Enrico Sergio Mazzucchelli

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• MSc Building Engineering
• Professor (Associate) at Politecnico di Milano

Timber–concrete composite (TCC) systems join the positive aspects of engineered wood products (good seismftaic behaviour, low thermal conductivity, environmental sustainability, good behaviour under fire if appropriately designed) with those of concrete (high thermal inertia, durability, excellent fire resistance). TCC facades are typically compose...

This paper delves into the critical realm of sustainable façade design, specifically targeting brackets and components in the tall-building industry, with a primary focus on the reduction of raw aluminium consumption within the construction sector. Employing a rigorous Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, this study investigates effective criteria...

In recent decades, façades have become central to building design, significantly shaping aesthetics and enabling complex architectural forms. However, as façade complexity increases, so do the technical and performance challenges associated with their design. Addressing these challenges early in the design process is crucial, as early decisions imp...

The building envelope plays an important role in meeting complex functional requirements and stringent green energy standards. The global energy demand is increasing and most of it is consumed in the building sector. The building envelope, which is responsible for the energy balance of the building, plays the most important role in achieving nearly...

The current regulations on building envelope requirements are no longer related only to aspects of energy efficiency or guarantee of durability over time, but also to new performance scenarios concerning technological systems in relation to adaptation, mitigation and resilience to increasingly frequent extreme climate events. The research aims to a...

Timber-concrete composite (TCC) systems join the positive aspects of engineered wood products (good seismic behaviour, low thermal conductivity, environmental sustainability, good behaviour under fire if appropriately designed) with those of concrete (high thermal inertia, durability, excellent fire resistance). TCC facades are typically composed b...

This paper commences with a scientific literature review of current research that underlines the environmental benefits to be gained from using smaller quantities of raw materials in the construction industry, with particular emphasis on a sustainable approach to façade design. Life cycle assessment modelling is advocated to validate the sustainabi...

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have increased in the last years. Building resiliency against different natural hazards (hurricanes, floodings, wildfires, etc.) is fundamental for the adaptation to climate change, even if it is hardly included in their design process. In this scenario, the presentation aims to provide an overv...

The building envelope has a dominant impact on a building’s energy balance, and it plays an essential role towards the nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) target. Global energy demand is continuously growing, with the building sector consuming one third of the total energy supply in developed countries and one-fourth in developing ones. The researc...

The building envelope has a dominant impact on a building’s energy balance, and it plays an essential role towards the nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) target. Global energy demand is continuously growing, with the building sector consuming one third of the total energy supply in developed countries and one-fourth in developing ones. The researc...

This study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the thermal performance of an innovative prefabricated ventilated façade system, formed by an internal lightweight structure and an external massive cladding. The façade is composed by an internal insulated timber-frame wall and an external concrete slab, separated by a ventilated air cavity. Th...

The existing building stock refurbishment is a crucial aspect in reducing the energy demand of the built environment, often characterized by low performance envelopes. The paper presents a review on the main issues, constraints and strategies for the energy, architectural and performance refurbishment of existing opaque building façades, showing th...

Nella presente monografia viene trattata l’evoluzione storica, tipologica e tecnologica del sistema involucro attraverso una anamnesi storico-tecnica in rapporto ai materiali, ai sistemi costruttivi e ai processi di trasformazione culturale e sociale che hanno determinato il passaggio del la chiusura verticale esterna da elemento ricompreso nel sis...

The paper intends to advice readers about the potentialities of aluminium roofing systems in terms of general sustainability, recyclability, and achievement of energy requirements. The use of metal sheet panels for buildings roofing and cladding has been progressively increasing since the very beginning of the last century. Nowadays, several differ...

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have increased in the last few years. Buildings resiliency against natural hazards (hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, etc.) is fundamental for the adaptation to climate change, however it is hardly included in their design. Buildings exposed to extreme climate conditions may become drivers of vul...

The construction of timber buildings has increased in recent years, thanks to the excellent properties of the material. To achieve improved behaviour in terms of mechanical properties, energy and acoustic performance, fire resistance and durability, timber structures are sometimes integrated with other materials, such as concrete and steel, resulti...

