On May 15th, Alessia Buda—architect, PhD, and research fellow at Politecnico di Milano—participated in the Salone Internazionale del Restauro 2025 to present the HeriTACE project.
HeriTACE was featured in a session organized by Clust-ER BUILD, which focused on the new challenges and opportunities brought by the New European Bauhaus, and the role EU-funded projects can play in shaping this vision.
The event provided an opportunity to discuss the project’s objectives and highlight the innovative retrofitting solutions currently being explored by HeriTACE.
In her presentation, Dr. Buda addressed new strategies for the sustainable reuse of historic urban areas. She showcased examples from the project’s four demonstration cities—Trondheim, Tallinn, Ghent, and Mantova—placing particular emphasis on the Italian archetypes of the selected buildings.
She highlighted the delicate balance between the need for improved energy efficiency in historical buildings and the limitations that come with applying modern interventions in heritage contexts. Energy retrofitting, she explained, can significantly enhance the performance and comfort of these buildings while reducing energy consumption. At the same time, it can aid in the preservation and reuse of historic structures, making them more accessible and relevant to present and future generations.
However, Dr. Buda emphasized the importance of avoiding interventions that may cause more harm than good. To mitigate this risk, she advocated for the establishment of general guidelines that can support well-informed design decisions. One effective approach is the development of shared strategies tailored to similar building typologies, which can then be adapted to specific cases.
This is precisely the kind of research the HeriTACE project is conducting—aimed at creating a holistic and multidimensional model for interventions, along with a practical toolkit to support public authorities in decision-making and implementation.
