Pathologies as a direct consequence of design mistakes: the case study of the “New Fruit and Vegetable Market” in Molfetta (Bari, Italy)

This report concerns the study of a new building, designed for being an indoor fruit and vegetable market in Molfetta (South of Italy), which after its completion has been used for only few weeks, because temperature, humidity and indoor air quality were not appropriate for the conservation of the goods and for the healty of the people working there, due to evident errors, attributable to design choices related to the used materials and to the construction typology, completely inadequate if compared to the climatic context in which the building is located. In particular, has been detected that the building acts with a behaviour typically defined as "greenhouse effect", which determines high values of temperature and humidity content, in absence of a correct longitudinal and transverse ventilation. The research was aimed to study all the failures and pathologies and to identify design solutions to improve the performance of the thermo-hygrometric and internal ventilation of the building, and in general the conditions of the microclimate, in order to ensure a condition of comfort to the users and to ensure, at the same time, a suitable air quality for the preservation of fruit and vegetables. It is targeted to a solution that, using techniques of passive cooling, is able to control and exploit the geometric, locational and technological characteristics of the building, ensuring the maximization of air efficiency and thermal exchanges between the building and the outside. Through a bioclimatic approach, have been proposed solutions able to low the inside temperature in the central gallery of the market in the summer period and an adequate exchange of air: the interaction of the existing building with the external environment has been exploited to produce the necessary internal cooling, thanks to a model that works with "stack effect", by combining solar chimneys and properly designed earth-air heat exchangers in the ground.