In the field of circular and Green Economy, thermal and acoustic insulation in buildings is an essential requirement for an increasingly efficient architecture. In case of built heritage regeneration and refurbishment, as well as in new constructions, the choice of an insulating material should not be related only to the thermal transmittance value...

Ongoing climate change effects can bring to extremely negative consequences in the coming decades. In this context, the development of housing prototypes suitable to provisionally host people affected by emergency situations (to which the emergency related to war events has recently been added) is nowadays an issue of primary importance. However, r...

Resilient buildings need to face many challenges in many combinations (hurricanes and high wind resistance, wildfire events, etc.) but today their design hardly includes these aspects. During extreme wind events, threats are mainly due to the detaching and flying of materials and pieces from buildings and other man-made structures: roof tiles, faça...

The paper illustrates the potential use of green walls for advanced building envelopes. In the last years, several technological systems have been developed for green building envelopes. They can be categorised into two groups, according to their system and growing methods: green façades and living walls. Green façades are created by growing climbi...

The paper illustrates characteristics and performances of curtain walling kits intended to be used as part of the building envelope. Façade systems represent generally the building skin, aiming to satisfy a growing complexity of functional demands such as the stringent green energy requirements given by most of the building codes and to ensure weat...

The paper investigates a significant case study of an energy and technology retrofit of a large, flat roof covered with a standing seam system, eventually integrated with a large-scale solar power plant. In particular it examines the previous pathologies occurred and discuss the design of the new roof layouts, slopes pitch, and construction details...

This paper presents a study of the thermo-hygrometric behaviour of a Double Skin Façade (DSF) unit. The study aims (i) at comparing currently used calculation procedures according to European and American standards (UNI EN ISO 10077, UNI EN ISO 12631:2018, ISO 15099:2003, ANSI/NFRC 100 for the thermal performance and ISO 13788:2012 (2012) for the c...

T he subject of the study is pilot clusters that are beneficial to a particular region, taking into account the traditions and production areas of the region. The work aims to develop an innovative strategy for state-supported pilot clusters that would allow for flexible management decision making. The proposed method involves the compound real opt...

The lectures will aim to guide the students towards the development of the workshop design theme. In this regard, each working group will face a theme with the aim of developing a preliminary design related to the following topic: • Resilient buildings design. Climate change and global warming is one of the issues of our time. Moreover, the constru...

All over the world examples of unfinished and abandoned building structures are widespread. They can often be found in degraded areas and they can be the cause of this degradation themselves. However, within the new planning instruments, the intention to eliminate, or at least reduce these problems, is gaining more and more importance. The aim of t...

Double-skin façades aim to improve the thermal, acoustic and daylight performances of the building envelope, contributing substantially to the indoor comfort and reducing solar heat gains in summer. To evaluate the performances of a double-skin façade, various analytical and CFD modelling methods (Computational Fluid Dynamics) are used to assist de...

Il settore delle costruzioni occupa un ruolo centrale in una prospettiva di sostenibilità ambientale, essendo tra i principali responsabili del consumo energetico, delle emissioni di biossido di carbonio e della produzione di rifiuti annuali globali. Il rinato impiego del legno in edilizia, la costruzione di edifici energeticamente efficienti media...

Nel corso degli anni, l’impiego di sistemi in lamiera metallica in copertura è diventato sempre più comune per edifici di ogni forma e dimensione, sia in caso di nuova costruzione, sia di riqualificazione dell’esistente. In particolare, le tecnologie che prevedono l’utilizzo di doghe metalliche in lamiera sottile profilate a lunghezza di falda rapp...

We propose a model that aims to fulfill the following three necessities: the demand for refurbishing the existing built environment, the lack of a reliable means to help architects navigate among the numerous possible solutions for low-energy constructions, and the need for a multi-function tool to analyze buildings as complex systems. We introduce...

Since 2016, the ACME (Advanced Construction Management and Economics) seminars have been an international knowledge exchange course between Politecnico di Milano and the Technical University of Graz related to the "Agreement on strategic partnership between Politecnico di Milano and Graz University of Technology". The seminars, that are characteriz...

