THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF A TEMPORARY LIGHTWEIGT BUILDING

In the last decades many attempts were made to develop new technologies for temporary architecture: today temporary installations are widely used as dwelling after disasters like earthquakes, or to host events like conferences, music and exhibitions. Despite the strong progress in this field, temporary buildings are still strictly linked to consumerism or emergency settings, so during the design process sustainability and environmental issues are not taken into account. In fact, temporary architecture has a massive and unrecognized role in CO2 production. The paper shows the analysis of the thermal performance of a pavilion for temporary events and its environmental impact. The pavilion is designed through the use of architectural fabrics and lightweight structures: membranes and aluminium frames are combined together and used in an innovative architectural solution. This paper aims to analyse the critical aspects related to the use of translucent architectural fabrics characterised by an intrinsic low thermal inertia and a complex building physic driven by radiation input and losses. The research investigate the impact of several variable factors (such as size, weather and geographical location) on the CO2 production and on the environmental quality of the inner spaces. Through the results it has been possible to develop the initial design idea in order to provide the required level of CO2 production through efficacious strategies. The numerical analyses is performed using the software Energy Plus which allowed the investigation of several alternative solutions for the external envelope (materials, layers, air gaps etc.) and the comparison of the performance in several climatic conditions.