Envelope Upgrades and Performance Outcomes in Adaptive Reuse: A Full-Factorial Parametric Analysis at Tenuta di Bonzara

This thesis evaluates how conservation-compatible retrofits affect energy use and thermal comfort in a historic masonry dwelling in Bologna, Italy. Two whole-building models—Pre (before retrofit) and Post (after retrofit)—are developed in DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus under a fair protocol: identical weather, schedules, setpoints, and ventilation rules; Simple Loads ensure that differences arise only from changes to the envelope and airtightness. The analysis follows a hot-zone + occupied boundary, excluding rarely used unconditioned spaces. Under these controls, Total Site Energy decreases 63.3%. Discomfort hours during occupied periods drop 75%, with markedly milder warm peaks and higher winter inner-surface temperatures. A full-factorial “on–off” decomposition attributes the largest share of energy savings to walls (winter conduction and mean-radiant effects), while windows and airtightness consolidate both energy and comfort gains. A two-objective exploration—minimizing annual site energy and occupied-hour discomfort—identifies a knee-point package that delivers a small comfort improvement for a modest energy penalty relative to the energy-minimum solution, avoiding the steep energy cost of the comfort-minimum alternative.