Sustainability Rating Systems for Historic Buildings: A Systematic Review

Farzaneh Karimi, Nima Valibeig, Gholamhossein Memarian and Aliakbar Kamari ()
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Farzaneh Karimi: Department of Architectural and Urban Conservation, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan 81738-87681, Iran
Nima Valibeig: Department of Architectural and Urban Conservation, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan 81738-87681, Iran
Gholamhossein Memarian: School of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science &Technology, Tehran 13114-16846, Iran
Aliakbar Kamari: Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-22

Abstract: Historic buildings are an integral part of the built environment that have historical, cultural, social, and economic value. Sustainable conservation/rehabilitation/renovation of historic buildings that will perform well for decades is therefore critical. Numerous sustainability-rating systems (e.g., LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, etc.) have been developed to deal with broader sustainability objectives in the design of new buildings, which are not adequate/sufficient in intervention in historic buildings. This paper aims to study and explore rating systems for historic buildings. It is hypothesized that using rating systems can help historic buildings achieve more sustainable outcomes. The paper begins by presenting comprehensive background information on existing sustainability-rating systems worldwide, followed by a systematic review of the literature on rating systems for historic buildings. The PRISMA flowchart (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) was used, searching Science Direct and Google Scholar databases. The study reveals most current studies focus on environmental aspects, such as improving the energy efficiency of historic buildings, which results in lowering economic costs and increasing occupant satisfaction with the indoor environment. We argue that all three traditional dimensions of sustainability should be balanced when developing or adapting the next generation of rating systems to assess/address the sustainability of historic buildings.

Keywords: sustainability; sustainability rating systems; historic buildings; cultural heritage; sustainable intervention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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