Shantitown: Building system in bamboo for emergency

Shantitown is a play word for “Shanti” – meaning “peace” in Sanskrit language – and shantytown. Shantitown is a new concept building system with bamboo which faces the problem of house needing, providing an innovative emergency solution that can substitute the actual ones improving their safety, comfort and aesthetics. Shantitown keeps the principles of an informal settlement, such as low price, autochthonous materials and self construction and furthermore enables people to guarantee the long term safety of their house, so that the role of external charitable associations may be kept minimal. The structural analysis focused on two of the main principles of Shantitown: the durability of the structure as built, checked and maintained in time by local people and the freedom of composition of the secondary structure. A series of analyses has been performed hypothesizing random damage of the beams and checking the main structure stability, finding the best solution for safety and utility

Active House: Smart Nearly Zero Energy Buildings

The book provides an overview of the Active House (AH) vision, intended as a building design method “beyond” the passive approach for buildings of the future that will be more and more connected, smart and innovative. It offers a novel philosophical design approach in which buildings, new or renovated, are in balance with natural, renewable energies and become “concentrators-distributors” of energies instead of being consumers of resources. The book is composed of five chapters, providing information on fundamental aspects of innovations toward resource-efficient buildings, as well as case studies presenting the concept in practice. It demonstrates that a completely new design approach is possible, and that a turning point has been reached. Lastly, it shows how the AH Alliance, along with designers, institutions, industries and academies, is bringing a breath of fresh air to the world of construction

Atomic force microscopy study of DNA deposited on poly-L-ornithine coated mica

Analyses of individual biomolecules, like DNA, or DNA\u2013protein complexes, via atomic force microscopy, require \u2018gentle\u2019 methods to immobilize DNA on surfaces, which allow the ensemble of molecules to adopt conformations dictated primarily by their physical characteristics, and which possibly permit the use of a wide selection of buffers. We show that poly-l-ornithine-coated mica is a good substrate for fast, reliable deposition of DNA for wet or dry imaging. The surface firmly secures DNA, which retains the B-form helical rise (0.34 nm bp 121). The conformations of DNA that result are reminiscent of three-dimensional random coils projected on to a plane. The contrast is good, especially in solution, and buffers with physiological concentrations of salt with or without divalent cations may be used. This is important for comparison of scanning probe microscopy results with those obtained by different techniques

Re-designing a temporary pavilion into a NZEB open lab for a university campus

During the Milan Design Week 2018, a temporary pavilion - “Delight The Light” – has been design and built - as press room for Officina Tamborrino - using their own products as construction technologies. This paper explains the evolution of this project from a temporary architecture into an NZEB open lab for university students. The introduction of innovative multilayer insulator materials characterized by high heat-reflecting properties and the tailored envelope design ensure the satisfaction of comfort both in winter and summer season and reduced drastically the time of constructions. The process, followed to reach the NZEB target, is based on performance-based design analysis. In particular the validation phase has foreseen a very detailed modelling steps on the building model through dynamic thermal simulations with finite element method to validate its thermal and hygrometric performances, coupled with daylighting and fluid dynamics simulations to consider also the users behaviour and well-being during the design stage

The Reuse of Cultural Heritage: A Sustainable Strategy Between Tradition and Innovation

The paper addresses the theme of the intervention on the existing Cultural Heritage, focusing in particular on the reuse project, intended as a possible design action aimed at the enhancement, functionalization and conservation of existing buildings. The result presented here starts and develops from some ongoing research from several years within the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAr) of the University of Pavia and the Universitat Politècnica de València. In particular, through reuse actions is possible to respond simultaneously both to the changing regulatory and performance needs and to the requirements for the conservation and enhancement of the monument in a perspective aimed at the sustainability of the proposed design solution. This action, intrinsically characterized by a great complexity, as it must necessarily consider different spheres of knowledge and different technical and scientific skills, will be addressed, more specifically, from the point of view of reading the technological and construction solutions applied for the reuse project, therefore intended as an instrument of control and balance between the needs of conservation and memory and of transformation and innovation of the building