Are we concerned with the environmental performance of historical buildings in Brazil?

Abstract

Ensuring environmental performance of historic buildings is important for their preservation and maintenance of a region's cultural identity. In the recent decades, although the interest in the subject has increased in Brazil, research studies are punctual and there is still no study that presents a panoramic view of national cases. Thus, this paper aims to conduct a systematic review of studies on the thermal performance of Brazilian historic buildings. From the search in national and international databases, 32 studies were identified and were initially contextualized considering location and year of publication, in addition to objectives and methodological approaches. Its results are discussed from three categories of analysis: construction period and techniques, use and climatic conditions and type of ventilation. Among the main findings, it stands out that cases from the 18th and 19th centuries analysed in its original state have better performance than the buildings of the 20th century. Furthermore, among the studies that incorporated architectural alternatives, the first period tested more conservative aspects. In relation to its use, it was observed that the administrative buildings are the majority, presenting in general, good performance; unlike the educational buildings, which have, in general, negative evaluations. In addition, most of the cases are in the cold parts of the country. Those in warm places have relatively good performance. This research indicates that the country still lacks guidelines about conservation approaches that align principles of environmental performance with architectural and cultural values.