Integrated design optimization of school pavilions – a case study in Milan

The case study in question is that of the refurbishment of a building constituted by four school pavilions built in the post-war period of the 20th Century with very lightweight reinforced concrete arches and vaults. Different retrofithypotheses have been evaluated by the means of the ESP-r software tool, taking into account heating energyconsumption, summer free-floating temperatures, daylighting and space use. Three design solutions have been compared, leading to the suggestion to reject the most radical design hypothesis and improve the original configuration by the means of an adjoining sunspace.