What if the Ishtar Gate starts to crack?

Iza Romanowska

Scientists from the Institute of Renovable Energy at Eurac embarked on a project to protect cultural
heritage using innovative monitoring equipment that you can hardly even notice.

Built over 2500 years ago in the very centre of Babylon she has seen a lot – endless festive parades,
foreign invasions and daily life now long gone. But nowadays she faces a peril greater than ever
before – relentless vibration caused by thousands of little feet and passing-by boats, sudden changes
in humidity and temperature as well as hands of curious people wanting to touch the centuries. Ishtar
Gate cannot take it for much longer.

Researchers from seven different countries strive to ensure that such sad faith will not happen to the
most fascinating historical monuments in Europe and the Near East. Their newly developed
monitoring system (SMooHS) will observe the environment of such places as the Museum Island in
Berlin, Palazzo Malvezzi in Bologna or Jarah, Alt Gerasa in Jordan. Introducing a wireless system
has been a priority since hardly anyone like the cables coiling round the ancient stones, but together
with enhancing the aesthetic value of the monitoring system, scientist want to make it also more
efficient. Previous systems provide the user with an output of loads of data which had little meaning;
we’re working on a system that will process the most basic measurements into a meaningful pattern
– says dr Alexandra Troim from the European Academy Bolzano. Wardens will not have to calculate
the average temperature or humidity level but instead will be warned by the system whenever the
conditions rapidly change and become harmful to the old structures.

Ishtar gate is one of the cases in hand. Moved from Iraq at the beginning of the last century it found
its home in the Museum Island in Berlin safely protected from the ups and downs of its country
unstable history. In recent years, however, small cracks started to appear in the very fabric of the
monument causing an understandable concern. Old walls are susceptible for sudden changes in
temperature and humidity level – the materials naturally stretch and shrink according to conditions,
but if the change is too large the stretch never comes back to its default state and a crack can appear.
But the Pergamon Museum monitors such changes and generally takes good care of the monument
and so the sudden deterioration of the Ishtar Gate must have been caused by something else.
Vibrations caused by the masses visiting the Museum every year and large cargo boats passing by
can be such factors. Thanks to the new monitoring systems it will be possible determine exactly what
causes the harm. Preventing damage is always cheaper then repairing it, but what is more important
with every conservation process we lose part of the original historic material – says dr Troi. After all,
damaging the Ishtar Gate thousands of kilometres from the battlefield of its place of origins would be
quite embarrassing.
Mediterranean sun and Alpine technology

Eleonora Cipollina

Eurac researches in energy efficiency are often a model for regions with cold climates, but what
about the Mediterranean area? Sardegna Ricerche’s Renewable Energy Cluster started last year
facing the challenge, by taking into account South Tyrol’s and other experiences and looking for its
own path on the unbeaten tracks.

From my window at the ninth floor, Cagliari’s blocks of flats stand out clearly against an atypical
leaden sky. The warm, Sardinian sun has decided to hide behind a thick blanket of clouds and the
only thing that reminds me I have come back from Bolzano is the seagulls’ cry. Even if these ugly,
post-economic boom buildings had solar technologies implanted on their naked roofs, today they
could not benefit from them. But they could still benefit from passive technologies… if only they
were provided with them.
I wonder what Roberto Lollini, the Eurac’s Enerbuild project leader, would say if he saw this
cityscape: compared to the advanced technical solutions for ESAP buildings he studies, Cagliari must
look like an energy-wasting, urban jungle. His presentation for the My Science workshop was held in
a cold, Alpine day of February, but that office was a pleasant island of warmth, while my room, in
spite of the Mediterranean climate and the traditional radiant, is simply a fridge.
“It has always been so”, says Giuseppe Desogus, PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of
Cagliari, as if he knew about my room. “In the South of Italy, traditionally, houses have never been
insulated, so that the winter comfort temperature was lower than in northern regions. Now cultural
behaviour is changing and the interest about passive houses in hot climates is growing”. The energy
challenge was accepted in Sardinia by Sardegna Ricerche, the regional research centre which
established the Renewable Energy Cluster in 2008. Like the Eurac Institute for Renewable Energy,
the Cluster focuses on different research projects funded by the European Union, but, unfortunately,
the financial means are not exactly the same: while the Eurac manages to raise consistent funds from
several programmes, the Cluster has to content itself with the O.R.P. (Operative Regional
Programme) 2007-2013. However, four labs have been set up: Biomass, Energy efficiency,
Photovoltaics, Concentrated solar thermal and renewable hydrogen. Giuseppe is a young, passionate
researcher at the Energy efficiency lab, managed by the University’s Architecture Department. He
fell in love with environmental topics during his university days, when Jeremy Rifkin’s book
“Entropy” struck him on the road to specialization.

