Veinte años de clientes para la arquitectura religiosa: Proyectos, procesos y resultados de las iglesias italianas contemporáneas

The contribution proposes a reflection on the relationship between the client, the architect and the various actors involved in the planning, design and construction of new churches, focusing on the Italian context in the last twenty years, and asking who can be considered the actual client for religious buildings. The selected time frame underlines a season characterised by different experimentation approaches for architectural competitions promoted, facilitated or supported by the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), starting from the experience of the Pilot Projects, passing through the Diocesan Paths, up to the most recent Participatory Processes, aimed at reducing the gap between Church client, user’s requests, and architectural projects. Such processes involve a large panel of actors, including the National and Diocesan bodies, local interlocutors, and the design teams, made up of various professionals. The study aims to investigate such recent procedures, to provide an analytical look at the maturing of the processes and to the identification of the collective client.La contribución propone una reflexión sobre la relación entre el cliente, el arquitecto y los diversos actores involucrados en la planificación, diseño y construcción de nuevas iglesias, centrándose en el contexto italiano de los últimos veinte años, y preguntando quién puede ser considerado el verdadero cliente para los edificios religiosos. El marco temporal considerado subraya una temporada caracterizada por diferentes enfoques de experimentación para los concursos de arquitectura promovidos, facilitados o apoyados por la Conferencia Episcopal Italiana (CEI) a partir de la experiencia de los Progetti Pilota, pasando por los Percorsi Diocesani, hasta los más recientes Concorsi Diocesani, destinados a reducir la brecha entre el cliente de la Iglesia, las solicitudes de los usuarios y los proyectos arquitectónicos. Dichos procesos involucran a un amplio panel de actores, entre ellos los organismos nacionales y diocesanos, los interlocutores locales y el equipo de diseño, compuesto por diversos profesionales. El estudio tiene como objetivo investigar procedimientos muy recientes, proporcionando una mirada analítica a la maduración de los procesos y a la identificación del cliente colectivo

Associations of Perfluoroalkyl Substances with Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Highly Exposed Young Adult Community Residents-A Cross-Sectional Study in Veneto Region, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Studies on the association between perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are limited, and results are inconsistent. We aimed to examine the associations between PFAS serum levels and the prevalence of MetS among highly exposed young adults (ages 20-39) residents of a large area of the Veneto Region (North-Eastern Italy) primarily stemming from PFAS water contamination before September 2013. A total of 15,876 eligible young adult residents living in the investigated municipalities were enrolled in the study from January 2017 to July 2019. METHODS: MetS was defined by using a modified harmonized definition requiring the presence of 3 of the following: obesity (body mass index ≥30), elevated triglyceride (TG), reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and hemoglobin A1c ≥ 6.1% or self-reported diabetes mellitus or drug treatment for hyperglycemia. Multivariable generalized additive models were performed to identify the associations between four serum PFAS, including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and risk of MetS controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: A total of 1282 participants (8.1%) met the criteria of MetS with a higher prevalence among men. PFOA, PFHxS, and PFNA were not associated with the risk of MetS, whereas PFOS showed a consistent protective effect against the risk of MetS (OR 0.76, (95% CI: 0.69, 0.85) per ln-PFOS). However, we found statistically significant positive associations between PFAS serum levels and individual components of MetS, mainly elevated blood pressure and elevated TG. CONCLUSION: Our results did not support a consistent association between PFAS and MetS and conflicting findings were observed for individual components of MetS

