Work

Heritage Conservation and Environmental Protection: Conflicting Interests in a Case Study of Historic Box-Type Windows

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Heritage conservation and environmental protection have similarities, both aiming at conserving structures and systems in their original state. While environmental protection prioritizes intact ecosystems, heritage conservation values past cultural achievements, thus reflecting the difference between nature and culture. Our research purpose is to analyze the interaction of these two disciplines for historic windows, which can be renovated, technically upgraded, or replaced by a new window. As the methodology, an LCA model was applied, where, after defining a model window material and energy flows in three scenarios, the related environmental impacts were investigated. The results show that the considerably lower loss of energy with a new window by far outweighs the impacts from the production of the new window. This becomes apparent for nearly all impact categories. The sensitivity analysis reveals that the energy source for heating has a major impact. Changing from fossil to renewable energy in the future will reduce the advantage of new windows markedly. Such novel approaches should support the integration of environmental considerations into heritage conservation.

Source: Buildings

DOI: 10.3390/buildings15234394

Authors: Günther Kain, Friedrich Idam, Nadine Brunnhuber, Stefan Salhofer

Institutions: Fachhochschule Salzburg, Conseil international des monuments et des sites, BOKU University

Language: English

Topic: Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Climate action, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137