Low-impact worksites: conserving while reducing waste

Conservation is already, in itself, a sustainable act: caring for what exists instead of demolishing and rebuilding. The firm has chosen to go further and to state, in its sustainability policy, what it actually does on site to reduce the impact of its interventions.

Three commitments on site

RIVA’s interventions aim not only to conserve the historical and artistic value of buildings, but also to ensure, where possible, an improvement in their energy efficiency. Three commitments guide the work: optimising thermal insulation to reduce the building’s energy consumption; using renewable sources, where possible, to power the sites; cutting waste and recycling discarded materials.

Minimal restoration

A low-impact site is first of all a site that touches little. The firm favours a «minimal restoration» approach, which preserves the original structures and surfaces as far as possible: less new material introduced, less waste produced, less energy consumed, and a building that keeps its authenticity.

A verified method

These commitments are not left as statements: the firm has signed up to the «Cantiere Impatto Sostenibile» code of conduct, and its site at corso Buenos Aires 1 in Milan obtained the Sustainable-Impact Worksite certification at Silver level. Monitoring the environmental impact of projects and seeking more efficient solutions continue site after site. A low-impact site does not slow the restoration down: it makes it more conscious, respectful of the work and of the environment it returns to live in.