Z E M C H 2 0 1 2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e
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Sicily; the reason for this discrepancy is that a large part of the people who colonized the
islands in the past centuries, to increase the local population
, came from Campania and
they brought with them the architectonical and building solutions of their region.
Building expertise and energy sustainability
Every building element of the spontaneous architecture has a justification in its function.
Its aesthetic value and its influence on the architectonical image of the building are
always secondary. According to this principle you have the Filicudian house. Here the
main goal it was to obtain good protection from the harsh climate conditions, with the
lowest cost.
Without the help of mathematic models or experimental results, builders of the past were
able to determine the essential aim on which to focus their attention: the correct
orientation, the defense from daytime warming and shading; and now these are the aims
of the sustainable design.
The good orientation
In the preindustrial age, when the Filicudian house was born, the Sun’s energy was
precious, because it was the most important warming source. But, in the Mediterranean
regions, the architecture is thought to defend its inhabitants from the excessive summer
heat, first of all with a correct orientation.
This principle is strictly adhered to and it is one of the characters that formed the local
landscape; in fact it has conditioned the choice of the island’s area where they have
developed the residential agglomerations. Thus the houses are set up along the hill
slopes with the better exposure, and they are approximately oriented along the same
front line, at the different altitudes.
So the helio-thermic control is more prevalent than the other factors that usually
determine the orientation of the windows: the relation with the public space or with the
other buildings and the panoramic view. However that circumstance is facilitated by the
local situation, in fact you have to consider that in Filicudi the idea of ‘public space’ is
sui
generis
because it is formed by a intricate network of mule-tracks
they are so well
integrated with the relative pertinent lots and homes that often you cannot separate limits
and reciprocal boundaries. Regarding the buildings’ access to panoramic views it is not a
problem, in fact the hills slope toward the sea and so the main front of the house is
orientated towards it.
Daily defense from heat
The defense from daytime warming depends on the massive nature of the building
envelope. It is formed by walls and roofs that have an average weight
and are
relatively high. So the solar radiation accumulates there during the morning and it is
released slowly during the day. So the peak of indoor temperatures is shifted in the time.
In particular it is during the evening, when the temperature begins to cool. Thus a
percentage of the heat is dissipated outdoor, so the indoor temperature peak may be
lower. You can quantify this propriety determining the
offset temperature
and the
attenuation
of the elements of the building envelope.
9
You had the more relevant colonization after the sacking by Barbarossa, about it I have just referred, that
caused the depopulation of the islands (Perricone Oliva 1995: 533).
10
In the past the main form of transport in the island was by mule. So the paths were about 2 m wide and
they were paved with a rough lava flagstones. There was a flight of stairs where the slope was
excessive. In the 1981 an asphalted road (called
rotabile
) was built, to connect
Il Porto
with the other
areas that are more densely inhabited (
Canale
,
Val di Chiesa
and
Pecorini
).
11
Up to 1000 Kg/m
2
for the walls, 380 Kg/m
2
for the wooden roofs and 600 Kg/m
2
for the masonry vaults.