Eurac and Sardegna Ricerche: one goal, two paths

Sardegna Ricerche’s Energy efficiency lab constantly refers to national and international researches,
especially to South Tyrol’s experience in design and certification. But what Sardinia should really
import from the Eurac is the SMEs-oriented layout of the Enerbuild project: “We provide craftsmen,
architects, public builders and end users with technical know-how, political decision making tools
and even financial tools in order to support the demand for ESAP buildings”, explains Roberto
Lollini. “The objective is to create the appropriate environment for SME innovation in the Alpine
area”. The result? The entire society benefits from scientific work, creating a virtuous circle among
knowledge, economic development and environmental sustainability. A circle left unclosed in
Sardinia because of the eternal missing ring: SMEs themselves. “Except few exceptions, we have no
productive sector – admits Giuseppe Desogus - but we hope to implement some projects for the
technological transfer to enterprises as soon as we receive the second part of the O.R.P. funds. At
the moment, we are still in the monitoring phase”.
Mission difficult but possible: requalifying the existing buildings. In particular, traditional adobe
houses and the residential blocks built from the Sixties to the Eighties around the historical centre of
Cagliari – exactly those horrible buildings out of my window. The traditional houses, located in the
Campidano plain and along the Cixerri river, can be imagined as the Mediterranean alternative to the
Alpine wooden houses and owe their insulation capacity to the amount of straw included in the mud
bricks (called ladiri in Sardinian language), since earth alone is not a good insulator. “In fact, it is not
allowed by the Italian law, unless it is combined with other materials”, specifies Giuseppe. “Our
researches work on this point, by experimenting new mixes with natural materials such as waste
sheep wool, which not only was thrown away until recent times, but was also very expensive to
dispose of, while now it is giving results comparable to other insulators”.
Together with adobe buildings, in 2009 the lab monitored some blocks of council flats, as it happens
with the Branzoll passive house monitored by the Eurac. But here we are very far away from the
South Tyrol standards: thin walls and huge thermal bridges make these flats unlivable especially in
summer, when they turn to be human sized ovens. What to do with them? “Their tall and light
structure does not consent any considerable refurbishment”, reflects Giuseppe. “The Alpine tradition
could inspire some wooden solutions, but the answer is probably their integration with a good
cooling system”. This is where the Eurac’s SolarCombi+ project could really help: “A system which
puts together cooling, heating and the production of domestic hot water by means of solar thermal
collectors and sorption chillers – explains the project leader Roberto Fedrizzi - all in a single unit
made compact and easily installable for end users”. “What is really amazing about sorption chillers –
commented the vice-head of the Institute Alexandra Troi during the workshop – is that you need
solar energy when you have it: in summer”. Which is particularly true in Sardinia, as Giuseppe
Desogus recognizes: “It could be a solution for the real problem of Southern Italy, that is summer
climate. With the Directive 2002/91/EC, the European Union launched an alarm about the electric
congestion due to traditional chillers, so we could evaluate to study sorption chillers once we obtain
more funds”. In the meantime? “Starting from April, we are monitoring some glass buildings in
Cagliari area and then the summer performance of all the buildings already examined”. The lab
collaborates with other research centres, such as the Centro Abita of the University of Florence and
the BEST Department of the Polytechnic of Milan, but what about the Eurac? “At the moment, we
are not in contact”. Who knows, this could be a starting point.
Casa degli Artisti (House of Artists) in Segariu, Sardinia, built in 2009 within the Civis Project for
the realization of social buildings in rural locations, with Giuseppe Desogus’ professional advice on
environmental aspects. The walls are made of insulating poroton blocks and stones working as
thermal mass, meaning that they absorb and store heat during the day and release it in the night. The
building orientation avoids it to receive a significant part of the solar irradiation and the ventilation
system is provided with underground heat exchangers.
Mancosu-Maccioni family house in Serramanna, Sardinia (picture by V. Saiu). The building has been
recently refurbished and is currently undergoing an energy monitoring campaign of adobe buildings
led by staff from the Architecture and Mechanical engineering Departments of the University of
Cagliari with measuring tools financed by Sardegna Ricerche through the O.R.P. 2007-2013 funds.
For details about the refurbishment, see M. Achenza, U. Sanna (edited by), Il Manuale tematico della
terra cruda (The thematic manual of adobe buildings, in Italian), DEI, Rome.
Christian Passeri

