VERCELLI MAURI

PROJECT FOR THE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL UPGRADING OF A RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN MILAN

DECISIONS

Special consideration should be given to the ventilated façade on the front of the building overlooking Corso Vercelli, which appears as a system to optimize the energy efficiency of the building.

In fact, while that wall looks to the north, a significant rate of its surface is fitted with windows.

The solution was therefore to adopt a double sheath to protect the wall and replace the windows with others with thermal break wood/aluminium frames, while fitting outdoor Venetian blinds both on the balconies and on the windows, in this case with no shading purposes, due to the absence of direct sun rays at all times of the year, but rather as wind-stoppers.

The roofing of the shopping arcade, now finished with a tar sheath, was substituted with a roof garden that plays an interesting aesthetic role, as well as a very important one in terms of reduction of the average temperature of the concerned buildings and of their surroundings (heat island effect). This is particularly effective in the summer, in that it prevents the heat accumulation that characterized the pre-existing black sheath and provides better oxygenation of the whole property and significant CO2 absorption in the area.

The fitting of a photovoltaic or solar system on the pitched roof was also considered, but the surface of the pitch that looks to the south – the only viable position for fitting – was not wide enough to generate the electric or thermal energy required to satisfy the needs of the building or to ensure an appropriate cost/benefit ratio for this approach.

For heat generation, a geothermal system was adopted, which exploits underground temperature and allows to satisfy the heating requirements of the whole building with minimum consumptions and, particularly, without producing any discharge fumes.