Ventilated façades can help to reduce summer building thermal loads and, therefore, energy consumption due to air-conditioning systems thanks to the combined effect of the solar radiation reflection and the natural or forced ventilation into the cavity. The evaluation of ventilated façades behavior and performance is complex and requires a complete...

Nowadays, the construction industry is characterised by high-rise, multifunctional, and complex buildings with innovative façade systems. Unlike a simple prescriptive approach in accordance with standards and codes, a performance-based design allows us to: define safety levels and goals, evaluate heat transfer to the structure and the structure's r...

The research deals with the relationship between vegetation and architecture, and how its presence can influence a building project and performance. In the last years, many ways of integrating green in building envelopes have already been experimented, for their potential of reducing thermal loads; the research investigates a specific solution, the...

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) procedures are usually employed during the different building design phases. The first one is mainly related to the environment protection, while the second to the costs control and optimization. This paper aims to define a procedure to “translate” LCA results into an economic evaluation, typ...

The research here presented deals with the relationship between vegetation and architecture, and how its presence can influence a building project and performance. The main scope is to understand if trees, treated as shadings, can really affect positively the building energy consumptions. Moreover, other aspects, such as trees mechanical stability,...

The paper illustrates the potential use of PV Glass as a solution for building purposes, as well as an electricity-generating opportunity with the aim of capturing the sunlight for electricity production, focusing on high-rise office towers. In this regard, the use of Building Integrated PhotoVoltaics (BIPV) in the building envelope is very varied...

La pubblicazione tratta i temi della progettazione, della verifica e del controllo funzional-prestazionale di coperture a falda inclinata con manto di tenuta in elementi discontinui, isolate termicamente e dotate di lastra di tenuta di sicurezza sotto manto, per facilitare la messa in sicurezza nei confronti della resistenza al vento e della tenuta...

The modern cladding systems have shown not infrequently inconsistencies or mechanical deficiencies, such as to compromise their own safety. In this regard, the paper shows how the study of the structural aspects of façade claddings through proper numerical modelling and laboratory and in situ test, is today fundamental. The goal of the research act...

The problem of sustainability represents one of the most important issues that the world has to face nowadays, not only in terms of energy consumption and of the consequent CO2 emissions, but also in terms of material waste streams that end in landfill. 38 million tons of glass waste are produced every year in the European Union and new targets hav...

Nowadays the construction industry is characterised by high multifunctional and complex buildings with innovative façade systems. Unlike a simple prescriptive approach according to standards and codes, a performance-based design allows to define safety levels and goals, to evaluate heat transfer to the structure and the structure response based on...

This research regards the development of the project of the new school of San Severino Marche. The school is located in a region severely affected by the earthquake, and for this reason the design of the new building was based on a high degree of structural capacity, as well as strong innovations on typological and technological level, in accordanc...

The existing building stock refurbishment is a crucial aspect in reducing the energy demand of the built environment, often characterized by low performance envelopes. The paper presents a review on the main issues, constraints and strategies for the energy, architectural and performance refurbishment of existing building façades, showing their app...

Many recent fire events demonstrate that the need of improving the technical knowledge and the practical procedures in the design of the façade systems to be used in high-rise buildings, especially for what concerns the fire vulnerability, is still very strong. Through the analysis of some case studies and examples, the paper highlights the need to...

New design tool and approaches, and innovative construction methods are enabling architects and engineers to conceive and develop increasingly complex and daring building envelopes. This process is rapidly reshaping our built environment, and transforming the concept of building envelope itself, which is no longer a passive and static element that...

Many recent fire events demonstrate that the need of improving the technical knowledge and the practical procedures in the design of the façade systems to be used in high-rise buildings, especially for what concerns the fire vulnerability, is still very strong. Through the analysis of some case studies and examples, the paper highlights the need to...

“Case Studies – Adaptive Facade Network” concentrates on the definition and classification of adaptive facades by describing the state-of-the-art of materials, components and systems for adaptive facades, as well as future trends for products and systems. It also provides information about a database that is published on COST TU 1403 website.

