Life cycle environmental assessment of temporary building constructions

The paper analyses the impact of embodied energy over a building’s life cycle as an important factor in construction planning, particularly for temporary structures. In fact, a choice of low-embodied energy construction materials, technological components, and construction systems is essential to guarantee a very high-energy performance of those constructions. Temporary buildings are exempted from the application of the minimum requirements to reduce energy in use as set by the European directive 2010/31/EU due to their short expected service life. Hence, it becomes even more important to consider the impact of their embodied energy and the one of their end of life. Results from a case study, a temporary building designed for Milan Expo 2015, are presented to compare embodied energy of construction materials, including scenarios for their end-of-life, and predicted energy consumption at use stage

La progettazione del ciclo di vita in architettura

Oggi la progettazione architettonica deve necessariamente includere all’interno del processo di ideazione, quale espressione concreta di creatività e di ricerca progettuale, le caratteristiche proprie della sostenibilità di estendere la prospettiva alle generazioni future e di favorire l’interdisciplinarità. Il progettista è quindi chiamato ad affrontare responsabilmente e con consapevolezza un processo progettuale complesso che comprende l’intero ciclo di vita dell’edificio e gli effetti che, nel tempo, la costruzione provocherà sull’ambiente e sugli abitanti. In quest’ottica, direttive e regolamenti europei stanno promuovendo strategie a lungo termine e la pianificazione di azioni e misure per favorire la sostenibilità e l’efficienza energetica dell’edificio. Partendo dal rapporto tra settore industriale ed edilizio, il presente capitolo intende analizzare il ruolo degli strumenti di progettazione basati sul ciclo di vita e in che modo tali strumenti possano essere integrati nel processo progettuale fin dalle prime fasi

An evaluation tool to support strategical evaluations for the reclamation and reuse of dismissed sites

Dismissed architectures and urban voids are often considered revitalization chances for the cities. At the same time they are an urban problem, tied to structural crisis and social decay. The research take on the relationship between the safeguard of historical industrial buildings and new needs in terms of eco-compatibility, global cost and energy. Through the results of an application of life cycle design, the paper aims at demonstrating the importance of tools for the analysis supporting strategical evaluations for the sustainable planning of urban renewal through the reclamation of dismissed industrial sites

Smart environment for the self-sufficient elder users

In an increasingly demographic and technological transition that is set to radically transform lifestyles and the way living environments are structured, it is necessary that all actors work together and interact with each other, migrating from the concept of a single person to the concept of community. Our research, intended to make people’s elderly lives easier, aims to bridge the gap between self-sufficient older adults, that do not need constant medical help and those that need continuous support. Through appropriate technology use, the project aims to integrate and manage the information related to the user, his environment and his health devices. A kind of invisible “care network”, supported by ICT, unites the places of their everyday lives enabling independent elders to simplify their way of life and avoid being a burden to their relatives. The technological care network must cover three different environments used by the elderly: home, community and the city. The main goal of the research proposed is to redefine the home environment by designing it on the basis of lifestyles habits, the degree of autonomy of the individual and personal needs. The home is connected both to the neighbourhood and to the city providing a link with a community of other users with similar problems and needs, with health and social care infrastructures, local medical clinical centres, recreational activities and various other services

A sustainable model for a stable for cattle breeding

New agricultural structures, especially those for cattle farming, have an undeniable impact on the landscape. The main problem is due to the size of the livestock buildings, which depends on the number of animals. The stables of the traditional rural complexes were mostly of limited size and often also integrated, in an almost complementary way, into residential buildings. The number of animals was very small, as they were only intended for family subsistence. Today, a cattle farm requires a much larger number of animals to be sustainable and, consequently, sufficient space for the welfare of the animals and to improve the quality of the final product. The impact on the landscape becomes a fundamental issue that the project must address consciously, together with the other aspects that increasingly characterize this type of architecture. The Department of Architecture and Design of the Polytechnic of Turin, the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Piedmont, Liguria, and Valle d’Aosta, with the collaboration of the “La Granda” consortium, conducted a research study aimed to define the characteristics of a stable for Piedmontese cattle breeding by translating the needs of animal welfare, environmental sustainability and integration with the surroundings into an architectural model

Natural fibers insulation panels: an adaptive production

The research team recently developed an innovative system with low environmental impact for the production of semi-rigid panels for thermal and acoustic insulation, obtained from recycled sheep's wool from Piemonte region. Starting from the previous work, a new semi-rigid panel has been produced, combining sheep wool with hemp technical fibers. Both sheep wool and hemp comes from agri-food systems and are considered as a wastes from existing production chains. Panels show low environmental impact and stiffness as main innovative features, if compared with other similar products on the market. A further experimentation phase allowed to improve the production process adaptability degree to the availability of natural by-products from local agri-food systems, with the aim to develop an “open recipe” able to answer to the building market different requests. The contribution presents the methodology adopted for the research in progress, the "open" technology assessment adopted for panels production and results of preliminary thermal tests

Innovazione e Circolarità. Il Contributo del Life Cycle Thinking nel Green Deal per la neutralità climatica

Progettare il sistema di facciata di un edificio è un’operazione complessa e multidisciplinare. Questa complessità deriva dall’eterogeneità delle prestazioni che deve assicurare il sistema di involucro durante l’intera vita utile. Alla luce delle sfide imposte dalla transizione verso la neutralità climatica, l’analisi Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) entra sempre più frequentemente nella prassi progettuale richiedendo strumenti specifici per valutare i principali indicatori di impatto ambientale. Sebbene negli ultimi anni vi sia stato un aumento nel numero di software in grado di eseguire analisi LCA, oggi è ancora difficile trovare una reale interoperabilità con gli strumenti di progettazione architettonica. Partendo da tali premesse il contributo propone un framework di lavoro sviluppato in ambiente Visual Programming Language (VPL) in grado di esprimere le prestazioni ambientali del progetto in real time e assicurare un’elevata flessibilità nel progettare edifici capaci di rispondere alle sfide imposte dal cambiamento climatico