Cost C16, Improving the Quality of Existing Urban Building Envelopes

Book excerpt: As a result of changes in the composition of the population, society changes continuously with respect to various factors including age-structure, family composition and the availability of energy. Changes lead to situations that are reflected in the commissioning of buildings, which is gradually shifted from new construction to the reuse and renovation of existing buildings. The adaptation of buildings often requires the modification of facades and the construction behind. The scope of this action within the COST Transport and Urban Development Domain is to improve techniques and methods for envelopes of buildings constructed during the last half of the 20th century in the COST countries. In other words it is directed on the building envelopes of the so-called non-traditional buildings. This publication is based on a support by COST, an intergovernmental European framework for international cooperation between nationally funded research activities. COST creates scientific networks and enables scientists to collaborate in a wide spectrum of activities in research and technology.