The book collects the results of several research projects held at Department ICEA (University of Padua) focused on prefabricated buildings analysis and innovative strategies for refurbishment. The built heritage of residential housing has been rapidly downgraded owing to a merely quantitative demand for houses, to market economic laws and the resort to innovative technological though not subjected to the test- of-time solutions; as a result, such houses no longer comply with the new standards required in order to cut energy consumption.
Prefabrication had a relevant role as the main means by which both eastern and western bloc European countries have been trying to meet the growing demand for housing after World War II. This work aims to suggest a methodology leading to an analysis of prefabricated buildings, focusing especially on Soviet I-464 and I-464A series (widely popular in former European socialist countries) enact a sustainable refurbishment of the buildings. The research aimed to establish a logical and methodological link between the data collected (technical data and archive results) and their analysis, so as both to assess the technological boundaries of prefabricated buildings in socialist countries and to analyse their structures with a view to collect them into a digital model. This should lead at a first step into the debate to their refurbishing/upgrading so as to retrieve it as far as architecture, functions and environment are concerned or, otherwise, to demolish these buildings.
The volume is part of a collection - within the "Edilizia" editorial series - concerning the results of nationaland international university research dedicated to the topics of prefabrication and building industrialization in the twentieth century.

Angelo Bertolazzi trained at the Department DAUR (University of Padua) and the Department DA (University of Bologna), at Ecole Doctorale Villes Transportes et Territoires (Université Paris-Est). His main research topics are: historic techniques analysis and digitalization of building stock for the refurbishment.He is Assistant Professor at the Department DICEA (University of Padua).

Giorgio Croatto trained at IUAV in Venice. He is Full professor at Department DICEA (University of Padua). His main research topics are: historic techniques analysis, refurbishment of existing building heritage, mainly concerning the traditional architecture, industrial buildings and the architecture of the Modern Movement.

Umberto Turrini trained at IUAV in Venice. He is Associate professor at Department DICEA (University of Padua). His main research topics are: historic building refurbishment, techniques reversibility for reuse, innovative technologies and materials within the cultural heritage conservation, building sustainability and the reuse of building materials.