Lexicon

The envelope's tightness against air infiltration, measured with the blower-door test; good airtightness cuts losses and the risk of condensation.

The permit issued by the Municipality for the most significant works (new construction, urban redevelopment), under the Consolidated Building Act.

For construction products, it attests that performance is determined under harmonised specifications: not a quality mark, but a declared, verifiable performance.

Safety Coordinator at the Design stage (CSP) and during Execution (CSE): appointed by the client on sites with several companies, to plan and oversee safety coordination.

A model where materials stay in use as long as possible (reuse, recycling, recovery), cutting waste and resource extraction; it steers the CAM and the new CPR.

Dividing a building into compartments bounded by fire-resistant elements, to confine fire and smoke within an area for a given time.

Sum owed to the Municipality for issuing the permit where applicable, made of urbanisation charges and construction cost; proportionate to the works and use.

The EU principle that a funded measure must not significantly harm environmental objectives; it conditions many public funds and calls.

Computerised procedure to declare new buildings and changes in state, size or use of property units to the Building Cadastre. It is the cadastral update that closes many works.

Single Interference Risk Assessment Document: drawn up by the client when external companies or workers operate in a workplace, to manage risks from their interference with the ongoing activity. Distinct from construction-site duties (Title IV).

The document by which a manufacturer declares a construction product's performance against the essential characteristics; it is the basis of CE marking.

The mass per unit volume of a material; it affects insulation, thermal inertia and self-weight.

A verified document quantifying a product's environmental impacts under common rules (UNI EN 15804); an objective basis for comparison and for the CAM.

The document certifying a building's energy performance on a class scale; mandatory for sales and rentals.

A building's energy-performance band (from A4 to G) shown on the EPC: it summarises the demand and informs value and incentives.

The European structural-design standards (actions, concrete, steel, timber, seismic, fire); in Italy they are applied together with the NTC.

A document attesting the performance of a product not covered by a harmonised standard, drawn up on a European Assessment Document (EAD); it enables CE marking.

An insulation system applied to the outer face of walls, wrapping the building continuously to cut losses and thermal bridges.

Works to renew or replace parts, including structural ones, of a building without changing its volumes or use; depending on their extent they need a CILA or a SCIA.

The total heat that the combustible materials in a space can release: it gauges the potential fire severity and informs fire-resistance requirements.

How long an element keeps load-bearing capacity (R), integrity (E) and insulation (I) during a fire; classified by UNI EN 13501-2.

The certification, via a notice at completion of works, that a building meets the safety, hygiene, health and energy-saving conditions for use.

Certified Notice of Fitness for Use: end-of-works attestation that the property meets the safety, hygiene, health and energy-saving requirements for its use.

The set of policies by which the public sector uses its purchasing to cut environmental impact; in construction it is implemented through the CAM.

A European technical specification defining the essential characteristics and assessment methods of a product family; it is the basis of CE marking.

Water forming inside a wall build-up when vapour reaches dew point: it is prevented by a correct sequence of layers.

The body of rules (NTC) governing structural design in Italy - actions, materials, checks, seismic action - applied together with the Eurocodes.

Protection over valuable areas or buildings (Legislative Decree 42/2004): works require a landscape authorisation, additional to the building permit.

A property's lawful planning/building status, reconstructed from the permits that governed its construction and changes; a precondition for sales and new works.

A method quantifying the environmental impacts of a product or building across its whole life cycle (LCA); the basis of EPDs and environmental criteria.

Permanent fall-arrest anchorage system installed on roofs to allow safe access and maintenance; in many regions it is mandatory for new roof works.

A system (MVHR) that renews indoor air in a controlled way, often with heat recovery, ensuring air quality without wasting energy through open windows.

The environmental requirements mandatory in public contracts, set for construction by the Ministerial Decree of 23/06/2022; they steer materials, site and end of life.

A building with very low energy demand, significantly covered by renewables; the standard for new buildings, evolving towards the ZEB (zero-emission building).

Operational Safety Plan: drawn up by each contractor for its own works, consistent with the site's PSC.

Safety and Coordination Plan: drawn up by the safety coordinator for sites where more than one company operates; it identifies risks and coordination measures for the whole duration of the works.

Measures how much an opaque component damps and delays the daily heat wave: low values mean good summer comfort and protection from overheating.

Procedure (Pregeo) for updating the Land Cadastre map; the "tipo mappale" is used to place a new building on the map or record changes to its footprint.

Notice the client sends to the supervisory bodies (ASL/ITL) before works begin on sites above certain thresholds, with details of the work and the companies.

How much a material contributes to a fire; in Europe it is classified with the Euroclasses (A1–F) under UNI EN 13501-1.

The share of recycled or recovered material in a product; a key parameter of the CAM and of the new construction products regulation.

The time sound takes to die away in a room; a key parameter of indoor acoustic comfort, distinct from insulation between spaces.

Certified Notice of Start of Activity: the permit for works affecting structures or restoration, certified by a professional (D.P.R. 380/2001).

A tax incentive for seismic-risk-reduction works, graduated by seismic zone and by the improvement in risk class achieved.

The fraction of solar energy a glazing lets through to the interior: it governs free gains in winter and overheating risk in summer.

A partition's ability to reduce sound transmission between spaces; the passive acoustic requirements of buildings are set by D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997.

The heat needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of a material by one degree; together with mass it governs thermal inertia.

The final check, by an independent engineer, that a structural work was built in conformity with the design and the Technical Standards; mandatory for reinforced-concrete, steel and seismic-zone works.

A point of the envelope where heat escapes more easily (junctions, projections, dissimilar materials): it causes losses and a risk of condensation and mould.

The heat that passes through a material per unit thickness and temperature difference: the lower it is, the better the material insulates.

A building's ability to store heat and release it with a delay, damping indoor temperature swings; it depends on the envelope's mass and specific heat.

The delay, in hours, with which outdoor heat reaches the interior through a component: a high lag improves summer comfort.

The opposition a layer or component offers to heat flow: it is the inverse of transmittance and grows with thickness and with the material's insulating power.

The heat flow through a building component (wall, floor) per square metre and degree of difference: it measures how much an envelope element loses.

The process by which a Member State turns an EU directive into national law within a set deadline; until then the directive does not bind individuals.

A material's tendency to let water vapour pass through it; the μ coefficient expresses its resistance relative to that of air.