The association between perfluoroalkyl substances and lipid profile in exposed pregnant women in the Veneto region, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Residents of a large area of North-Eastern Italy were exposed for decades to high concentrations of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) via drinking water. Serum PFAS levels have been consistently associated with elevated serum lipids, but few studies have been conducted among pregnant women, and none has stratified analyses by trimester of gestation. Elevated serum lipid levels during pregnancy can have both immediate and long-lasting effects on pregnant women and the developing fetus. We evaluated the association between perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluoro-hexanesulfonate (PFHxS) levels in relation to lipid profiles in highly-exposed pregnant women. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted in 319 pregnant women (age 14-48 years) enrolled in the Regional health surveillance program. Non-fasting blood samples were obtained in any trimester of pregnancy and analyzed for PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was calculated. The associations between ln-transformed PFAS (and categorized into quartiles) and lipids were assessed using generalized additive models. Analyses were adjusted for potential confounders and stratified according to pregnancy trimester. RESULTS: The geometric means of PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS were 14.78 ng/mL, 2.67 ng/mL and 1.89 ng/mL, respectively. The plasma levels of TC, HDL-C and LDL-C increased steadily throughout the trimesters. In the 1st trimester, PFOS was positively associated with TC and PFHxS with HDL-C. In the 3rd trimester, instead, an inverse relationship was seen between PFOA and PFHxS and both TC and LDL-C. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest the associations between PFAS concentrations and lipid profiles in pregnant women might differ by trimesters of pregnancy. In the first trimester, patterns are similar to those of non-pregnant women, while they differ late in pregnancy. Different independent behavior of PFAS and lipid levels throughout the pregnancy might explain our observations. These findings support the ubiquitous exposure to PFAS and possible influence on lipid metabolisms during pregnancy and suggest a careful evaluation of the timing of PFAS measurement, when examining effects of PFAS during pregnancy on gestational outcomes related to serum lipids amounts

Infrastruttura e spazio pubblico / Infrastruttura dello spazio pubblico. Il caso della metropoli di São Paulo del Brasile

Tema centrale del contributo è il rapporto tra le infrastrutture della mobilità e gli spazi pubblici degradati limitrofi, dove l’esperienza della città di São Paulo, presa in esame come caso studio, diviene buona pratica per la creazione di una nuova infrastruttura, definita di mobilità leggera, che va ad innestarsi sulle reti esistenti, sfruttandone l’accessibilità e le potenzialità per la rigenerazione degli spazi pubblici degradati del centro storico. Una metodologia di analisi e una serie di strategie di rigenerazione sono state studiate per essere applicate a tutti gli spazi pubblici della città e ad altre situazioni affini presenti nei centri storici delle città brasiliane.The central topic of the paper is the relationship between mobility infrastructure and run-down public spaces in outlying areas, in which São Paulo, which is taken into consideration as a case study, becomes good prac-tice for the creation of new infrastructure, termed soft mobility infrastructure, which is grafted onto existing networks, taking advantage of their accessibility and potential for the regeneration of run-down public spaces in the historic centre. An analytical methodology and a series of regeneration strategies have been developed in order to be applied to all of the city's public spaces and other analogous situations in the historic centres of Brazilian cities

Territories of culture between regeneration and social innovation. An Italian experimentation

Once reactivated and integrated within urban networks and services, cultural heritage can become a driving force for Social Innovation, a place of culture, which is given back to collective life and returns to be considered a common good. Among the urban regeneration processes – which identify the city as the field of action of Social Innovation – the reflection focuses on the reuse of abandoned cultural assets, present in various small and medium-sized realities with high artistic and cultural value. In this context, the research aims at providing theoretical premises and meta-design prefigurations, with reference to European addresses and good practices. In closing, the paper illustrates the outcome of an experimentation on the Italian territory

Prossimità e sussidiarietà: il ruolo dei centri parrocchiali nella ricostruzione di una vita collettiva urbana

The contribution is part of the reflection on community and proximity services, electing the parish heritage as an area of observation within the dynamics of urban and social regeneration. The objective of the paper is to highlight methods and strategies for the analysis and enhancement of such heritage and its offer of collective services, to integrate them into urban welfare planning. The study is articulated into a systemic recognition of the theme, and an analysis – focused on the Milan area – aimed at investigating the implications of the parish system with the city. The results consist of a reflection on the potential of integrating the territorial organization and services of the “public” and the “ecclesiastical” city; secondly, enhancement and innovation scenarios relating to these infrastructures are defined, in a logic of service to the urban community, with particular reference to the sports offer in the urban context

