Volumetric Additions for Sustainable Refurbishment of Residential Buildings: From Theory to Practice

In the current negative economic climate, retrofitting and rationalization of the existing residential building stock represent a viable and strategic solution considering two key issues: the improvement of energy performance and the adaptation of the dimensions of the residential units to the emerging needs. A research program, currently ongoing at the University of Bologna, Department of Architecture, is focusing on the analysis of the effects of volumetric additions to the existing housing stock, in terms of optimization of the units layout and the relevant energy performance. This paper outlines the first results of a simulation of volumetric addition applied to different housing typologies located in different urban settings. Several refurbishment scenarios were performed, related to the densification level required.