HIM (Historic Indoor Microclimate) e conservazione preventiva

Historic architectures, those preceding the introduction of modern technologies and materials, had the special characteristic of comprehending, as integral part of the concept, both the formal aspects and the structural performances. Historic essays on architecture often mention the microclimatic performances that buildings were expected to guarantee. Many strategies, technologies as well as compositional solutions are described in order to obtain a specific microclimate inside the building, as well as to guarantee the ideal conservation condition for the built heritage itself. The introduction of modern HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems after the Industrial Revolution had the effect of decoupling the formal, material and technological characteristics of buildings from their microclimatic performances. In relatively short times, this has determined the loss of a millenary heritage of knowledge and technological know-how on the subject. Historic built heritage has suffered, in many cases, the introduction of HVAC systems during the last 150 years. These changed completely the microclimatic characteristics of buildings, often leading to different levels of deterioration. Currently ongoing studies at the Department of Architecture of the University of Bologna are exploring the area of research concerning these subjects. Among the objectives, there is the reconstruction of different phases of the microclimatic history of buildings, as well as the exploration of the relations between the microclimatic conditions and the conservation or decay of the same building. The final goal would be to find instruments to individuate microclimatic conditions that would allow to preventively conserve each architecture. This paper shows the specifics and the dynamics that link each architecture to its specific microclimate, with the support of specific study cases.