Spazio sacro e contemporaneità. Strumenti, metodi e prospettive per una didattica del progetto

Within the framework of architectural design teaching, the reflection on “sacred” places as places of “worship,” proposed to international students, is a privileged opportunity for the young designer. The topic proves to be particularly suitable for communicating the values, qualities and characteristics that each architectural project should possess, as well as being capable of providing tools for understanding the urban landscape and its genesis, and, consequently, methods for its regeneration. The precision of the program for the Christian religious building – the church – on the one hand, with its liturgical and celebratory aspects, and combined with its immaterial poetic component, constitutes a privileged stage for the creativity of the designers, as well as for a teaching/learning relationship that is not limited to the handing down of technical skills only. From both research and teaching experiences – through the analysis of methods, outcomes, and paradigms – it emerged numerous inspirations from the approach of the sacred in the contemporary city. Inspirations address the theme in terms of meanings, methods, forms and poetics, showing its relevance within the training of architects, in an increasingly secularized, fluid, and multicultural society.All’interno del quadro delle riflessioni in merito alla didattica del progetto di architettura, la riflessione sui luoghi del “sacro” e del “culto,” proposta a studenti di matrice internazionale, si colloca quale occasione privilegiata per il giovane progettista; il tema si dimostra, infatti, particolarmente adatto alla comunicazione di valori, qualità e caratteri che ciascun progetto di architettura dovrebbe possedere, nonché capace di fornire strumenti di comprensione del panorama urbano e della sua genesi, e, di conseguenza, metodi per la sua rigenerazione e valorizzazione.  La precisione del programma per l’edificio di culto cristiano – la chiesa – da un lato, con i suoi aspetti liturgici e celebrativi, unita alla sua componente di poetica immateriale, costituiscono, infatti, un campo privilegiato per la sperimentazione progettuale, nonché occasione per definire un rapporto insegnamento/apprendimento che non si limiti alla sola trasmissione di competenze tecniche.  Dalla rilettura delle esperienze di ricerca e didattica condotte – attraverso l’analisi di metodi, esiti e paradigmi – emergono numerose sollecitazioni generate dall’approccio al sacro nella città contemporanea, sul fronte dei significati, dei metodi, delle forme e della poetica, dimostrando l’attualità del tema all’interno della formazione degli architetti, all’interno di una società sempre più secolarizzata, fluida e multiculturale

Rigenerazione urbana: l’Istituto Tommasini e le aree degradate limitrofe (fase 1)_Un progetto per Salsmaggiore Terme

Predisposizione di uno studio di fattibilità atti alla redazione di un documento preliminare utile alla richiesta, da parte del Comune di Salsomaggiore Terme, di un finanziamento regionale POR FESR_Programma operativo regionale. Fondo europeo di sviluppo regionale (Emilia Romagna) e alla partecipazione al bando inerente gli “Interventi per la riqualificazione sociale e culturale delle aree urbane degradate (Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri del 15 ottobre 2015)

Communities, Sport, Inclusion. Strategies for Parish Complexes Social Reactivation Through Sport Practice Promotion

The following contribution presents some findings deriving from the research project "Sport is Society" by Politecnico di Milano. The research reflects on the built heritage and its ability to be accessible and usable for different users with different needs in its structures and offer of services, focusing on sports activities and spaces. The study refers to collective ecclesiastical structures in the contemporary city. The research in this area demonstrates the possible degrees of innovation regarding the increase in the inclusiveness of private facilities with a public vocation, where sport represents a driver of social inclusion for the community. The research proposes advice to guarantee inclusive sports facilities for the community, highlighting the strict relationship between the inclusive city and the ecclesiastical heritage, as an emerging issue to be investigated and solved. Starting from its relevance and the potential of the structures to become a truly "accessible patrimony”, the tool suggests strategies for policymakers and ecclesiastical administrations to make them become "open services" - usable and accessible by all - for and inside the urban community