Towards global architecture. The project between technique and technology

Environment, ecosystem, greenhouse effect emissions, public health, energy, sustainable development. This is an incomplete list of elements that are part of our daily lives, which show today’s human footprint responsibility over the health of the planet. Although these issues have been for decades on all policy statements on development the situation is not improving. Indeed, constantly, we are called to change our lifestyle and our models of well-being that are causing an exaggerated and increasing waste of energy and resources, along with the increase of the overall impact of human species on natural systems. I do believe the environment is a resource that has been exploited and neglected for too long, however I am also convinced that excessive (ab)use of certain terms, such as the concept of sustainability, has weakened its driving force and innovation. There is no doubt that the thematic areas related to the monitoring of environmental quality and sustainable development dominate the cultural and socio-economic scenery for the articulation program design and governance of the territory, but the risk we are running today is to flatten themes of 'environment only for propaganda or even worse for the market. The report is a reasoning on innovation, technology and the complexity that now accompanies any work of transformation and that should lead to a "possible future”

The Research Laboratory of the Mediterranean University

The laboratory, called LAB RENEW MEL created to test new technologies for producing energy from renewable sources thanks to the decisions of the management committees of three projects funded under the National Operational Program for Research and Competitiveness 2007-2013:RENEW Project (2014-2016) Coordinator prof. Claudio De Capua (Note 5)MEL Project (2014-2016 Coordinator prof. Pasquale Fabio Filianoti (Note 6)GELMINCAL Project (2011-2014) Coordinator prof. Francesco Della Corte (Note 7)All three projects together have a budget of nearly thirty million Euros. These are substantial resources that can allow the Mediterranean to take on a role of excellence in research on renewables. The establishment of a research center aims to achieve this goal, involves three departments of the University of Reggio Calabria, two of Engineering area, the Department of Civil Engineering, Energy, Environment and Materials (DICEAM) and the Department of Information Engineering, Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy (DIIES) and one of Architecture area, the Department of Architecture and Territory (dArTe).The author of this article is also the designer together with professor Alessandro Villari and professor Angelo Di Chio, who have followed, from the initial stages, all aspects related to the relationship between the objectives of the research and those related to the implementation of the Laboratory

A Reflection on the Sustainable Architecture Project

Environment, ecosystem, harmful emissions, citizens’ health, energy consumption, sustainable development. It is a non-exhaustive list of terms that are part of our daily life and that show how much responsibility the human imprint has today on the state of health of the planet. Despite the fact that they have been deadlines for some decades, at the head of all the programmatic statements on development, issued by international bodies and governments, the situation does not seem to improve. We are, indeed, called to change our lifestyle and our well-being patterns which are causing an exaggerated and ever-increasing waste of energy and resources, just as the overall impact of the human species on natural systems continues to grow (De Capua, 2008). In recent years everything that has to do with architectural design, from the choices of materials to the technologies used, has had to deal with the term sustainability, whose meaning, despite trying to place it in a unique defining apparatus, always takes on nuances and different meanings. In spite of this it has universally generated, in the society of the last decades, the awareness that the lifestyle assumed will have a dramatic impact on the generations to come

Co-existing with COVID-19. Design for Resistance

The paper investigates urban and domestic living and how these have been modified by the new needs, concerns and fears connected to the most recent global pandemic. The contribution highlights how urban and domestic dimensions are key elements of our existence and resistance. The topic is articulated in a twofold dimension: -          the urban scale of the city, which is continuing to function even during the emergency, allowing us to believe that the tools in our hands are capable of being used in a more flexible way, both from a political-based and a design-based perspective;-          the domestic sphere, whose connotations make the house versatile and flexible in the context of the progress and technological advancement that is now happening in the community and for this reason the space must meet the requirements of adaptability to operate perfectly even as a workplace. Eventually, the contribution defines the requirements for a resistant living, and the tools that will enable us to design resistant urban and domestic space

