First hand experiences

• It is often difficult to combine public financing procedures for the restoration of public buildings with the prerogatives of a research project. In the case of Evonymos project, the construction process has been greatly delayed because of the lengthy procedures involved in building restoration financing trough the Greek Ministry of Culture, to which the building belongs, as a listed building. The eligible part of the project would not have been completed in time if the project team had not secured the participation of private sponsors, such as STO AG-Dracopoulos O.E., Schneider Electric, Poseidon Monoprossopi Ltd and ISTO SA, who undertook financing and construction of different parts of the project, under the general management and coordination of Mr. Elias Louizos of ICS DUELL Ltd.

• Therefore, in addition to the challenge of integrating renewable and energy conservation systems to the traditional construction techniques of a listed building, this project has been innovative in terms of the combination of private and public sponsors in the retrofitting of a public building.

• Finally, it should be noted that the introduction of passive solar components into the retrofitting of a listed building should not be treated in an inflexible way or as remedy for all types of problems. Each building should be considered individually and passive solar features introduced into the overall design concept so that the best possible balance of thermal and visual comfort is achieved and the retrofitted building meets the occupants’ practical and aesthetic needs.