In historic centers, construction works consist of complex activities that must balance the operative requirements and lower the impacts on a delicate and sensible environment. In this urban system, especially regarding relevant reconstruction processes such as post-natural disaster scenarios, construction operations are performed through the traditional construction processes, using fuel-based generators and vehicles with limited efficiency and with relevant impacts in terms of the consumed energy, noise and vibrations. In the global transition of the construction sectors towards a zero-emission and fuel-free future, construction sites in historic centers represent a particular opportunity where the application of fuel-free strategies is particularly feasible and can provide additional value in terms of the environmental impact, productivity and health and safety. This work addresses the need for a framework to provide the basis for the application of fuel-free principles in construction within historic city centers dealing with two major concepts: the adaptive construction site as a way to reduce the energy demand and the potential adoption of fuel-free machines. The former is derived from the analysis of a real project in the historic city of L’Aquila, while the latter is defined through the identification and categorization of the applicable electric machines, equipment and vehicles and the discussion of the limits, opportunities and added value of the fuel-free strategies.

The concept of sustainability introduced in 1987 has characterised the world of research in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) sector, directing it to try to tackle the problems inherent to the impacts of climate change on buildings. In addition, the advent of COVID-19, disrupting the world and people’s habits, has obviously also strongly affected the academic world. Indeed, this paper aims to analyse the changes and differences between the pre- and post-pandemic periods through a two-stage hybrid literature review. First, through a systematic literature review, 90 articles were selected, filtered through different keywords (sustainability, climate, architecture, and buildings). Once the reasoned selection of papers had been made, it was possible to proceed to the second phase, which involved a thematic analysis according to the three classic macro themes of sustainability (Environment, Social, and Economic) and the inclusion of a fourth macro theme (Management and Development), which made it possible to reintroduce a holistic view of the problem. The results of this literature review revealed the presence of a growing interest in the topic analysed and a more homogenous distribution across all continents, with no distinction between developed and developing countries. Economic sustainability interests emerge post-COVID-19 through the deepening of the themes of clean energy and direct control of consumption. At the level of Environmental sustainability, on the other hand, COVID-19 replaced the house at the centre of people’s lives. In addition, the Management and Development macro theme highlighted the need for an integrated view of the problem and the unexpected return of researchers preferring new constructions, which, despite alternative green approaches and renovations, can guarantee better performance.

The Covid-19 pandemic influenced the way that buildings are used and experienced. In particular, educational facilities were among the most affected by the pandemic in terms of use processes. This paper presents a methodology developed to reorganise spaces in a school building, a real case study, to allow safe reopening. Social distancing and availability of learning spaces were taken into account to simulate the use of the educational facility according to the emergency protocols. Based on a digital survey of the existing building, a building information model was generated and used as a basis for spatial analysis and crowd and agent-based simulations. Additionally, interactive games and training videos were developed as communication tools to inform end users about the new rules to be respected inside the building. The digital approach adopted for the analysis of use processes as well as for communicating the results to the end users allowed them to experience the school fruition processes within a virtual environment before the school reopening. Future works could deal with the application of the same methodology in other schools, as well as in different contexts, going beyond the specificity of the pandemic emergency, and for other types of buildings.