Building integrated photovoltaic in heritage contexts award: an overview of best practices in Italy and Switzerland

Abstract

The widespread of photovoltaic (PV) technology has led to high-performance products and systems during recent years. This allowed an expansion of PV application scope enormously, especially in listed buildings and natural landscapes subject to different forms of protection. Despite that, there are still many doubts and supposed limitations regarding their applicability by stakeholders involved in the construction process. Best practices and applications help to spread the applicability of the PV technology in historic buildings, conservation areas and cultural landscapes. For this purpose, the “Special Award for Solar Architecture in Heritage Contexts” developed within the framework of the Interreg project “BIPV meets history” aims at awarding the more significant Italian-Swiss BIPV case studies in historical buildings and heritage landscapes. This research work offers an overview of the 85 projects nominated for the award. The best projects are described and analysed to define the state of the art and criteria and technologies used for PV integration in architecturally sensitive areas to raise awareness to all stakeholders involved. The trade-off between cutting-edge technology and design expertise can lead to the perfect balance between historic buildings or high-value contexts preservation and contemporary needs and lifestyles.