Restoration Montevideo warehouses – striking example of ecological restoration

WOUTER CALLEBAUT
Callebaut Architecten, Belgium

Recent climate changes create new measurements for new constructions (EPB) as for existing buildings. Although a regulation conscious on energy is as good as unexisting in the field of heritage, however, recent lectures and seminars show a growing interest in the relation between care for heritage and energy savings.

The ‘VITO’ (Flemish institute for technological research) made a research into the influence of insulation of buildings and CO2-emission, which showed that a diminution of energy use and CO2-emission is depending on different parameters. The type of heating system (condensing boiler), the appliance of roof insulation and the replacement of single glazing take head part.

The restoration of the Montevideo warehouses in Antwerp are situated within a bigger concept of redefining the existing program to a multifunctional use.

From the start on, this restoration wanted to be a striking example of ecological building. Advisements and recommendations are made by E3, a firm specialized in innovative, energetic technics and they will make sure that the ecological building concept is kept in mind all times. Special technics, such as cooling with river water, concrete core activation, condensing technics and adjusted lightning will be applied and theoretically, overheating should be excluded in the building.

The applying of these technics, makes the building ‘usable’ for the new program and does this in a durable, energetic way. Moreover, this durable restoration should guarantee the building its further existence in the long future, even if this means an adjustment of the original concept.

A major problem is the corrosion of the steel construction and in consequence a diminution of steelsection and the danger of instability on the long term. The initiation of this problem starts with the lack of roof insulation, which causes condensation on the upper side of the steel construction. The restoration provides in 25cm roof insulation (caissons) and the replacement of single glazing by triple, super insulating glazing (K=0.8). Several planes of glazing or roof will be replaced by photovoltaic elements (transparent or opaque).

Not only adding new technics of materials creates a durable restoration. Restoration, understood as preservation and repairing of existing materials, is in itself a durable activity.

In this project too, the strive for maximum preservation of original elements was put forward. The corroded steel construction will not be taken down and renewed, but instead will be demontated, repaired and treated with protecting systems and will finally be re-erected on exactly the same place. By demontating all, the separate parts can get on all sides a protective coating (metallization and protective layers of painting). This makes sure that the original construction is preserved and guaranteed in time.

The restoration of Montevideo is in several aspects a durable investment and hopes that it can establish an example for a possible way in dealing with durable preservation of heritage.