IN-PERSON: Prague – Section A

Abstract

According to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, “[…] in developed countries the highest mitigation potential is within the retrofit of existing buildings.” (IPCC, 2022). While pointing at the necessity of adaptation and mitigation of existing buildings, climate science does not give answers as to which strategies are the best with respect to architectural and cultural-historic values. Retrofitting inevitably changes the existing structure, technically as well as aesthetically – and in consequence, heritage values may be at risk. However, cultural heritage may be considered “[…] a source of creativity and inspiration for adaptation and mitigation actions that are responses to the findings of climate science.” (ICOMOS, 2019). This paper has a double focus – one technological and one aesthetic. The investigation revolves around the 1:1 transformation of an existing farmhouse located at the Danish Open Air Museum. Using three interventions as a case – a restoration and energy improvement of an existing window, the retrofit insulation of an existing space and the making of a garden room – it is asked how technological and aesthetic knowledge may contribute to adaptation and mitigation without reducing but rather enhancing heritage and experiential values. The aim is to investigate retrofit insulation as a strategy to achieve GHG emissions savings. It is moreover investigated, how human participation and embodied communication with buildings and their environment may produce significant aesthetic experiences that may potentially inspire future sustainable actions. The significance of the results is discussed in relation to the theoretical framework of building technology and philosophical aesthetics, and it is argued that the retrofit of an existing building may be a strategy to achieve GHG emissions savings as well as a renewed feeling of aesthetic participation and meaningful dwelling – in careful consideration of the biophysically bounded Earth.