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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 43046

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Margani

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Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr), University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95127 Catania, Italy
Interests: sustainable architecture; building technology; heritage conservation; architectural history; building renovation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last century, advances in science and technology have certainly been fast and exciting, and have contributed to significantly improving human life conditions. However, such outstanding advances have also produced negative effects, as follows: at an environmental level, by progressively threatening the ecological balance of our planet, and at an economic and social level, by contributing to the unequal distribution of world wealth, and to the spread of controversial consumerist models.

In the very beginning, environmental problems and socio-economic imbalances aroused partial alarms and timid attempts, entrusted to the sensitivity of small social groups, which often remained isolated and accused of catastrophism. Successively, and especially recently, a much broader and deeper awareness has emerged, leading to wide manifestations for the protection of the environment and fundamental human rights. This vast collective sharing has contributed to spreading the principle of sustainability, which appropriately embraces environmental, social, and economic issues.

In the face of billions of poor people, and, today more than ever, millions of fugitives and migrants, new frontiers of research are also needed in architecture, in order to take into account the needs of the most economically and socially disadvantaged classes, as well as to promote a drastic reduction in the environmental impacts.

In this view, technological progress should be seen as an innovation engine to foster more efficient business models, services, and products, through the implementation of responsible development processes based on fair competitiveness, equity, and environmental friendliness.

Hence, the new horizons of architecture must be inspired by the principle of sustainability, in support of better distributed homes and buildings, which are affordable for everyone and respectful of the environment and mankind.

In this framework, this Special Issue aims to collect original research or review papers to address on (but not limited to) one or more of the following topics:

describe the need for new and innovative design approaches, building technologies, and materials to address the housing demand from the neediest classes;
suggest design, product, and process innovation for sustainable and affordable buildings, in case of both new constructions and renovation projects;
propose new participatory processes for design and construction activities able to encourage an architecture for everyone.

The studies are expected to underline the relationship between the suggested solutions and the local context, with the support of case studies (if needed), and should also highlight the potentiality of extending the outcomes to other countries with similar scenarios.

I believe that this Special Issue may contribute to sustainable architecture becoming a field of experimentation in order to face the environmental, social, and economic emergency of our time.

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Margani
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

economic, social, and environmental sustainability
sustainable and affordable architecture
building renovation
design, product, and process and innovation
participatory processes
case study

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 5708 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Tool for the Evaluation of Energy-Environmental Retrofit Interventions on Opaque Walls Using ETICS

by Pierfrancesco Fiore, Giuseppe Donnarumma and Carmelo Falce

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 4063; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074063 - 06 Apr 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1789

Abstract

Buildings in Europe are the largest consumers of energy, since they are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of pollutant gas emissions. The energy efficiency, the consequential economic savings and the reduction of environmental impacts must necessarily consider the design of improvements that affect the opaque vertical envelope of a building. The vertical envelope generally constitutes the largest dispersing surface. In this paper, a comparative evaluation of different ETICS (External Thermal Insulation Composite System) solutions through the application of a multicriteria decision support method is proposed. The criteria at the basis of the procedure relate to the energy, environmental, indoor comfort, and economic aspects. Through the application to the case study, consisting of two types of vertical walls with reference to three different climate zones, the ETICS alternative that achieves the best compromise between the various evaluation criteria is highlighted and the solidity of the method itself is tested. The potential of the methodology in the analysis of the alternatives in adherence to individual subcriteria and the possibility of implementation with additional indicators as the needs change are also highlighted. The social impact is undoubtedly one of the expected effects of the application of the method, since a better performance of the building envelope leads to an increase in comfort and liveability of indoor spaces. Moreover, all studies aimed at increasing the performance of the building or parts of it, consequently, lead to greater accessibility by the most vulnerable members of society, in line with the principles of sustainability and inclusiveness of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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27 pages, 6197 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coding Engines in Participatory Social Housing Design—A Case to Revisit Pattern Languages

by Viktor Bukovszki, Gabriella Dóci and András Reith

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3367; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063367 - 18 Mar 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2395

