Greenability 2011 - GreenAbility 2011- SECHURBA project. La Sostenibilità Verde per la rinascita delle città storiche e per la conservazione del patrimonio architettonico. Green Sustainability for the revival of historic cities and the conservation of architectural heritage

The Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage of the Cultural Heritage Department of the National Research Council carries out research in the field of conservation and the protection of archaeological sites and objects and of documentation and restoration of monuments and buildings. It has been engaged in studies and research in the field of energy saving and sustainability for the historical and architectural heritage for many years. In 2008 the ITABC became involved, as Italian coordinator, in the European project SECHURBA (Sustainable Energy Communities in Historic Urban Areas: www.sechurba.eu) funded by the EU with the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme, ending in February 2011. During this project research the ITABC has developed the concept of GreenAbility (Green Sustainability - GA), an approach to the issue of sustainability, which aims to combine the value of durable interventions with regard to energy conservation and control of environmental risks. For this reason ITABC is organizing an International Forum to present the results of the SECHURBA project and to launch the first edition of the International Workshop GreenAbility 2011, on the theme of "Green Sustainability for the rebirth of historical centres and the preservation of cultural heritage". The workshop aims to be an international scientific meeting every two years, addressing the issue of green sustainability, to present solutions and innovative products and quality projects relevant to planners and local authorities. The goal is to bring out and discuss best practices in strategy, design and organization, to study and propose the best models of governance and more effective methods of assessing the results of GA systems applied in practical cases. The idea of choosing the city of Piacenza as a venue for this Forum came from the Italian case study of the project, the Castle of Zena, which is located in the province of Piacenza. The event will take place at the Urban Center of the city, in collaboration with the Politecnic of Milan and other important civic institutions.