AIE

RE-FESTA

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 08:37:11 +0000

Call for grants for the Knowledge Industry. Year 2024

Modality A. Llavor

Rehabilitation with TensoActivated Structural Wood: RE-FESTA

The proposal, carried out by Nacho Costales, Xavier Gimferrer and Oriol Muntané, consists of investigating reinforcements of pretensed wood for ceramic slabs.

Currently, in Catalonia, there are about 130,000 homes with ceramic slabs. These types of roofs were developed from 1940 to the 1960s (coinciding with the first waves of immigration). This type of roof, also called “autarchic slabs”, was extended during the post-war period, characterized by the abundant labour, the minimal use of steel (decree of restriction of iron in the building of 1941) and the abundance of ceramic materials. Thus, we find that there is an important built park, between 65 and 85 years old built with this type of roof. Given the poor quality of the steel used and the limited lack of material, these elements have begun to suffer significant injuries, resulting in material and human losses.

The challenge of this new approach will be to intervene in inhabited buildings, acting on the roofs from the lower face, with the difficulty of access and discomfort that it represents. It is for this reason that the proposal aims to be fast, adaptable to the different models of ceramic roofs that exist, reproducible to the stock buildings, economical, sustainable and that improves the functional qualities of buildings in areas such as acoustic and thermal insulation.

SATE_VEG

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 09:50:08 +0000

“Sistema per la rehabilitació energètica dels tancaments de façana obsolets, capaç de minvar l’efecte illa de calor a l’espai urbà. SATE_VEG”

It is a project born from the need to rethink the architectural fact as the climate emergency exists. The research focuses on energy rehabilitation, providing a new conception of the outer thermal insulation system (SATE); seeking to respond both to the needs of indoor thermal comfort and to provide environmental conditions to the outside.

To achieve this, the incorporation of plants integrated into the outer face of the system is proposed, prioritizing plant growth to provide the facade with both positive characteristics such as the absorption of CO₂ emissions and the thermal stability that live beings bring.

The SATE_VEG façade solution continues the research started with the 2021 Llavor 00003 project, led by Cristina Pardal, member of the AIEM group.

Integrative Façades

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 09:16:27 +0000

Book published by Enrique Corbat and Cristina Pardal, member of the AIEM group.

The publication addresses the integration of various functions on the façade, where the objective is to open the mind to a rich and complex front design that considers this architectural element not as matter and border but as a space with unique conditions with great potential for development and integration of functions.

Morphology meets microclimate

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 09:01:01 +0000

On March 5th the Lecture on “Morphology Meets Microlimate” by the Climate Action Adaptation theme of the Climate Action Programme will take place at Tu Delft // Faculty of Architecture & the Built Enviornment, Berlagezaal 1.

Dr. Agnese Salvate, Associate Professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), will discuss how urban morphology influences microclimate energy interactions, and thermal comfort in cities. As a member of the Architecture, Energy and Enviorment (AIEM) group, her research focuses on urban heat islandès, Building performance, and climate resilience. She will highlight the crucial role of desing in shaping sustainable urban enviornments.

You can registre here for the lecture: https://edu.nl/4wkj7

Research stay

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 08:18:29 +0000

Nathalia de Mello Faria, through the Doutorado-sanduíche por CAPES, has carried out a research stay with the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB). From September 25 to February 25, it has been possible to enjoy its collaboration with the AIEM group in the elaboration of a microclimate research.

Informative article: Las persianas de los edificios públicos se usan más de lo que parece

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:50:40 +0000

The Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya together with the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have carried out a study to demonstrate that the practicable elements on the façade (such as windows and shutters) continue to be useful in public buildings in improving indoor environmental conditions. A combined method of observation and Machine-learning has been applied; an algorithm that has been key to making research viable.

The publication on this informative article can be consulted in open: https://scientias.net/las-persianas-de-los-edificios-publicos-se-usan-mas-de-lo-que-parece/

The author is Marc Roca Musach, member of the AiEM research group.