Abstract

Participation has been touted as a critical instrument for both citizen empowerment and responsibility-sharing in sustainability. In architecture, participation allows for the progression of green building to sustainable habitation that integrates environmental, economic, and social dimensions. However, participation in practice rarely delegates meaningful decisions to marginalized groups and is mostly a one-sided process. This study seeks to investigate which factors of the participatory method afford both empowerment and behavioral change to a sustainable lifestyle in low-income groups. To do so, a case study of designing a social housing estate in Hungary is presented, where participatory design was used to codevelop a building that considers and adjusts to the sustainable lifestyle envisioned by the future residents. A coding engine based on the concept of pattern languages was developed that places conditions and experience of everyday activities at the center of design, translating them to spatial features. As a result, a focus group of social housing tenants and cohousing experts were able to define explicit shared spaces, allocate square meters to them, and articulate legible design criteria. Of the early-stage design decisions, 45% were made with or by the participants, and the bilateral process made it possible to convince the tenants to adopt a more sustainable habitation format. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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23 pages, 11461 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comfort within Budget: Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Envelope Improvements in Single-Family Affordable Housing

by Renata Tubelo, Lucelia Rodrigues, Mark Gillott and May Zune

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3054; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063054 - 11 Mar 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2790

Abstract

In Brazil, the delivery of homes for low-inc ome households is dictated by costs rather than performance. Issues such as the impact of climate change, affordability of operational energy use, and lack of energy security are not taken into account, even though they can severely impact the occupants. In this work, the authors evaluated the thermal performance of two affordable houses as-built and after the integration of envelope improvements. A new replicable method to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these improvements was proposed. The case study houses comprise the most common affordable housing type delivered widely across Brazil and a proposition of a better affordable housing solution, built in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, integrating passive design strategies to increase thermal comfort. The findings reveal a potential for improving indoor thermal conditions by up to 76% and 73%, respectively, if costs are not a concern, and 40% and 45% with a cost increase of 12% and 9% if a comfort criterion of 20–25 °C was considered. Equations to estimate costs of improvements in affordable housing were developed. The authors concluded that there is a great scope for building envelope optimisation, and that this is still possible without significant impact on budget. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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21 pages, 3552 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimizing the Sustainable Aspects of the Design Process through Building Information Modeling

by Clara Vite and Renata Morbiducci

Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3041; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063041 - 10 Mar 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6028

Abstract

More than thirty years after the definition of sustainable development, the commitment to protect the planet has been renewed, and all sectors of human activity have been called to contribute to this critical challenge of our time. Therefore, the construction sector can also make an essential contribution. Designers are called upon to modify their actions to consider the environmental, social, and economic impacts during the entire life cycle of construction. The digital revolution could be a suitable opportunity for a profound renewal oriented towards sustainability. The new digital technologies and the increased computing power are useful for managing the increasing complexity in current projects and supporting collaboration between the many experts involved. The presented research analyzes the current state and identifies the signs of change and the cues to imagine possible virtuous complicity between sustainable development goals and the digital revolution’s potential, which is supported by the operational features of optimization methods. Based on this in-depth analysis, an operational strategy has been defined, combining the three macro themes usually treated separately—sustainability, digitization, and optimization. This strategy can be a valuable tool to guide designers in optimizing the process of sustainable design and regenerative construction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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19 pages, 2120 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Sustainable Approach towards the Retrofit of the Public Housing Building Stock: Energy-Architectural Experimental and Numerical Analysis

by Federica Rosso, Arianna Peduzzi, Lorenzo Diana, Stefano Cascone and Carlo Cecere

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2881; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052881 - 07 Mar 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2816