Il mondo della ricerca altoatesino al servizio delle piccole e medie imprese. Si può riassumere così il
lavoro di un gruppo di ricercatori dell’Accademia europea (Eurac) che si occupa di monitorare e
studiare le cosiddette case passive, anche note in Alto Adige come CaseClima Gold, secondo lo
schema di certificazione dell’Agenzia CasaClima. Il progetto Enerbuild rientra nel programma Alpine
Space dell’Unione Europea. Un programma co-finanziato dal fondo europeo di sviluppo regionale
partito nel 2007 che ha lo scopo precipuo di rafforzare la competitività e l’attrattiva dell’intero arco
alpino. “In questo senso – spiega Roberto Lollini, coordinatore del progetto all’Eurac – Enerbuild
vuole fornire il know how tecnico agli addetti ai lavori, indagare le reali condizioni di funzionamento
delle case passive esistenti e fornire strumenti per il settore pubblico che decide in materia di edilizia
sostenibile, e sviluppare strumenti tecnici e finanziari per chi decide di costruire case passive con
integrazione di fonti rinnovabili e con un basso impatto ambientale”. Il tutto con un occhio di
riguardo alle piccole e medie imprese, vista la loro grande importanza per l’economia alpina.
Enerbuild si dirama in numerosi gruppi di lavoro (ciascuno con una finalità precisa, dall’innovazione
all’educazione, dall’amministrazione al monitoraggio), che vedono coinvolti i 13 partner provenienti
da Francia, Italia, Svizzera, Slovenia, Austria e Germania. Eurac partecipa a tutti i gruppi di lavoro,
ma coordina in particolare l’attività di monitoraggio delle case passive. Un lavoro che prevede di
raccogliere dati provenienti da vari edifici, non solo in Alto Adige, e analizzarli allo scopo di
presentare le effettive prestazioni degli edifici monitorati e suggerire eventuali ottimizzazioni. Il
monitoraggio è iniziato nel 2010 e andrà a concludersi nell’estate del 2012. Dagmar Exner e Hannes
Mahlknecht raccolgono i contributi degli altri partner, oltre ai dati provenienti dall’Alto Adige.
“Quando avremo ricevuto i dati anche dagli altri paesi – spiega Exner – potremo comporre un report
finale, in cui confronteremo gli edifici in diverse regioni alpine”. I risultati serviranno come base per
la formazione di artigiani, personale tecnico, progettisti e imprenditori. Il monitoraggio avviene in
due fasi successive. Nella prima vengono compilate schede e questionari da parte di progettisti e
inquilini delle case, sulla base di calcoli energetici, dati di progetto e analisi delle bollette. Nella
seconda fase vengono monitorati direttamente dati quali il consumo di energia e acqua, la
temperatura e l’umidità, oltre a informazioni riguardanti le condizioni ambientali in cui si trova la
casa passiva. Aspetto molto importante, la percezione del comfort da parte di chi abita negli edifici a
basso consumo di energia. “I proprietari che vivono in questo tipo di case sono molto disponibili –
racconta Mahlknecht – da un lato perché sono orgogliosi della loro scelta, dall’altro perché sono
interessati a conoscere i risultati dei monitoraggi per eventualmente sapere dove intervenire per
