Reactivat ion of Historic Natural Ventilation in the Hofburg, Vienna, with Proof of its Functioning by Measuring Campaign and

To reanimate a historic ventilation means to stick more to the old craftsmanship techniques in order to learn that we have to consider a building and the building services as a cybernetic system, instead of impose the services onto the building without integrating them. When using integrated building services with an effective, inert embedded wall heating system, the results for users and artefacts are evident: There will be a maximum of comfort with a minimum of investment and energy cost. Moreover the artefacts will be kept in optimal condition (preventive conservation). In cases where the usual “technoide ” solution is applied regarding building services in the form of standard heating and air conditioning, a non-damaging micro-climate cannot be achieved. The reactivation of the natural ventilation in the historical building of the “Corps de Logis” (CdL) in the Vienna Hofburg shows, even after about 100 years the effectiveness of this simple technology: An air inlet from a near-by park into a tunnel-labyrinth in the basement of the building compensates the outer ambient air temperature and humidity. From th