Energy efficiency upgrading, architectural restyling and structural retrofit of modern buildings by means of “engineered” double skin façade

The buildings built after world-war II in the Euro-Mediterranean area are about 50% of the building heritage; their structures are typically made of RC frames with masonry infill walls. After a service life of approximately 50-60 years, they now show structural and energy deficiencies and their maintenance is considered not sustainable. The aim of this paper is to promote the sustainable renewal and valorization of these residential buildings by adopting double skin façade solutions for structural strengthening, energy efficiency upgrade and architectural renewal. The proposed technique can be considered as a paradigmatic solution which can be referenced for the rehabilitazion of degraded RC building, and can be easily adapted to comply with differen geographical, climatic and urban contexts, and with different seismic intensity levels. The proposal solution represents a sustainable alternative to the traditional demolition-reconstruction interventions and complete the energy-architectural rehabilitation.