Rachel Paschoalin

Renovation of Historic Buildings in New Zealand: Towards a holistic method for reducing environmental impact

Rachel Paschoalin Architecture PhD student at desk

Current concerns about climate change are emphasising the environmental issues of built heritage, and the results from this discussion have environmental and social benefits. This new environmental approach to historic buildings, which considers, for instance, the relationship between energy and heritage is leading to new challenges and changes in the current practice. One of the main challenges is to improve the building performance and reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions without damaging cultural significance requiring holistic and broader values to be considered in the decision-making process.

New Zealand's plan to be carbon neutral by 2050 may have an effect through requiring improvements to the historic building stock, but there are no policies or procedures that indicate how to deal with the challenge of trade-offs of heritage values against other environmental benefits. Therefore, this research investigates New Zealand historic buildings renovation practice, and what are considered important criteria and acceptable solutions within a holistic renovation approach for reducing environmental impact. My research aims to design guidelines and procedures for the holistic renovation of New Zealand historic buildings. In other words, it will investigate how to reduce environmental impact whilst maintaining heritage values.

Supervisors

Dr Nigel Isaacs and Dr Fabricio Chicca

Publications

Journal articles

R. Paschoalin and I. Isaacs. Holistic renovation of historic and heritage buildings: comparing New Zealand and international scenarios. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 2020| DOI: 10.1108/ijbpa-06-2020-0049.

R. F. Paschoalin and M. T. Barbosa Restoration of the Cathedral of Brasilia: Challenges and conflicts of restoration of modern architecture, Restauração da catedral de Brasília: desafios e conflitos da restauração da arquitetura moderna. Conservar Patrimonio, 2013 | DOI: 10.14568/cp2013004.

A. C. Carvalho, R. F. Paschoalin, J. Castanon. Mobility and accessibility in historic cities. Work, 2012 |DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0979-5874

Conference papers

R. Paschoalin, R. Pace, N. Isaacs. Urban resilience: potential for rainwater harvesting in a heritage building. Imaginable Futures: Design Thinking, and the Scientific Method. 54th International Conference of the Architectural Science Association (ANZAScA), 2020.

R. F. Paschoalin, A. C. Carvalho, J. Castanon. Construction and sustainable development : Recycling of construction and demolition waste. Proceedings - 28th International PLEA Conference on Sustainable Architecture + Urban Design: Opportunities, Limits and Needs - Towards an Environmentally Responsible Architecture, PLEA 2012.

CASTAÑON, J. A. B ; CARVALHO, A. C. ; PASCHOALIN, R. F. . Ergonomic aspects related to the urban mobility and accessibility in Brazilian historical centres. In: International Symposium on Occupational Safety and Hygiene, 2012, Guimaraes. Book of abstracts. Lisboa: Sociedade Portuguesa de Segurança e Higiene Ocupacionais, 2012. p. 123-125.

Conference Posters

PASCHOALIN, R. F.; BARBOSA, M. T. G. . Criteria for intervention in modern cultural heritage: the new technology of stained glass used in the Brasilia Cathedral. In: CHNT 17 International Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies, 2012. Abstracts. Vienna: Museen der Stadt Wien - Stadtarchäologie, 2012.