diminuire ulteriormente i consumi”. Le case monitorate in Alto Adige si trovano a Caldaro, Bronzolo
(un edificio Ipes), Prissiano, oltre al neonato quartiere Casanova a Bolzano. Case passive dunque,
costruite con un buon involucro, ermetiche, con buoni serramenti e caratterizzate da un sistema di
ventilazione meccanica con recuperatori di calore, per minimizzare le dispersioni energetiche. Il tutto
utilizzando materiali e accorgimenti sulla base del clima in cui si va a costruire. “Le case tradizionali
erano realizzate in modo da utilizzare gli apporti gratuiti e ridurre le perdite– sottolinea Exner – basti
pensare ai masi costruiti a contatto con le stalle per sfruttarne il calore. Si tratta anche di riscoprire
concetti già noti ai nostri avi, integrandoli alle esigenze abitative di una società in perenne
trasformazione”. Come ricordano i ricercatori, oggigiorno l’esigenza di costruire in maniera
sostenibile è dovuta principalmente a problematiche ambientali. Spesso queste cozzano però con le
visioni degli architetti. “Gli interventi nelle case passive spesso devono minimizzare i danni dovuti
all’uso di materiali considerati indispensabili per l’estetica”, dice Lollini. Un esempio su tutti, l’uso
massiccio di immense vetrate che come effetto collaterale causano spesso un surriscaldamento
dell’ambiente interno nelle giornate di sole. In parole povere, provocano un banale “effetto serra”.
Un buon architetto dunque dovrebbe tenere conto di questi flussi energetici durante la fase di
progettazione. “E per farlo – chiosano Lollini ed Exner – non bisogna essere dei bioarchitetti. Basta
semplicemente essere dei buoni progettisti”.
Parte del progetto Enerbuild si concentra sui cosiddetti “killer arguments”, vale a dire tutti quei
pregiudizi, preoccupazioni o aspetti ancora da chiarire riguardanti le case passive. Molto spesso
infatti i cittadini sono preoccupati di sapere quale sia la qualità dell’aria all’interno di una casa
passiva. Altri invece temono l’umidità che può portare alla formazione di quelle macchie che spesso
ritroviamo nelle nostre dimore, dietro gli armadi, o sulle pareti esposte a nord. Stessi dubbi sollevati
anche da qualche progettista. Da un punto di vista più tecnico invece, Enerbuild analizza anche i dati
riguardanti la ventilazione necessaria all’interno di una casa passiva. In un edificio di questo tipo
infatti non è permesso aprire le finestre per favorire il cosiddetto ricambio dell’aria. La ventilazione,
come abbiamo già visto, avviene meccanicamente. Esporre le stanze direttamente all’ambiente
esterno può facilmente mandare all’aria (è proprio il caso di dirlo) tutte le regolazioni del sistema di
ventilazione. Monitorare le case passive aiuterà a raccogliere tutte le domande delle figure
interessate, trovandone successivamente le soluzioni. Piccole soluzioni tecniche che, a grande scala,
potranno essere decisive per salvaguardare l’ambiente.
Other media works of participants are being updated on:
http://www.my-science.eu/newsletter-3