This book discusses the effect of different school building rehabilitation strategies on the classrooms’ indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and presents a multi-objective methodology for school building enclosure optimization combining artificial neural networks and lifecycle costs. The special features of this book are that it (a) presents the state-of-the-art in school building rehabilitation, (b) covers the IEQ assessment of several school buildings, including non-rehabilitated and rehabilitated according to different strategies; and (c) proposes a multi-objective optimization procedure. The rehabilitation of a school building should be regarded as a procedure combining a number of (sometimes conflicting) variables and objectives, including energy, IEQ and costs (initial, operational and maintenance), in the search for an “optimum solution.” The main benefit of the book is that it discusses the main topics related to school building rehabilitation, presents results of the IEQ assessment on 9 school buildings and launches a discussion on how the “in-use” performance of schools is key to understanding how designed performance is actually experienced. It maps the most commonly used multi-objective algorithms and artificial neural network architectures and proposes a methodology for combining these numerical tools with dynamic building simulations and lifecycle cost analysis to optimize school building enclosures. This methodology will be of value to scientists and engineers alike, while also addressing a variety of related disciplines, such as civil and mechanical engineering, architecture and mathematics.

This book examines the material and immaterial values that are used and perceived in heritage educational environments that have been adapted to 21st century education needs. Offering an approach to architectural conservation practice focused on the design and implementation processes, it provides a post-occupation evaluation of the effects of such physical actions on historic learning environments and their values. A comprehensive study of architectural conservation and Theory of Change (ToC) is supported by an extensive literature review and personal insights from the author’s everyday practice. Using a selection of recently rehabilitated historic secondary schools in Portugal (liceus), the text presents insights into their existing cultural significance, identifying the design strategies applied and assessing the short-term effects of design decisions on the cultural values. It demonstrates that, whilst design strategies were less concerned with social values, material cultural values were generally considered and preserved, contributing to the enhancement of intangible values. The implications of this research highlight the importance of evaluating actual effects in cultural heritage theory, architectural conservation practice and heritage management policy. Following worldwide investment in the rehabilitation of schools, the interest in this topic has grown among architectural heritage academics and practitioners, who seek to better understand and approach these learning environments in order to achieve better outcomes. The book will also be of interest to public policy makers, given its emphasis on the importance of stakeholder engagement in the conservation process and in the sustainability of re-using existing buildings. Furthermore, it will capture the attention of schools’ stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, non-teaching staff, alumni and the local community, for whom the school environment is a collective, shared memory.

Identifies and describes in detail the existing and potential regulatory and financial mechanisms and incentives in the various levels of government that can reasonably be used in a course of action to lessen the risks posed by existing buildings in an earthquake.