Comparative analysis of constructive solutions for thermal insulation by using computer applications in building rehabilitation in Mediterranean climate. The Spanish case

The new Spanish legislation in Energy Saving, similar to European regulation, provides new technical requirements to adequate technical solutions used in integral rehabilitation of existing buildings. The aim of this paper is to present, analyze and discuss the main thermal insulation constructive solutions best suited to a Mediterranean climate, and conclude on their suitability under the legislation in Energy Saving. The proposed methodology is based on the most usual constructive solutions in integral rehabilitation of buildings by analyzing their outstanding design features, by studying its construction details and then by applying the software provided by the Spanish legislation of energy efficiency in buildings. The results of the study evaluate and classify several solutions for façade rehabilitation according to energy efficiency criteria and their suitability for this type of weather, verifying the necessity of using software applications in energy saving for the proper design of constructive solutions in building rehabilitation.

Forensic analysis of buildings affected by mining subsidence based on Differential Interferometry (Part III)

This work presents a forensic analysis of buildings affected by mining subsidence, which is based on deformation data obtained by Differential Interferometry (DInSAR). The proposed test site is La Union village (Murcia, SE Spain) where subsidence was triggered in an industrial area due to the collapse of abandoned underground mining labours occurred in 1998. In the first part of this work the study area was introduced, describing the spatial and temporal evolution of ground subsidence, through the elaboration of a cracks map on the buildings located within the affected area. In the second part, the evolution of the most significant cracks found in the most damaged buildings was monitored using biaxial extensometric units and inclinometers. This article describes the work performed in the third part, where DInSAR processing of satellite radar data, available between 1998 and 2008, has permitted to determine the spatial and temporal evolution of the deformation of all the buildings of the study area in a period when no continuous in situ instrumental data is available. Additionally, the comparison of these results with the forensic data gathered in the 2005–2008 period, reveal that there is a coincidence between damaged buildings, buildings where extensometers register significant movements of cracks, and buildings deformation estimated from radar data. As a result, it has been demonstrated that the integration of DInSAR data into forensic analysis methodologies contributes to improve significantly the assessment of the damages of buildings affected by mining subsidence.

Infrared termography application in energy audits of buildings

The main objectives of this research are (i) to determine the correct use of infrared thermography in the energy analysis of buildings and to verify its application in conducting energy audits thereof; (ii) to conduct a proposal for a standard methodology (with its corresponding final report) for energy audit of buildings based on currently applicable regulations, specifying the parts of the audit process where the authors propose to include thermal inspections by using infrared thermography.

Requalificação urbana e meio ambiente: a inserção da temática ambiental nas propostas de intervenção sobre centros antigos

O crescimento espraiado e periférico das cidades nos países dependentes, tal qual o Brasil, tem reproduzido um movimento de segregação socioespacial das classes de baixos rendimentos, as quais são relegadas a condições ambientais insalubres. Nos países centrais do capitalismo, sob formas distintas, se observa também desde os anos 1960 discussões com respeito à expansão urbana para áreas cada vez maiores, seja por fenômenos como o urban sprawl anglo-saxão, ou a urbanização difusa, dos países da Europa latina. Diante desse quadro, com a publicação do Livro Verde sobre o Ambiente Urbano, documento elaborado em 1990 pela Comissão das Comunidades Européias para fornecer subsídios à elaboração das políticas urbano-ambientais, tem se propagado a ideia de que a promoção de “cidades compactas” seria uma solução adequada para reverter o atual estágio de expansão urbana para novas áreas, aumentando as densidades demográficas em áreas infraestruturadas, sobretudo por meio da reabilitação de edificações e terrenos ociosos localizados nos centros tradicionais, os quais tem passado por processos de abandono, perda de população e deterioração física do patrimônio edificado. Tendo isso em vista, na presente comunicação temos por objetivo analisar como a temática ambiental tem se inserido no contexto das discussões sobre a requalificação de centros antigos com foco na promoção de habitações para as classes populares. Para tal realizamos revisão da literatura sobre o tema proposto bem como procuramos identificar os princípios que tem regido tais políticas com relação ao tema ambiental. A relevância do tema encontra-se na necessidade de buscar caminhos alternativos a política habitacional e urbana brasileira, a qual tem reproduzido um modelo predatório de reprodução do espaço urbano.

