Definition of Building Archetypes for the Italian Alpine Areas

Recent research on building performance simulation showed the need for building archetypes in order to reduce the computational load and facilitate the generalization of the results, considering not only the analysis of the current energy performance but also the impact of different refurbishment strategies as well as of climate scenarios. Despite the significant role played by building archetypes, there is a general lack of detailed information describing national building stocks – an issue which is even more critical for the mountain areas, characterized by low urban density and fewer possibilities to collect building data. In this framework, this paper presents a set of residential building archetypes for the Italian North-Eastern Alpine region, identified by combining different statistical techniques and through the use of datasets of shape, size, and structure of buildings, as well as data on simulated energy performance in both typical and extreme climate conditions in four representative locations. The results obtained can be used for future applications to identify necessary adaptations and improvements to enhance the sustainability and resilience of Alpine residential buildings.