Abstract

Nowadays, energy retrofit interventions on the existing building stock are of paramount importance towards energy consumption and emissions reductions in the construction sector. Such interventions are also crucial in the view of increasing cities resilience with respect to the intensification of frequent extreme weather events, such as cold spells and heatwaves. Indeed, a wide portion of our cities is dated and lacking with respect to performances. These are the motivations behind the proposed sustainable approach, which deals with the environmental perspective, but also with social and economic ones, by proposing the retrofit of the Public Residential Building stock (Edilizia Residenziale Pubblica, ERP). The objective is to improve the energy performance of ERP stock by means of construction materials coming from local km0 agricultural waste and by-products. The research was conducted by means of in field and numerical analyses of the energy performances of a relevant case study building. Different layers of bio-based, recycled construction materials for the envelope were tested with respect to their efficacy in improving the energy performance of a case study building. The results demonstrate that the most performing envelope solutions and their combination are able to reduce up to 36% of the yearly energy consumption for heating. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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22 pages, 8376 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Environmental and Economic Sustainability for the Building Envelope of Low-Carbon Schools

by Frida Bazzocchi, Cecilia Ciacci and Vincenzo Di Naso

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1702; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041702 - 04 Feb 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2300

Abstract

To achieve a carbon-free economy by 2050, the construction of low-carbon schools in Italy must select the proper structural and technological solutions for the building envelope while ensuring a low economic cost. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare several technological solutions for the building envelope and the related structural solutions in terms of thermo-dynamic properties, energy performance, environmental sustainability parameters, and economic evaluations, to obtain one or more alternatives. After a general study, the binomial load-bearing structure–external wall was investigated given its strong influence on both the environment and the total cost. The solutions were used in a new typological model for the kindergarten. All the solutions are comparable from an energy and environmental point of view, obtaining a primary energy demand of <25 kWh/(m²year) and an environmental impact of <20 kWh/(m²year). However, considering the economic factor and analyzing the binomial load-bearing structure–external wall, the advisable solutions are those that use wooden structures with insulation layer in wood fiber as they have a significantly lower environmental impact, along with the same good energy performance and have an acceptable cost compared to other analyzed solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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32 pages, 13309 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Energy-Resilient Retrofit Methodology to Climate Change for Historic Districts. Application in the Mediterranean Area

by Elena Cantatore and Fabio Fatiguso

Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1422; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031422 - 29 Jan 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2345

Abstract

Focusing on the uncertainties of climate change and its effects on the built environment, on the energy responsibilities of residential building stock and on the dichotomy between the transformation and preservation of cultural heritage with a long-term perspective, this paper proposes a detailed methodology aimed at managing energy retrofit transformations and preservation actions in historic districts following “resilience thinking.” The proposed methodology pursues the traditional process of retrofitting for cultural heritage, and identifies—on building and component scales—a structural process aimed at: (i) recognizing and testing the adaptive qualities of traditional built constructions to climate change based upon the genius loci experience; (ii) diagnosing critical energy emergencies which occurred due to historical transformations or exposure to criticalities of climate change; (iii) identifying and managing improvement requirements according to priority levels of transformation (MUERI). The test on a representative case study in the south of Italy (Mediterranean area) highlighted some significant results: (i) the importance of compactness and of light-colored materials in fighting local microclimate alterations; (ii) the pivotal responsibility of roofs in current and future trends in energy consumption, promoting and testing both innovative and traditional solutions; (iii) the reduction into a limited number of buildings cases to assess, solving the complex and various combinations of features, with which suitable solutions and guidelines are associated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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21 pages, 921 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decision Support System for the Sustainable Seismic and Energy Renovation of Buildings: Methodological Layout

by Antonio Artino, Riccardo Caponetto, Gianpiero Evola, Giuseppe Margani, Edoardo Michele Marino and Emanuele Murgano

Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10273; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410273 - 09 Dec 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2298

