Chiara Franzone

A circular economy is a generic term used to define an economy based on self-regeneration. The material that is part of it is divided into biological and technical. We can see it as an economy able to regenerate itself within a system where all activities–extraction and production, to begin with, are designed/planned/engineered so that someone's waste becomes a resource for someone else.

How can we talk about energy efficiency within a building system?

First of all, there's a correlation between circular economy and the management and decrease of energy waste in buildings. The European Union demands all member states must increase the number of renewable energy sources used for building efficiency by 32% and reduce the gas emissions of a building to 40% by 2030 (the so-called Paris Agreement).

In Italy, such an Agreement resulted in several legislative decrees, all of which revolved around the role of energy improvements and climate change prevention. In particular, since 2020, there has been an attempt to integrate energy efficiency and the technical and structural improvement of pre-existing buildings by strategically improving certain aspects of those. This way, related long-term costs for building renovation could decrease.

Two national targets are required: deep renovation of building-system-envelope performance and the use of high-performance technologies with a large contribution to energy savings.

The application scale of energy–and the consequent climate-wise renovation–can be represented on three distinct levels:

● Cities and small towns (urban scale).

● Urban mining, building, and its construction solutions.

● Building as Material bank and Material product.

I have had the opportunity to reflect at length on what is the most appropriate approach to talk about the green economy at a time when we are increasingly suffering from the environmental effects on our lives. My conclusions were: many initiatives related to the circular economy and efficiency improvements in buildings begin with the ideas of individuals, but they fail solidity and credibility due to their fragmented nature. A strong incentive from public institutions is essential in this sense. The definition of shared rules at the EU level–thus above each nation's–and an actual application of EU guidelines could support the implementation of a shared action plan. All this would result in decrees that permit or forbid doing certain things and let us act as a community for the community rather than as individuals for personal interests.

The circular economy on the building field is a goldmine of materials that can be reused and recycled, but there is a lack of tools to analyze material flows and the quality of end-of-life products. Nowadays, CE marking is a compulsory procedure for all products governed by the EU Construction Products Regulation. Manufacturers of a product covered by CPR must comply with underlying guidelines and provide a Declaration of Performance: a document asserting that their product complies with all health and safety and minimum performance requirements expected by CPR and the relevant harmonized standard, respectively.

Regulation No. 305/2011 of the European Parliament and the European Council imposes the mandatory CE marking on all products, materials, and kits intended for permanent embedding in construction works, or parts thereof, and whose performance affects the performance of the before-mentioned construction works. This one is a way to regulate, assure, and qualify the validity of construction works within the EU. But, we could also conceive a 'reusing license' for existing construction materials–going beyond simply regulating their generation from scratch. This idea may lead to issuing out-and-out 'passports': not only does the construction material keep its technical specifications for regulated creation and construction; it also has a history, gets to travel, renews itself, and can take part in different projects over time. It would provide an ever-increasing quality in each building work it takes part to. In addition to the CE marking, this new feature would highlight the historical and non-historical places that utilized that material. Such was a common practice during ancient and modern times, the so-call “architectural re-use”. I recall the Greek capitals in the Mezquita-Cathedral in Córdoba, Spain, reminding us of the first Christian builders’ way of doing: Destroy nothing, mold it on top of what already exists instead, Constantin’s Arch or the Aachen Chapel made with Romans materials under the Charle Magnus’ empire.

Establishing an actual European License, in which historical building products can be cataloged and used as new construction elements, would be a way to preserve quality, control, management, and also history that remains and redevelops even simple works today. I believe inland areas of our country are the perfect testing ground for all of this: there are plenty of unfinished projects, endeavors in need of recovery and restoration. They could be the workbench for continual tests, transitions, and impetus towards this type of economy, creating a circular flow of materials, works, and landscapes.

So then, the level on which I believe it is worth dwelling, to date, to begin to understand how this theme can be well represented in the Italian territory, is the urban one, concentrating above all on the small inland centers of the peninsula.

