Intervenire sull'involucro: il riuso e la trasformazione degli edifici industriali Redesign the building envelope: reuse and transformation of industrial buildings

Industrial buildings are today, in a context of economic crisis, more and more often the subject of conversion, through adaptive reuse and refurbishment, in a perspective of sustainable transformation, consistent with values, restrictions, specific issues and new requirements. Large manufacturing spaces, built with the traditional building systems for industry, are also a significant sample of the national building stock, which requires upgrade and refurbishment, considering architectural features as well as functional, structural, and environmental aspects. Following the previous investigative phase of the research, concerning the documentation and assessment of the architectural and environmental quality of these buildings, the study is now facing the technological aspects involved in the transformation of industrial buildings. Focussing on the building envelope as a key element of the building renovation (functional, aesthetical and environmental), the strategies for its modification and upgrade, related to the reuse targets, are analysed. The design approaches and the technological solutions, identified in some best practices of reuse of industrial buildings, guide this analysis.