Towards Viable Retrofitting: A Review of Sustainable Strategies In Portuguese Social Housing

Abstract

Contemporary premises in construction are currently focused on sustainable solutions, prioritising materials and techniques that reduce environmental and social impact, address circularity demands and improve functionality and affordability. The refurbishment of building stocks plays a significant role in reducing carbon emissions from the built environment.

Conventional Portuguese construction, characterised by traditional methods like masonry and concrete, has resulted in inflexible, polluting structures with limited material reuse, often leading to landfill disposal. Given that a significant portion of Portuguese Social Housing was erected in the 1970s and 1980s, many structures are approaching the end of their lifespan, necessitating innovative solutions to tackle housing affordability and sustainability.

To respond to these challenges, buildings should facilitate easy disassembly and low-impact materials, enabling reuse or reconfiguration of components. Therefore, using modular and prefabricated solutions in building retrofitting can mitigate these challenges.

This article conducts a critical review of the state of the art on the retrofitting of social housing buildings, with a focus on prefabricated and industrialised construction solutions, modular design strategies and principles for design for assembly and disassembly.

The research will be oriented towards the identification and comparison of construction systems applicable to rehabilitation, with a focus on their environmental, economic and technical viability with life cycle assessment concepts. The work thus aims to create a methodological basis that can be used in future rehabilitation interventions in the Portuguese social housing stock, combining construction innovation with environmental sustainability criteria.