Buildings often adopt strategies based on the integration of solutions and technologies in façades capable of changing their behaviour in time to improve energy efficiency and comfort. Considering that the envelope is the main parameter that influences the energy performance of buildings, façade elements with adaptive features can provide the build...

Adaptive façades can improve the building's energy efficiency and economics, through their capability to change their behaviour in real time according to indoor-outdoor parameters, by means of materials, components, and systems. Therefore, adaptive façades can make a significant and viable contribution to meeting the EU´s 2020 targets. Several diff...

The paper presents the first results of research that was partly conducted within the framework of European COST Action TU1403-Adaptive Façades Network, on the development of an adaptive BIPV (Building Integrated Photovoltaic) solution able to change its curvature in relation to the external environmental conditions, orientating itself in order to...

Among the DFMA (Design for Manufacturing and Assembly) objectives, the manufacturing and assembly complexity reduction, as well as that of time and costs of realization, with quality improvement, are fundamental aspects. In the construction industry, Edilizia 4.0 becomes synonymous with a radical change in the production chain model, where the opti...

Nowadays the construction industry is characterized by high multifunctional and complex buildings, with high energy efficiency and technically and constructively innovative façade systems. This considering both new buildings and the refurbishment of existing ones. However, many recent and tragic fires unfortunately demonstrate that the need of impr...

The preservation and refurbishment of the industrial heritage plays a fundamental aspect in terms of improving the energy performance, but also in terms of comfort and healthiness of working environments, that often prove to be very lacking in this regard. In this framework, the paper describes and analyses the reclamation and redevelopment of the...

The extensive use of glass façades has recently become a design trend in architecture. Several researches on high-performance glazed technologies and systems have being developed, but few of them focus on the exploitation of the surface extension of glazed-facades actively working as a renewable solar energy systems with a passive “defensive” actio...

Current strategies for facades envelopes are determined by a static response defined by a single prescriptive value. This code requirement diminishes the ability of a façade to interact with the environment by constant readjustment of functional performance. This is the knowledge gap between present code compliant facades, based on measures in the...

The reduction in building energy consumption and CO2 emissions is one of the main goals in the nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) framework. In this regard, adaptive technologies and materials represent a constantly developing sector and source of innovation. Moreover, these systems are often aimed at collect and convert renewable energy (mainly s...

The research presented within this paper deals with the design of an adaptive BIPV (Building Integrated PhotoVoltaic) façade system able to self-orientate the photovoltaic layer to improve the energy production. To reach this goal, thin film solar cells are coupled with a thin layer of hydromorphic material that responds to changes in environmental...

The refurbishment of existing buildings is today mainly directed to the energy efficiency and indoor comfort aspects, while the reduction of the seismic risk is left in the background, if not totally ignored. This paper presents the results of a research that has led to the development of an innovative construction system based on the use of CLT pa...

Although closely related with the building structure and required to possess adequate resistance to the acting loads too, the new cladding systems have shown not infrequently inconsistencies or mechanical deficiencies, such as to compromise their safety. The paper shows the necessity of studying and solving the structural aspects of façade cladding...

Although closely related with the building structure and required to possess adequate resistance to the acting loads too, the new cladding systems have shown not infrequently inconsistencies or mechanical deficiencies, such as to compromise their safety. The paper shows the necessity of studying and solving the structural aspects of façade cladding...

Geometry and shape have notoriously great influence not only on the aesthetic but also on the performance and the engineering of every building. This particularly when the dimension and the volume become pretty high as well as the geometry is unconventional. Tall and huge buildings are currently based on pyramid or conic shapes, while spherical bui...

Facade maintenance has become a key aspect in building management, due the specific actions involved and operation related costs. Within this framework, the application of titanium dioxide photocatalytic sol-gel products on facade elements offers a wide range of opportunities to ensure proper functionality maintenance over time. This paper illustra...

The building sector is today more and more often represented by tall, complex, energy-efficient and multi-functional buildings, characterized by innovative façade systems. The recent history teaches that, although closely related with the building structure and required to possess adequate resistance to the acting loads too, the new cladding system...

