Preservação do ambiente construído como prática sustentável: estudo de caso da Casa de Cultura Silvio Romero em Lagarto/SE

Abstract

The construction industry is one of the sectors with the greatest environmental impact due to intensive consumption of natural resources, generation of solid waste, and CO₂ emissions from its production processes. In this context, the preservation of the built environment is understood as a sustainable practice, as it contributes to reducing demolitions and the demand for new resources, extending the service life of the building stock, and valuing the material and construction resources incorporated into buildings. When the built environment has historical and cultural significance, its preservation is not limited to the building’s physical permanence but involves the continuity of historical, symbolic, and social values that underpin its recognition as heritage. This dissertation analyzes the intervention at Casa de Cultura Silvio Romero, the only listed heritage property in Lagarto, Sergipe, Brazil, considering built environment preservation as a sustainable practice and the relationship between adaptation to use, material and construction solutions, and the preservation of heritage values. The qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive research emphasized a case study. Methods included a bibliographic and documentary review, analysis of the executive design and descriptive memorial, technical visits, photographic records, and comparison between the design and completed work. The analysis demonstrated that the intervention is sustainable by recovering an abandoned historic building and restoring it to usable conditions within the urban context. However, comparison between design and execution revealed different levels of adequacy among the elements examined regarding the quality of the intervention, which may compromise the building’s material integrity, historical legibility, historical values, and long-term conservation. The window and door frames, metal fittings, and wooden flooring were considered adequate; the façade, roof, and contemporary additions were considered partially adequate; whereas the wooden ceiling and the use of cement-based plaster on the internal masonry walls revealed inadequacies. A change from the intended cultural use to a public administrative function was also observed. Therefore, the intervention demonstrates that the preservation of the built environment as a sustainable practice is not limited to the physical recovery of the building but requires the integration of the quality of design decisions, the effectiveness of execution, and the coherence of its use, which are fundamental conditions for ensuring its long-term conservation.