A faced hazard-oriented taxonomy of envelope technical elements for vulnerability analysis

Understanding how well the building envelope technical elements can withstand natural hazards is of interest for many purposes, such as adapting to a changing climate, or reducing safety issues and economic losses associated with damaged technical elements. On this matter, the present work proposes a novel flexible hazard-oriented taxonomy for technical elements of building envelope to characterize the envelope's vulnerability to a given hazard. The taxonomy was built by identifying technical elements' vulnerability factors considering a set of hazards of interest. It was then tested on a case study area located in Naples (Italy) to classify two technical elements, namely, roof cornice and household drain system, and to assess their vulnerability against earthquakes and heavy rainfall events. The application proved to support the vulnerability investigation of technical elements which is, in turn, useful in identifying areas of potential concern and intervention. The results contribute to expanding the already available taxonomies (e.g., GED4ALL) and to more comprehensive building vulnerability assessments using a structured and flexible hazard-oriented approach. • A novel flexible hazard-oriented taxonomy for technical elements of the building envelope is proposed. • The taxonomy is built by identifying technical elements' vulnerability factors considering a set of hazards of interest, in order to support the envelope's vulnerability assessments. • The proposed taxonomy may expand already available taxonomies to the wider range of technical elements of the building envelope. • A case study area located in Naples (Italy) is used for testing.