Il mondo delle costruzioni tende a realizzare edifici sempre più alti e complessi, ad elevata efficienza energetica, multifunzionali, caratterizzati da sistemi di facciata tecnicamente e costruttivamente innovativi. La storia recente insegna che, benché strettamente connessi ed interagenti con la struttura dell'edificio e tenuti a possedere adeguat...

This paper illustrates the result of a wide experimental campaign focused on the application of titanium dioxide self-cleaning coating for envelope maintenance. Such coatings have proven to be effective with regards to soiling deposition and build-up on façade surfaces over a time span equal to at least three years. Applications considered within t...

The use of glass in architecture has shown a significant increase in the last decades. Thanks to its characteristics of transparency, durability and flexibility, glass is today largely used in the production of free forms building envelopes. From this point of view there are many manufacturing technologies that can reproduce almost perfectly the co...

The European and national standards concerning energy saving strategies are nowadays paying greater and greater attention to the building construction area in order to achieve the ‘Zero Energy Building’ (ZEB) goal. Nevertheless, the available assessment methods are often used as tools to verify and assess the building energy behaviour when the desi...

Prefabrication of timber envelope components is a constantly developing research field, which attracts interest from various sectors of expertise thanks to the conspicuous advantages it can confer in terms of resources savings, as well as quality management and safety for all actors involved in the process. The present paper goes through the design...

La riqualificazione del patrimonio edilizio esistente è un aspetto assai rilevante ai fini della riduzione dei consumi energetici e delle emissioni di gas serra, soprattutto quando gli edifici sono caratterizzati da soluzioni tecniche di basso profilo tecnologico e limitate prestazioni. Tuttavia, un intervento di riqualificazione su un intero edif...

In un futuro prossimo il processo costruttivo degli edifici sarà inevitabilmente oggetto di un ripensamento integrale, in cui la prefabbricazione e la costruzione con alto grado di meccanizzazione assumeranno un ruolo di primaria importanza. A tal riguardo emblematico è il settore delle costruzioni in legno, basate sull’impiego di elementi oggi tec...

Façade maintenance has become a key aspect in building management, due the specific actions involved and operation related costs. In this frame, the application of titanium dioxide photocatalytic sol-gel products on façade elements offers a wide range of opportunities to ensure proper functionalities maintenance overtime. This paper illustrates the...

In Italy about 50% of the building heritage has a masonry structure. The refurbishment of these buildings is a delicate issue. The complexity of the problem lies in the presence of a widespread panorama behind the category masonry construction because their characteristics depend on different techniques related to local traditions. The current cond...

Cross-Laminated Timber is one of the most widely used engineered wood products, thanks to its numerous advantages, among which construction speed is the most appreciated, both by clients and by designers. However, construction scheduling compression refers exclusively to CLT structures, while the rest of the construction process still requires a lo...

The refurbishment of existing buildings is an increasingly topic of interest considering the economic context and the new needs of environmental sustainability. A huge part of the Italian building heritage consists of masonry constructions. The requalification of these buildings is mainly focused on the increase of the structural safety levels, alt...

Geometry and shape have notoriously great influence not only on the aesthetic but also on the performance and the engineering of every building. This particularly when the dimension and the volume become pretty high as well as the geometry is unconventional. Tall and huge buildings are currently based on pyramid or conic shapes, while spherical bui...

Architectural, technical and energy refurbishment of existing buildings is becoming a more and more relevant theme, due to its strategic function. In fact, it can play a role in both improving urban environment quality and the achievement of high energy efficiency and environmental comfort standards. For this reason, existing built heritage renewal...

This paper deals with the design of an innovative ventilated façade technological solution, which has been developed through subsequent steps, from 2D CAD project to 3D model, both virtual and physical. The design process will be carefully described in order to show how virtual prototyping and mock-up modeling are at the basis of complex design pro...

La direttiva 31/2010 dell'Unione Europea ha introdotto la definizione di edificio " a energia quasi zero ". Il nZEB (nearly Zero Energy Building) è normalmente connesso a una o più infrastrutture energetiche territoria-li (rete elettrica, rete di teleriscaldamento, etc.) e, nell'ar-co temporale di un anno solare, presenta una somma alge-brica dei f...