Abstract

In Italy, as in many other European countries, a large part of the real estate was built before the issue of restrictive regulations regarding seismic resistance and energy efficiency. Consequently, most existing buildings show inadequate structural and energy performance. However, although a combined renovation is highly recommended, and despite relevant tax incentives which are currently available, the building retrofit market is still struggling to take off. In fact, the lack of information and/or awareness of the involved parties and the consequent difficulty for condominiums to approve the retrofit works are often insuperable obstacles. A Decision Support System (DSS) may help in evaluating and comparing different combined renovation scenarios, thus promoting the regeneration of the building stock. This study presents a new methodology for the selection of the optimal building renovation scenario through a DSS, which is conceived as a tool to allow a quick, simple and effective identification of the best retrofit strategy, based on a priority scale (e.g., costs and duration of intervention, disruption to the occupants, environmental sustainability, energy savings, thermal comfort, structural safety). For this purpose, the DSS calculates suitable performance indices and relative costs. Finally, the system proposes a ranking of the best combined retrofit scenarios. This research study is still ongoing and next steps will deal with the calibration of the proposed methodology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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20 pages, 2759 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An AHP-Based Methodology for Decision Support in Integrated Interventions in School Buildings

by Pierfrancesco Fiore, Giuseppe Donnarumma, Carmelo Falce, Emanuela D’Andria and Claudia Sicignano

Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10181; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310181 - 06 Dec 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2411

Abstract

The recovery and requalification of built heritage are, in Europe and all over the world, a central issue in relation to current international policies. In recent years, there has been a considerable growth in research within this field, favoring the implementation of intervention methodologies in the real estate assets of public and private property. With this study, we intend to focus attention on the redevelopment of existing school buildings, taking into account, from an integrated perspective, different aspects related to energy and environmental retrofit, the improvement of seismic safety, and socio-economic assessments. A significant impact of the study that was carried out will be favoring the more disadvantaged classes and a reduction in school drop-out, which in some cases is caused by the decentralized dislocation of the complexes or by inadequate structures. The research consists of the development of a tool to support the planning and programming of interventions for school building modernization, with a view to environmental, economic, and social sustainability. In order to take into account the multiplicity of the aspects considered, among the methods of multi-criteria analysis for decision-making aims the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was applied, which allowed us to analyze and compare different alternatives through evaluation criteria, reaching the definition of a priority scale. This process makes it possible to identify those interventions that achieve the best compromise between community needs and the planners’ goals. The evaluation procedure is validated through the application on a concrete case study, which is a school building located in the province of Avellino, in the south of Italy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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18 pages, 2088 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Community-Based Processes for Revitalizing Heritage: Questioning Justice in the Experimental Practice of Ecomuseums

by Giusy Pappalardo

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 9270; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219270 - 08 Nov 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3162

Abstract

Heritage is not only what societies inherit from the past: it is also an opportunity for practicing the principles of sustainability in the making of the future. A community-based approach is pivotal for generating long lasting processes aimed at revitalizing heritage. This assertion has been widely stated in several norms and conventions, such as the 2000 European Landscape Convention and the 2005 European Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society. Some practices aimed at revitalizing heritage with a community-based approach can be ascribed to the organizational form of the so-called ecomuseums, born in France in the 1970s and today spread worldwide. Ecomuseums soon became a tool for organizing community-based processes aimed at protecting and enhancing heritage in its various facets while promoting local development. However, not every existing ecomuseum is also able to grasp the opportunity of including disadvantaged persons and guaranteeing the right to heritage for all. This paper discusses the innovative elements and criticalities of ecomuseums, questioning how could they target heritage’s enhancement as well as justice simultaneously. This paper gains evidence from an ongoing action-research process and provides policy recommendations for EU southern regions that are now starting to experiment with the practice of ecomuseums, such as Sicily (IT). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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17 pages, 69085 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape Sustainability of Architecture in Fernando Menis’s Work: A Sensitive Design Rooted in Volcanic Nature

by Simona Calvagna

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8711; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208711 - 20 Oct 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3297

