Smart Cities and Historical Heritage

The theme of smart grids will connote in the immediate future the production and distribution of electricity, integrating effectively and in a sustainable way energy deriving from large power stations with that distributed and supplied by renewable sources. In programs of urban redevelopment, however, the historical city has not yet been subject to significant experimentation, also due to the specific safeguard on this kind of Heritage. This reflection opens up interesting new perspectives of research and operations, which could significantly contribute to the pursuit of the aims of the Smart City. This is the main goal of the research here presented and focused on the binomial renovation of an historical complex/enhancement and upgrading of its energy efficiency. The article proposes a brief overview of the two-yearly research on an historical monumental complex, the Albergo dei Poveri in Genoa which, given its dimensions and particular collocation in the urban context, may be assimilated into a real urban district. Built between the mid-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century, it is owned by a private institution and allocated, in the late nineties of last century, to the University of Genoa which has taken charge of the renovation and reuse operations, with a view to establishing the teaching and departmental headquarters of the faculties of humanities. The feasibility study focused on the possible improvement of thermal performance and micro-generation In order to tackle such a complex issue, a multidisciplinary research group was set up, with expertise on architectural design and restoration, building physics, thermodynamics and plant engineering, which was joined by an industrial partner. One of the objectives of the work was , in fact, to implement a technology on the market (specifically, the gas micro-turbines for the co-generation produced by Ansaldo Energia).