Raw earth historic and contemporary architectures are renowned for their good environmental properties of recyclability and low embodied energy along the production process. Earth massive walls are universally known to be able to regulate indoor thermal and hygroscopic conditions containing energy consumptions, creating comfortable interior spaces with a low carbon footprint. Therefore, earth buildings are de facto green buildings. As a result of this, some earthen technologies have been rediscovered and implemented to be adapted to the contemporary building production sector. Nevertheless, the diffusion of contemporary earthen architecture is decelerated by the lack of broadly accepted standards on its anti-seismic and thermal performance. Indeed, the former issue has been solved using high-tensile materials inside the walls or surface reinforcements on their sides to improve their flexural strength. The latter issue is related to the penalization of earth walls thermal behavior in current regulations, which tent to evaluate only the steady-state performance of building components, neglecting the benefit of heat storage and hygrothermal buffering effect provided by massive and porous envelopes as raw earth ones. In this paper, we show the results of a paper review concerning the hygrothermal performance of earthen materials for contemporary housing: great attention is given to the base materials which are used (inorganic soils, natural fibers, and mineral or recycled aggregates, chemical stabilizers), manufacturing procedures (when described), performed tests and final performances. Different earth techniques (adobe, cob, extruded bricks, rammed earth, compressed earth blocks, light earth) have been considered in order to highlight that earth material can act both as a conductive and insulating meterial depending on how it is implemented, adapting to several climate contests. The paper aims to summarize current progress in the improvement of thermal performance of raw earth traditional mixes, discuss the suitability of existing measurement protocols for hygroscopic and natural materials and provide guidance for further researches.

Raw earth has useful applications in contemporary buildings as a sustainable and circular construction material. The present study aims to assess the environmental performance of several earth-based wall systems with similar thermal performance, through a life cycle thinking approach. In particular, a life cycle assessment is developed for (a) unstabilized rammed earth (produced in situ), (b) compressed earth blocks (prefabricated in the factory), (c) stabilized rammed earth and (d) light earth, all combined with biobased (natural fibers, e.g., lime hemp, cork) and/or conventional materials for building insulation. Results show benefits in terms of avoided carbon emission, water footprint and embodied energy throughout the production chain and highlight limits and potential improvements. In addition, the CO₂ offset by crops is also estimated based on carbon embedded in natural fibers. In particular, light earth wall systems are the most suitable to minimize environmental impacts, while massive constructive technologies (as unstabilized rammed earth) show a higher dynamic thermal performance for intended use in Mediterranean climates.

In response to the pressing demand for sustainable building practices within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector, this study investigates the integration of building information modeling (BIM) processes with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system, with a primary focus on enhancing sustainable design strategies. The objectives are twofold: firstly, to comprehensively understand the existing synergies between BIM and LEED, and secondly, to develop innovative methods that facilitate a seamless integration of these two crucial components. The study is structured into four distinct phases, each contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the synergistic relationship between BIM and LEED. In Phase 1, the “LEED-BIM Worksheets” is introduced, versatile tools designed to facilitate sustainable strategy formulation. These worksheets transparently identify roles, assess competencies, estimate certification levels, and enhance communication among stakeholders. Phase 2 highlights the “BIM Uses for Project Phase” diagram, emphasizing interdependencies between BIM uses and processes. This diagram provides insights into collaborative synergies among BIM uses and streamlines process mapping. Phase 3 introduces the “Liv1 Process Map”, a transformative visual representation of the building process. Integrated within building execution plans (BEPs), this map intricately weaves together responsible parties and BIM uses, fostering cohesive collaboration. Phase 4 extends the research with the introduction of the “Liv.2 Process Map”. This extension integrates selected BIM uses from the LEED Pilot Credits Library, emphasizing alignment between BIM processes and LEED credit criteria. Collectively, this research illuminates the potential for streamlining sustainable practices within the AEC sector. The findings offer valuable insights for both practitioners and researchers, empowering them to navigate the integration of BIM technology with LEED certification. By harmonizing digital transformation with ecological consciousness, this research significantly contributes to advancing sustainable building practices.