Abstract

The many declinations of the idea of sustainability in architecture concern different disciplinary areas as well as all phases of the construction process. Alongside the more established categories of the sustainability of materials used and the technical construction processes and economic investments mobilized, there are now new facets of the idea of sustainability. They affect the impact that architecture can have on communities in terms of social relations and quality of context of life. This work explores the idea of landscape sustainability of architecture, understood as the ability of man-made interventions to belong to the context and the inhabitants, while promoting forms of alliance with the ecosystems at multiple spatial and temporal scale. Starting from the analysis of some trends in contemporary architecture that deals with these problems, the research identifies the volcanic environment as a terrain for exploration, with particular interest in its natural characteristics and dynamic interactions with anthropic contexts. After choosing the region of Macaronesia as a case study, the research focuses on the work of Fernando Menis. As an architect from the Canary Islands, he has developed his own modus operandi which, while rooted in its original context, is inspired by principles of social, cultural, and landscape sustainability of architecture that are valid today everywhere. The objective of this work is therefore to draw a reflection from his architectural poetics, with the intention of outlining the features of a possible contemporary design posture based on principles of landscape sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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18 pages, 14789 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy, Seismic, and Architectural Renovation of RC Framed Buildings with Prefabricated Timber Panels

by Giuseppe Margani, Gianpiero Evola, Carola Tardo and Edoardo Michele Marino

Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 4845; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124845 - 13 Jun 2020

Cited by 48 | Viewed by 6150

Abstract

In seismic European countries most of the residential building stock is highly energy-intensive and earthquake-prone because it was built before the enforcement of the most recent energy and seismic codes. Furthermore, this stock often shows a low architectural quality due to poor maintenance and/or construction and design deficiencies: for all these reasons, it needs deep renovation, but the use of common energy and seismic upgrading techniques is often unsustainable in terms of costs, work duration, and occupants’ disturbance. Therefore, new integrated, affordable, fast, and low-disruptive renovation actions are strongly needed. This study proposes an innovative energy, seismic, and architectural renovation solution for reinforced concrete (RC) framed buildings, based on the addition of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels to the outer walls, in combination with wooden-framed panels. The two panels integrate insulation and cladding materials in order to improve the energy performance and the architectural image of the renovated building. Moreover, the CLT panels are connected to the existing RC frame through innovative seismic energy dissipation devices. In case of an earthquake, these devices in combination with the CLT panels reduce the drift demand of the building, preventing or reducing structural damages and consequent repair costs. In particular, this paper investigates the technical feasibility, the energy efficiency, and the architectural enhancement of the proposed retrofitting system. To this purpose, dynamic thermal simulations were conducted on a typical multi-story residential building from the 1960s, located in Catania, Italy. The results indicated that this retrofitting technique considerably improved the energy performance of the selected building, with a reduction of the global energy demand up to nearly 60%. The presented study is part of a larger research project aimed at also investigating, in a further stage, the seismic performance achievable by the above-mentioned renovation solution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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18 pages, 637 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Memory as Material of the Project of Sustainability

by Sebastiano D’Urso

Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4126; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104126 - 18 May 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3085

Abstract

The concept of sustainability is multidimensional and includes institutional, social, cultural, environmental, and economic dimensions. It shows the extent to which humans and the environment are interdependent. The multidisciplinary drive of research applied to sustainability, therefore, stems from the awareness of an interconnected world. Man, endowed with the gift of memory, establishes with the environment mnemonic relationships, from recollections to oblivion. Memory also protects us from past events because we remember the perceptions and feelings experienced during personal or collective circumstance. Starting from this perspective, a reflection is proposed on how memory, as a tool and measure of human knowledge, can offer solutions to both the problem of sustainability and to the development of processes and projects based on shared values. The concept of memory can also include things or objects as they store knowledge, meanings and memories to be discovered. The various forms memory takes, are to be considered the material through which man decodes and builds time and space. Hence, memory has always been the bedrock of sustainability as it works as a common theme across generations until its goals are achieved. In space, these mnemonic relationships are manifest in terms of heritage and nature. Nonetheless, the outcome of these considerations is that in order to use memory as an instrument of the project of sustainability it is necessary to redefine, through their interconnections, the concepts of both memory and sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Horizons for Sustainable Architecture)

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