Tecnema Social Housing

The project is a collaboration between the company Termocasa in Reggio Calabria and the research unit Stoa, of the Department DASTEC of the University of Reggio Calabria. This initiative was implemented in two phases: 1) in the first, already completed, the following objectives were achieved: Plan local knowledge of the experiment; theoretical and practical methodology of the entire construction process to ensure the energy efficiency of buildings, description of typed technical solutions and verification of transferability. To carry out this phase, it was used a Scholarship sponsored by «Termocasa». 2) the second phase, which will require substantial financial resources, will begin with the execution of construction projects and the subsequent evaluation of the energy efficiency solutions implemented

Observatory P.A.R.C.O. Characterizations for the environmental quality indoor

The search is born from an Accord among Region Calabria, the Mediterranean university and the UNICAL, with the purpose to define design strategies and new politics of social housing on the paradigm of the sustainable development, considered actions that pursue the economic and social environmental sustainability of the interventions. The scientific Partenariato, in relationship to the mutual competences and inside experiences, has identified some themes to develop during the search and on which to plan the future interventions of housebuilding in Calabria. Among these the environmental quality indoor is set for principal purpose to check and to define that parameters physical connected to the demands of the consumers, relatively to the existential conditions and physical well-being, psychic and social comfort

LA NUOVA FORMA URBANA

The urban regeneration processes have sparked renewed interest for urban and architectural design. At the time, technological inno- vation of information flows and matters related to the conditions of deskilling, pollution and iniquities of the contemporary city have determined the urban transformation both in the territorial character, in terms of borders and margins of the city, both in the archi- tectural features in terms of new interior spaces to the city. The scientific debate has to ask about the strategies and intervention actions to improve the quality of urban life, and the quality of architecture and the city. DOI: http://dx.medra.org/10.19254/LaborEst.12.14            

Abitare la fragilità: strategie per la messa in sicurezza del patrimonio edilizio esistente

