Energy in cultural heritage: the case study of Monasterio de Santa Maria de Monfero in Galicia

Facing a project aimed at the energy refurbishment in historical buildings means – first of all – to declare which are, for the designer, the priorities to respect. Every intervention on cultural heritage, actually, especially when the focus is pointed to the goal of improving energy and sustainability related aspects, assumes a strong cultural relevance. The case study of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Monfero in Galicia, Spain, is an interesting example to explore the range between a general “adaptive reuse” project and the “energy refurbishment” good practice according to the conservation guidelines for historical buildings. The research is targeted at this monumental complex, which has been in state of abandonment for more than two hundred years, with a large part that is now in ruin. The project that has been used for the research analysis is the result of the first prize in an international ideas competition aimed at giving a new cultural and touristic vocation to the monastery. The competition was won by the Spanish architects Patricia Sabin Diaz and Enrique M. Blanco, co-authors of the paper. A focus of the study here presented was to investigate the actual performance of different building envelope retrofit solutions, in terms of thermohygrometric compatibility between existent wall and new internal insulation layers, thermal comfort provided and energy demand reduction. Results confirmed the importance of evaluating the proper retrofit strategy by coupling heat and moisture simulations and pointed out that guidelines, which can be applied on a "case by case" basis, are needed, since the retrofit of historical buildings represents an important part of conservation and protection actions and not a mere intervention aimed at reducing the energy consumption.