Green Building: Characteristics, Energy Implications and Environmental Impacts. Case Study in Reggio Calabria, Italy

The Earth is close to environmental collapse due to fossil combustionand its consequent pollution. Attention is now focused on specific urbanecological crisis. Energy consumption in construction management(among other economic sectors) and consequent CO2 emissions in thecities ought to be consistently reduced as laid down by the internationalcommunity commitments.This goal can be pursued by experimenting at an unprecedented cityscale the new approach of city regeneration named < Green UrbanConservation >. This can be carried out within the framework of GreenBuilding strategy, supported by key valuation as well as Gis tools.The main feature of the present research is to design a strategy forenergy consumption structural reduction. This approach is an alternativeto the inefficient status quo which exists in both city and building energymanagement.Present research has built-up a connection between urbanrevitalization strategies and building energy efficiency by integratingwithin a Valuation and Gis framework:- unprecedentedly detailed 3D city modelling;- design of alternative scenarios for city energy management;- cost estimate of investments in alternative scenarios;- valuation of energy management in alternative scenarios ;- overtime economic and financial analysis, comparing overallcosts with related energy impacts in alternative scenarios.A real world design and social experimentation has been activated. Itconstitutes the Case Study concerning the development of a in an already existing large urban neighbourhood(named ) whose features include:- 6.400 residents- surface of 490.000 m2- 125 urban blocks- 840 buildings, which, according to recent calculations, house800.000 m2 of apartments.The first results of the experiment show a possible annual energyconsumption reduction of around 50% in building management and aconsequent huge total saving of 33 million kWh per year in the CaseStudy neighbourhood.The positive effect of sustainable urban regeneration and buildingrehabilitation interventions, just for winter heating, has been thus madeclear. Future pioneering research would investigate into the increase ofenergy saving by experimenting summer air-conditioning with waterchillers powered by the sun and solar cooling.