Stay at Miguel de Unamuno

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:42:09 +0000

This January, Judit López Besora, member of the AiEM research group, has made a stay at the Universidad Católica de Cuenca in Ecuador. She has been invited by the university to collaborate with researcher Jefferson Torres Quezada, in the development of a joint research project.

Photo: Visit of the teachers of the Miguel de Unamuno project with the rector of the University to the center. https://www.instagram.com/p/DEzuQ_QRDVg/

Open data Repository

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:33:59 +0000

The Architecture, Energy and Environment Research Group (AIEM) has an open data repository for consultation. In this we will introduce data collected in the investigations carried out within the group.

You can find it at the link: https://dataverse.csuc.cat/dataverse/AiEM

9è Workshop Internacional VeUvE

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 12:59:31 +0000

On May 8, 9 and 10, 2024, the 9th edition of the International Workshop on Mediterranean Urban Morphology took place in Rome. It was organized jointly by the research group AiEM – Architecture, Energy and Environment – of the School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB UPC) and the SOS Urban Lab research group of the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome.

The objective was to analyze public spaces in the vulnerable neighborhoods of the city of Rome. Using energy performance assessment and thermal comfort tools such as: isochronous curve, car/non-car, ground floor use, solar analysis and vegetation. With the complementation of images taken by the students and presentations.

A group of final year students of building and architecture engineering together with Master’s and PhD students from both universities took part. In total, 9 groups were made, each with a square, different place of study:

Group 1 – Piazza Della Madonna Dei Monti
Group 2 – Piazza Vittorio Emanuele
Group 3 – Piazza Dell’Immacolata
Group 4 – Piazza di S. Maria Liberatrice
Group 5 – Piazza Re Di Roma
Group 6 – Piazza Bologna
Grup 7 – Piazza dei Quiriti
Group 8 – Piazza Damiano Sauli
Group 9 – Piazza Marconi

PLEA Conference 2024

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 11:30:13 +0000

37th PLEA Conference on Sustainable Architecture and Urban Design for the first time took place in Poland on the 25, 26, 27 and 28 of June of 2024. It welcomed all participants in the heart of Europe, at Wrocław to discuss the most actual and urgent topics related to the role of the built environment in the climate change mitigation and adaptation.

“(Re)Thinking Resilience. Let us (re)think together to be an instrument for a change and to make a significant difference together”.

The research Group Architecture, Energy and Environment, School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB-UPC) were part of some of the proceedings:

Sustainable Architecture and Urban Desing – together for climate resilence:

Winery desing in temperate continental climates: form and materiality in the spotlight. Carolina Ganem Karlen, Gustavo Javier Barea Paci, Helena Coch Roura.

Open space heat stress in social housing districts. The role of trees depending on urban form. Carlos Lopez-Ordoñez, Elena Garcia-Nevado, Helena Coch, Michele Morganti.

Architecture for human resilience and well-being (including e.g., biophilic desing, nature-based solutins, climate adaptation strategies for buildings and spaces):

The potential of vegetation to modify urban climate. Using thermography to evaluate the urban radiant environment. Diego-Javier Peralta-Luna, Carlos Alonso-Montolío, Helena Coch.

Re-thinking resilence through renovations and adaptations of buildings and spaces (including cultural and natural heritage retrofitting, methods to improve performance of existing buildings and spaces):

The potential of Translucent Fabric Layers as Solar Protection. Assessing the Role of Indoor Curtains in Long-wave Radiation. Marc Roca Musach, Isabel Crespo Cabillo, Helena Coch.

Analysis and methods for resilence and sustainability (e.g., new desing and simulation tools, evaluation methods):

Adaptation and reuse of buildings. The role of radiant temperatures Distribution as a resilience factor. Judit Lopez-Besora, Antonio Isalgue Buxeda, Helena Coch Roura.