining the original structure of the schoolhouse, the team decided to design an external shell that encompasses the entire existing structure. This shell features an aluminum cutout wall on the southwest face. The shell then extends over the roof, shading the entire site.
The roof of the shell is made of wood, a natural material that performs well in an environment like Altolia which is at high seismic risk. The façade of the enclosure is composed of cells of aluminum connected by rivets.
Design Concept
In the Mediterranean climate, cooling is most important for thermal comfort, and is often the most energy intensive in this climate. To reduce the energy used to meet cooling loads, the team decided to explore several passive design strategies that Mediterranean buildings have been using successfully for the past centuries. These strategies include blocking direct solar radiation by featuring thick exterior walls and integrating internal spaces with external shaded spaces.
To block direct solar radiation during unwanted times and create shaded external spaces while maintaining the original structure of the schoolhouse, the team decided to design an external shell that encompasses the entire existing structure. This shell features an aluminum cutout wall on the southwest face. The shell then extends over the roof, shading the entire site.
The roof of the shell is made of wood, a natural material that performs well in an environment like Altolia which is at high seismic risk. The façade of the enclosure is composed of cells of aluminum connected by rivets.
Design Concept
In the Mediterranean climate, cooling is most important for thermal comfort, and is often the most energy intensive in this climate. To reduce the energy used to meet cooling loads, the team decided to explore several passive design strategies that Mediterranean buildings have been using successfully for the past centuries. These strategies include blocking direct solar radiation by featuring thick exterior walls and integrating internal spaces with external shaded spaces.
To block direct solar radiation during unwanted times and create shaded external spaces while maintaining the original structure of the schoolhouse, the team decided to design an external shell that encompasses the entire existing structure. This shell features an aluminum cutout wall on the southwest face. The shell then extends over the roof, shading the entire site.
The roof of the shell is made of wood, a natural material that performs well in an environment like Altolia which is at high seismic risk. The façade of the enclosure is composed of cells of aluminum connected by rivets.
Design Concept
In the Mediterranean climate, cooling is most important for thermal comfort, and is often the most energy intensive in this climate. To reduce the energy used to meet cooling loads, the team decided to explore several passive design strategies that Mediterranean buildings have been using successfully for the past centuries. These strategies include blocking direct solar radiation by featuring thick exterior walls and integrating internal spaces with external shaded spaces.
To block direct solar radiation during unwanted times and create shaded external spaces while maintaining the original structure of the schoolhouse, the team decided to design an external shell that encompasses the entire existing structure. This shell features an aluminum cutout wall on the southwest face. The shell then extends over the roof, shading the entire site.
The roof of the shell is made of wood, a natural material that performs well in an environment like Altolia which is at high seismic risk. The façade of the enclosure is composed of cells of aluminum connected by rivets.
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