About 60% of Italian municipalities belong to this category. A significant part of the Italian territory is structured around minor centers, often small in size, which almost always fails to guarantee an adequate supply of essential services for citizens. The characteristics of these smaller centers mean that they get called Inner Areas.

By Inner Areas, we refer to those areas of territory that are particularly distant from other centers and offer essential services to their citizens: educational institutions, health care, and a good level of internal mobility (local public transport).

Italy's inland areas can be a driving force to kickstart restructure, rebuild, and massively demolish entire urban centers, each with its own historical and architectural peculiarities and local building traditions.

In Italy, 'National strategies for inland areas' are already in place, which interprets these territories as a set of project areas, i.e. inter-municipal local systems, each with its own identity defined by the intersection of socioeconomic, geographical, demographic, cultural, and environmental features. Each project area, identified through an agreement between a Region and state, is required to have an "Area Strategy". This document is the basis for the Framework Programme Agreement (APQ) and the tool to effectively communicate the expected results and the actions undertaken to achieve them and ensure their public verification.

Inland areas have great potential for rebirth and can be the starting point for experimentation with new eco-sustainable and self-sufficient Italian realities. In these areas, we may pursue two types of strategic approaches: End-of-life, taking charge of selective demolition of dilapidated or unfinished buildings, end-of-life management of demolition waste with the planning of design for durability/flexibility approach to designing the new.

These small realities can become the new prime mover for building experimentation. There are spaces available for new constructions and facilities, experimenting using all-natural materials, creating self-sufficient micro-ecosystems with collective gardens, and aiming for a strong connection with all the realities of neighboring countries.

But what are the key steps to be taken for the urban regeneration of one or more sites?

1. Definition of a harmonized framework of rules and actions

2. Transition from a bottom-up to a top-down approach

3. Creation of platforms for the exchange of materials, products, and information 4. Definition of criteria for disassembly

5. Adoption of tools for selective dismantling and pre-demolition audit

6. Adoption of tools for end-of-life management of demolition waste, product traceability, and material passport

7. Development of policy actions for removing barriers against recycling and the use of incentives.

8. Collection and characterization of waste and stabilization of waste streams for supply chain continuity.

Not only this is the foundation for good communication between the State and the Regions; it is also pivotal for good cohesion and organization between small neighboring municipalities and the relationship with the community. The city is an organism that moves and changes

with its citizens, and for this reason, it needs to be the subject of improvement actions to be carried out in one's reality.

So, why start from these internal areas?

They can be considered the basis for simple, orderly, and community-based regeneration. Since these are smaller centers, they can be more manageable and become new poles of attraction for young people and tourists alike. Their urban renewal would improve the total or partial efficiency in entire buildings, which is required by 2030 anyway. It would also start a virtuous circle involving the choice of materials, performance, attention to urban greenery, communication, and the initiative of neighboring municipalities. The latter would entail not only technical and structural work but also social work. It is undoubtedly a slow process with many obstacles. However, preserving the history and culture of small towns, adapting and improving them while attempting virtuous circles of green economies, is one way to safeguard the innate memory that every building carries with it.

Bibliography

Richter D. (1886), Der Suden, Munchen, Deutchland.

Margagliotta A. (2020), Dopo le città di fondazione, INFOLIO 35.

Prestia G., Scavone V. (in stampa), Internazionalità e sviluppo locale di un’area intermedia, Urbanistica Informazioni.

Scavone V. (2011), Sociologia e urbanistica, dalle diseguaglianze agli spazi condivisi, Planum

Franzone C. (Tesi), Aree interne: arcipelago culturale e smart working nel territorio dei Sicani (2021)

Sitography

Istat (http://www.istat.it)

Eurostat (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat)

Regione Sicilia (http://www.regione.sicilia.it)

https://www.enea.it/it

https://gbcitalia.org