The use of engineered wood for volumetric additions to existing buildings

The modern lifestyle in densely populated and urbanized cities demands expanding spaces without land consumption and preserving green spaces. The existing building heritage could become a resource considering the "building on the built" philosophy. Adding new distinct volumes to existing structures represents a possible approach to the problem. Using engineered wood, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), glulam etc., allows for pursuing this strategy. This proposed type of intervention, often named "parasitic architecture", concretely impacts urban regeneration strategies. Parasitic architecture could be a simple way to increase housing units or to build new shared spaces. Added elements could act furthermore as local reinforcement improving the overall response of existing structures. Because of the low weight, engineered wood for additions does not overload unduly facades and rooftops. Using precast timber elements amplifies the realization speed, reducing the interferences with the surroundings and improving the healthiness and safety of the environment. For these reasons, these interventions also address the issue of sustainability by influencing the life cycle of the industrial process. The present work aims, by varying the position of the added elements on the host structure, to determine the solution that affects the host structure the least, according to the National Technical Code (NTC 2018) in force.