Among the several methods investigated over the past few years for the thermal mitigation of buildings in urban areas, green roof systems seem to be one of the most suitable solutions for several reasons, and researchers encourage the further study and implementation of these roofing techniques because of the potential benefits that they offer. So far, intensive, extensive and semi-intensive green roofs are considered to be a better option in terms of both energy efficiency and green area increase. However, there are some aspects that cause green roofs not to be suitable to every application, preventing their use from spreading, such as high maintenance and costs required by these sophisticated systems. Few studies aimed at overcoming the limits of green roofs have hinted at the possibility of implementing hydroponic cultures in green roof systems. This soil-less technology might overcome some issues, such as identifying the suitable substrate to support the growth of the vegetation. This paper aims to provide a systematic review of hydroponic green roof systems (HGRS), based on the rigorous analysis of the evidence gathered from the thorough evaluation of the available literature on the subject, in order to assess their potential use as an alternative to traditional green roofs. The review was carried out by analyzing studies that have assessed the performance of hydroponic green roofs as well as those of comparable systems, such as pond roofs and green roofs. The results of these studies show that HGRS provide similar performances to the above-mentioned systems in terms of the passive conditioning effect, lowering the cooling/heating load of buildings, with slight changes depending on the climatic conditions. However, they offer other significant properties such as higher efficiency in water runoff management, alongside others discussed in this paper, while also requiring minor maintenance. Significant results have been provided; however, gaps in the knowledge have also emerged, and further studies need to be conducted to provide exhaustive information.

The renewed attention paid to raw earth construction in recent decades is linked to its undoubted sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and low embodied energy. In Italy, the use of raw earth as a construction material is limited by the lack of a technical reference standard and is penalised by the current energy legislation for its massive behaviour. Research experiences, especially transoceanic, on highly performative contemporary buildings made with natural materials show that raw earth can be used, together with different types of reinforcements, to create safe, earthquake-resistant, and thermally efficient buildings. On the basis of experimental data of an innovative fibre-reinforced rammed earth material, energy analyses are developed on a rammed earth building designed for a Mediterranean climate. The paper focuses on the influences that different design solutions, inspired by traditional bioclimatic strategies, and various optimised wall constructions have in the improvement of the energy performance of the abovementioned building. These considerations are furthermore compared with different design criteria aiming at minimising embodied carbon in base material choice, costs, and discomfort hours. Results have shown the effectiveness of using the combination of massive rammed earth walls, night cross ventilation, and overhangs for the reduction of energy demand for space cooling and the improvement of wellbeing. Finally, the parametric analysis of thermal insulation has highlighted the economic, environmental, and thermophysical optimal solutions for the rammed earth envelope.

Sicily is characterized by rural buildings, Palmenti, destined to wine production, which are scattered along the countryside and part of the local historical heritage. There are different types of rural buildings, but all have in common the use of ancient and well-established bioclimatic techniques for wine conservation and aging. Most of them were built with the double function of living space for the owner and productive spaces for all the activities correlated to the cultivations. Indeed, many rural houses, destined to the wine production, are characterized by wineries and wine cellars (the first for the wine production, the second to store the wine for the aging process). The growing production of high-quality Sicilian wines, very appreciated all over the world, leads to upgrade the ancient Palmenti to seek optimal hygrothermal conditions and, therefore, to guarantee high performance of the produced and stored wines. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the retrofit measures taken to comply with the energy regulations could affect the thermal behavior of a wine cellar constructed with consolidated bioclimatic technics. The results show the importance of not insulating the solid ground floor for maintaining suitable temperatures for the fermentation and aging of wine. This study can be useful for future analysis when comparing the optimal hygrothermal conditions of wine cellars located in homogeneous viticultural areas (with same climate, geology, soil, physical features, and height) in other parts of the world.