Research Project Overview:
Existing buildings are the largest contributors to global energy use and significantly impact greenhouse gas emissions. In existing buildings, high energy demands are associated with buildings’ operation and systems (lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). However, building stock can significantly reduce its energy consumption goals if energy-efficiency design strategies are employed. To control this escalating reliance on fossil fuels and tackle future climate change, it is important to apply effective techniques to upgrade the existing buildings. This research investigates methods for retrofitting existing buildings into high-performance buildings. Different building typologies have been analyzed, ranging from mixed-use, commercial office buildings, multi-family residential buildings, scientific laboratories, to recreation buildings and culturally significant buildings. Research methods include qualitative and quantitative methods, including archival and empirical research, simulations and modeling of energy-efficient retrofit strategies, and for some investigated buildings comparison between simulated and actual energy consumption data.
Publications:
Milosevic, S., and Aksamija, A., (2024). “Sustainable Retrofitting Strategies for Culturally Significant Brutalist Buildings: Energy-Efficient Strategies for a High-Rise Residential Complex in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Journal of Green Building, Vol. 19, No. 2, pp. 95-122, DOI:10.3992/jgb.19.1.95.
Milosevic, S., and Aksamija, A., (2022). “Sustainable Retrofit Strategies for an Existing and Historically Significant Residential Complex: Environmental Response and Facade Performance Analysis”, in Interdisciplinary Advances in Sustainable Development, Tijana Tufek-Memišević, Maja Arslanagić-Kalajdžić and Naida Ademović, eds., Springer, Switzerland, pp. 237-252.
Milosevic, S., and Aksamija, A., (2022). “High-Performance Retrofit Strategies for Existing Science and Laboratory Buildings within Academic Institutions: Considerations and Design Strategies”, Perkins&Will Research Journal, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 35-59.
Milosevic, S., and Aksamija, A., (2022). “Sustainable Retrofit Strategies for an Existing Laboratory Building: Analysis of Building Performance”, Proceedings of the Facade World Congress 2022, Los Angeles, CA, October 12-13.
Farid Mohajer, M., and Aksamija, A., (2021). “Impacts of Building Function on Normalized-Steam Consumption: Analysis of Floor Area Normalization vs. Linear Regression on Heating Degree-Days in Heating-Dominated Climate”, Journal of Green Building, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 73-85, DOI:10.3992/jgb.16.3.73.
Aksamija, A., (2017). “Impact of Retrofitting Energy-Efficient Design Strategies on Energy Use of Existing Commercial Buildings: Comparative Study of Low-Impact and Deep Retrofit Strategies”, Journal of Green Building, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 70-88, DOI:10.3992/1943-4618.12.4.70.
Aksamija, A., (2016). “Regenerative Design and Adaptive Reuse of Existing Commercial Buildings for Net-Zero Energy Use”, Journal of Sustainable Cities and Society, Vol. 27, pp. 185–195, DOI:10.1016/j.scs.2016.06.026.