Sustainable Rehabilitation of an Old Building in Monchique

Abstract

The large amount of old buildings in Portugal includes an extensive range of structural and constructive typologies. If from the sustainability point of view it is more efficient to recover existing structures and improve the construction quality, the absence of Portuguese codes about the subject might constitute an obstacle to achieve a successful outcome. This fact is one of the reasons why some of the rehabilitations are made totally empirical with particularly adverse repercussions on the quality, safety and energy performance of the buildings.

This document intends to contribute to the dissemination of some information available to the designer through the presentation of a case study about the rehabilitation of a traditional stone masonry house built by the end of the 19th century in Monchique. It is introduced the structural analysis and the reinforcement design and thermal and acoustic suitability to nowadays requirements. In order to reply to main client demand—sustainability, the engineering designed was based on three basic principles: rehabilitation or retrofit of the structure, to preserve the authenticity of the construction type using eco-friendly materials (as much as possible) and reach an high energy efficiency building (A + energy class).

Combining technological innovation in the reinforcement and rehabilitation of existing structure, it was explored the structural behavior of existing elements through numerical models and implementation of modern techniques in its consolidation and reinforcement. If on one hand, high-tech materials such as carbon fibers are used to consolidate and improve seismic resistance of the old masonry structure, on the other hand, natural and traditional materials like cork were used to achieve the thermal and acoustic requirements.