REHVA Journal October 2016

LEPENSKI VIR – THE PREHISTORIC ENERGY EFFICIENT ARCHITECTURE

(The paper is outline from presentation at the Danube ASHRAE Chapter Meeting in Timisoara, Romania, 15th April 2016)

The remains of architecture in Lepenski Vir are the remains of an energy efficient architecture and ecological houses.

Nenad B. Miloradović

B.Mech.Sc, engineer for heat distribution

PUC Beogradske elektrane, Belgrade, Serbia

The prehistoric settlement of Lepenski Vir, which was discovered during the 1960s in Djerdap Gorge on the Serbian side of the Danube River, is well-known for its unusual architecture and preserved house floors. If we analyze this architecture in view of the set of natural (meteorological, geographical, astronomical and vegetal) environmental properties and consider energy consumption for heating and air-conditioning needs for such dwellings, i.e. achieving thermal comfort in those houses, we can conclude that the builders paid particular attention to energy efficiency in building stock while designing those houses. Remains of the architecture of the prehistoric settlement of Lepenski Vir, where operations for energy efficiency improvements are visible and recognizable, are the remains of an energy effective architecture. Their houses were energy efficient considering their age, technology and given location, contributing to the long life of the settlement.   

The remains of architecture in the Lepenski Vir museum

We may speak about the primal passive solar and bioclimatic architecture. The shape of houses is very compact and contributes to saving of heating or cooling energy. The remains of the architecture of Lepenski Vir are silent witnesses of measures applied to improve energy efficiency. The houses in Lepenski Vir and Padina-Gospodjin Vir are examples of energy efficient construction of the time, location and given the condition of technology and applied materials. The architecture of Lepenski Vir did not emerge haphazardly, as similar house remains were also found at the Padina-Gospodjin Vir site.

full article

www.rehva.eu/fileadmin/REHVA_Journal/REHVA_Journal_2016/RJ_issue_5/p.54/54-59_RJ1605_WEB.pdf

The terms Neolepenism (neolepenizam) or Neolepenism house (kuća neolepenizma)

We use a lot of words for energy efficient house: passive house, green house, low energy house, NZEB, Energy plus house…

Neolepenism can be a new kind of energy efficient architecture that can respond the challenges of sustainable development. The name Neolepenism is very appropriate because the prefix neo denotes something new, while Lepenism refers to the architecture of the prehistoric settlement and culture of Lepenski Vir. The Lepenski Vir is located on the right bank of the Danube in the Djerdap Gorge (Republic of Serbia). The architecture of this prehistoric settlement has served as an inspiration and role model for a new, copyrighted form of building that is based on the principles of energy efficiency.

The term Neolepenism for this form of architecture was proposed by Serbian actor and former student of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade, Predrag Kolarević, when he saw animations of a building with the this form. This term is not in any way related to the terms “Lepenism” and “Lepenization” encountered on the Internet, which are related to the politics of French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Location of archeological site Lepenski Vir prehistoric culture