New-Generation Hybrid Contact Lens for the Management of Extreme Irregularity in a Thin Cornea After Unsuccessful Excimer Laser Refractive Surgery

Purpose: To report a very successful outcome obtained with the fitting of a new-generation hybrid contact lens of reverse geometry in a thin cornea with extreme irregularity due to the presence of a central island after unsuccessful myopic excimer laser refractive surgery. Methods: A 32-year-old man attended to our clinic complaining of very poor vision in his right eye after bilateral laser in situ keratomileusis (treatment or surgery) for myopia correction and some additional retreatments afterward. After a comprehensive ocular evaluation, contact lens fitting with a reverse geometry hybrid contact lens (SynergEyes PS, SynergEyes, Carlsbad, CA) was proposed as a solution for this case. Visual, refractive, and ocular aberrometric outcomes with the contact lens were evaluated. Results: Distance visual acuity improved from a prefitting uncorrected value of 20/200 to a postfitting corrected value of 20/16. Prefitting manifest refraction was +6.00 sphere and −3.00 cylinder at 70°, with a corrected distance visual acuity of 20/40. Higher order root mean square for a 5-mm pupil changed from a prefitting value of 1.45 to 0.34 µm with the contact lens. The contact lens wearing was reported as comfortable, and the patient was very satisfied with this solution. Conclusions: The SynergEyes PS contact lens seems to be an excellent option for the visual rehabilitation of corneas with extreme irregularity after myopic excimer laser surgery, minimizing the level of higher order aberrations and providing an excellent visual outcome.

Restoration of religious temples: intervention in the church “Nuestra Señora de Belén” in Crevillente (Alicante)

Heritage conservation has raised historical problems usually centered in defects resulting from water leaks. Thus, any intervention is presented as a difficult task, both due to building techniques to be used and the lack of economic resources in many cases. In relation to the temples existing in Alicante (Spain), water drainage is solved with pitched roofs on slope formation (in vaulted naves) or directly supported on the vaulted elements (in the domes). Since those construction systems are composed by brick and plaster, the presence of moisture is problematic, and represents a risk of losing the strength capacity and therefore the stability of the dome. An example of this problem is the dome of the church “Nuestra Señora de Belén” in Crevillente, built with solid bricks, it has the highest diameter of the province (18th century). This historic building has been restored on several occasions in the recent years due to moisture, cracks or fissures. The study of these works give an idea of the difficulties of maintenance, conservation and proper restoration of such kind of buildings as unique and valued constructions in our heritage.

Technologies for Seduction: The “Espacio Doméstico” VideoArt Center in Blanca [EDOM]

Sustainability, understood in its beginnings as a common horizon for multiple practices and fields of study, has gradually given way to the development of increasingly sophisticated tools, with distinct dominant meanings established for each discipline. Within the field of material technologies for architectural production, sustainability seems to have found its most fertile ground in topics such as recycling, the use of "bio" materials, or energetic efficiency. However, to improve the understanding of the impact of technology on our ways of living, it appears increasingly necessary to move from the deterministic logic of sustainability into the relational domain of ecology, where the use and deployment of technologies can be observed through the multiplicity of its effects and the diversity of actors involved. In this paper we will address the case of the rehabilitation of several traditional houses located in the Murcian town of Blanca to host the “Espacio Doméstico” VideoArt Center (EDOM). In this action the selection and implementation of technologies have been aimed at impacting on diverse aspects including local communities, digital manufacturing, recycling, and policies regarding the rehabilitation of heritage buildings. While the initial approach was to address housing recovery as a heterogeneous accumulation of stories, technologies or material deployments of the domestic, our intervention strategies ascribed to the different technologies the role of mediating with existing elements through the incorporation of the very different visions of sustainability. Thus, we displayed artifacts produced by digitally manufactured methacrylate assembled on IKEA structures, fluorescent power lines supported by insulators on the wall, fluorescent tattoos on walls and ceilings that guide and extend the configuration of existing flooring, esparto furniture and fabrics produced by the esparto women workers’ and village women’s associations, re-appropriations of old furniture through the implementation of new media technologies, etc. If we can see seduction as the process of converting affinities and disagreements into affirmative communication, then the EDOM proposal can be seen as an active seduction process between technologies and users who approach this kind of cultural artifacts. Through these permanently active processes, art technologies will refer the viewer to complex sensory experiences, where a combination of parody, memory and sound pushes the user to the limit of mere comprehension of works of art. This more relational approach to the issue of heritage rehabilitation, technology or art institutions is offered as an area of controversy and debate on the scope of political ecology and its potential impact on the architect’s professional practice.