The themes of energy saving and sustainability head the list of all the policy statements on development, issued by governments throughout Europe and many other countries in the world.We are forever being called upon to change our lifestyle and our ideas of well-being that are causing an exaggerated and ever increasing waste of energy and resources, while the overall impact of the human species on natural systems continues to grow.Even the construction sector which apparently seems to have a secondary role, due to the fact  that it "generates" production, consumption and services, but also because it is subject to other types of pollution, is in reality of central interest and, rightly, can be given a primary role.The most recent regulations invite us to "build in a sustainable way", re-appropriating the set of themes that have been forgotten for too long such as the direct relationship with the natural system on which we intervene. Recent legislation also encourages us to optimize material and technical-constructive characteristics relating to safety, to use passive systems in order to make buildings functional and to employ natural air conditioning.Safeguarding our country from all points of view is now a duty. Being aware of the risks is a necessary prerequisite to ensure the safety of the inhabitants of a territory. This awareness must be channeled into an individual and collective responsibility, and into the programming of strategies which will prove to be decisive for the community.  Abitare la fragilità: strategie per la messa in sicurezza del patrimonio edilizio esistente             I temi del risparmio energetico e della sostenibilità sono in testa a tutte le dichiarazioni programmatiche sullo sviluppo, emanate dai governi europei e di molti altri paesi del mondo.Siamo incessantemente richiamati a modificare il nostro stile di vita e i nostri modelli di benessere che stanno determinando un esagerato e crescente spreco di energia e di risorse, così come continua a crescere l’impatto complessivo della specie umana sui sistemi naturali.Anche il settore delle costruzioni che apparentemente sembra avere un ruolo secondario, per il fatto di "generare" produzione, consumi e servizi, ma anche essere soggetto a inquinamenti d'altro genere, è in realtà al centro dell'interesse generale e, a ragione, gli si può attribuire un ruolo primario.Le più recenti normative ci invitano a costruire in modo sostenibile, riappropriando il progetto di tematiche per troppo tempo dimenticate quali il rapporto diretto con il sistema naturale su cui si va ad intervenire, l’ottimizzazione delle caratteristiche materiali e tecnico-costruttive in rapporto alle esigenze di protezione, l’uso di sistemi passivi di funzionamento degli edifici e la climatizzazione naturale.Mettere il nostro paese in sicurezza è ormai un dovere e, presupposto necessario per garantire la sicurezza degli abitanti di un territorio, è la consapevolezza del rischio, che si traduce in responsabilità individuale e collettiva e la programmazione di strategie decisive e determinanti per la comunità.I temi del risparmio energetico e della sostenibilità sono in testa a tutte le dichiarazioni programmatiche sullo sviluppo, emanate dai governi europei e di molti altri paesi del mondo.Siamo incessantemente richiamati a modificare il nostro stile di vita e i nostri modelli di benessere che stanno determinando un esagerato e crescente spreco di energia e di risorse, così come continua a crescere l’impatto complessivo della specie umana sui sistemi naturali.Anche il settore delle costruzioni che apparentemente sembra avere un ruolo secondario, per il fatto di "generare" produzione, consumi e servizi, ma anche essere soggetto a inquinamenti d'altro genere, è in realtà al centro dell'interesse generale e, a ragione, gli si può attribuire un ruolo primario.Le più recenti normative ci invitano a costruire in modo sostenibile, riappropriando il progetto di tematiche per troppo tempo dimenticate quali il rapporto diretto con il sistema naturale su cui si va ad intervenire, l’ottimizzazione delle caratteristiche materiali e tecnico-costruttive in rapporto alle esigenze di protezione, l’uso di sistemi passivi di funzionamento degli edifici e la climatizzazione naturale.Mettere il nostro paese in sicurezza è ormai un dovere e, presupposto necessario per garantire la sicurezza degli abitanti di un territorio, è la consapevolezza del rischio, che si traduce in responsabilità individuale e collettiva e la programmazione di strategie decisive e determinanti per la comunità.  Living in Fragility: Strategies for Securing Existing BuildingsThe themes of energy saving and sustainability head the list of all the policy statements on development, issued by governments throughout Europe and many other countries in the world.We are forever being called upon to change our lifestyle and our ideas of well-being that are causing an exaggerated and ever increasing waste of energy and resources, while the overall impact of the human species on natural systems continues to grow.Even the construction sector which apparently seems to have a secondary role, due to the fact  that it "generates" production, consumption and services, but also because it is subject to other types of pollution, is in reality of central interest and, rightly, can be given a primary role.The most recent regulations invite us to "build in a sustainable way", re-appropriating the set of themes that have been forgotten for too long such as the direct relationship with the natural system on which we intervene. Recent legislation also encourages us to optimize material and technical-constructive characteristics relating to safety, to use passive systems in order to make buildings functional and to employ natural air conditioning.Safeguarding our country from all points of view is now a duty. Being aware of the risks is a necessary prerequisite to ensure the safety of the inhabitants of a territory. This awareness must be channeled into an individual and collective responsibility, and into the programming of strategies which will prove to be decisive for the community

Angular and Current-Target Correlations in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA

Correlations between charged particles in deep inelastic ep scattering have been studied in the Breit frame with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 6.4 pb-1. Short-range correlations are analysed in terms of the angular separation between current-region particles within a cone centred around the virtual photon axis. Long-range correlations between the current and target regions have also been measured. The data support predictions for the scaling behaviour of the angular correlations at high Q2 and for anti-correlations between the current and target regions over a large range in Q2 and in the Bjorken scaling variable x. Analytic QCD calculations and Monte Carlo models correctly describe the trends of the data at high Q2, but show quantitative discrepancies. The data show differences between the correlations in deep inelastic scattering and e+e- annihilation.Comment: 26 pages including 10 figures (submitted to Eur. J. Phys. C

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011