Il quartiere Zen-San Filippo Neri. L'identità degli spazi aperti

Il confronto fra il progetto di F. Amoroso, S. Bisogni, V. Gregotti, H. Matsui e F. Purini per lo Zen 2 a Palermo e lo stato di fatto attuale dei luoghi mette in luce alcune dissonanze che riguardano soprattutto la natura degli spazi aperti dentro e intorno al quartiere. Questo, come un tassello compatto, doveva leggersi per differenza in una piana prevalentemente coltivata, punteggiata da nuclei storici. Invece, l’intorno risulta quasi del tutto urbanizzato e il quartiere meno denso rispetto alle previsioni. Infatti, lo sprawl ha saturato il verde storico delle ville sette-ottocentesche e i campi fra le borgate, lambendo il perimetro esterno dello Zen 2. Il mancato completamento del quartiere ha inoltre determinato la presenza, al suo interno, di ampie aree prevalentemente non costruite e caratterizzate da elementi minuti di edilizia storica. Una sovradimensionata circonvallazione isola il nucleo di edilizia residenziale pubblica dal proprio contesto, caratterizzato spesso da un valore fondiario particolarmente alto e in cui sorgono sempre più numerosi servizi per lo sport e le attività ricreative. Fra Zen 2, ipermercati, ville unifamiliari e borgate si insinua lo spazio aperto, prevalente rispetto al costruito, fortemente anisotropo e spesso impenetrabile. La descrizione fisica delle aree libere, delle preesistenze storiche, delle previsioni del gruppo Amoroso e delle esigenze attuali della città mette in tensione il Piano Regolatore Generale in vigore, di cui pure si tiene conto, e permette di riconoscere l’identità dei luoghi

Virtuous hybridization in agro-urban spaces

Sprawl, urban decentralization, marginality of outskirts, presence of high-speed Infrastructures and ecological networks are some of the most pressing issues moved from the contemporary urban context. In many cases, sprawl saturating areas of agricultural land. Therefore, it is pertinent to ask which are potentiality areas like the Plain of Castellammare Gulf (Sicily) still characterized by the prevalence of agricultural land on built ground? This context suggests seek responses to urban issues starting from cultural, virtual and material resources of the farmland, thereby starting the contamination processes between the traditional categories of "rural" and "urban". However both these entities need to be transformed to continue to be viable. They can simultaneously express both the local and global level: depending on the project idea. Therefore, it seems clear, to achieve a virtuous hybridization between the two terms, the intervention on agro-urban space must be carried out "case by case", as any action in an already defined context: which is typical architecture practice. Taking advantage of observation, interpretation, suggestion and simultaneously, of measurement, metric survey and drawing along the pathway towards its outcomes

Torre in C2. Osservazioni su un laboratorio di progettazione architettonica

A partire dall'osservazione di un'esperienza didattica in un laboratorio di progettazione architettonica, si riflette su un metodo di insegnamento che pone l'architettura fra la realtà urbana e la storia, in una prospettiva di acquisizione di strumenti necessari all'elaborazione progettuale. I cicli dei laboratori "Torre in C2" chiudono l'attività didattica pluriennale di Giuliana Tripodo. Si cerca di rintracciare le matrici formative di questa esperienza in un dialogo che travalica i recinti disciplinari

Zen

The ZEN (North Area Expansion) district, today renamed San Filippo Neri district, is located in the middle of the northernmost part of Piana dei Colli, surrounded by Mount Pellegrino, Mount Gallo, and Mount Billiemi, as a supposed prolongation of via della Libertà and near the Gulf of Mondello. The Piana dei Colli is dotted by the eighteenth-nineteenth century vil- las and the Pallavicino, Cardillo, Tommaso Natale, and Partanna Mondello villages. Together with these settlements there are smaller aggregations of houses developing along some historical routes. In the second half of XX century ZEN, villages, and historic villas became in different ways the “pre-existences” of the north side of Piana dei Colli, privileged witnesses of the double growth coming from south and north: from the compact city and from Mondello and Sferracavallo. This process produced around ZEN a juxtaposition of different ways of inhabiting, many of which are the opposite of the council-house building, as the large number of detached houses spread all around the district. A further critical condition caused by the layout of the road network is added to this complex situation. The highway, the beltway, the provincial road, via Lanza di Scalea— which is completed with the ring road built around ZEN at the end of the XX century—made the connections from and to Punta Raisi airport more flowing and turned properties which not long ago were in- accessible and of modest land value into desirable and expensive buildable lands. However, at the same time, these infrastructures have affected the agricultural structure and have cut the natural links connecting the villages among them and with the fields. The infra- structures, together with the enclosures produced by the sprawl, have shattered the area in a sequence of hermetic rectangles spread homogeneously in a north-south direction. The most evident fracture is around ZEN, because the ring road builds a sort of medieval wall all around the district, making it victim of an a priori isolation. These preliminary remarks point out that the relations between road-area and road-building are fundamental to study the district and to understand an area divided in- to watertight compartments. Therefore the planning will be focused on the edges and some of the unresolved areas inside the district itself

Future memorie. L’ex ospedale psichiatrico di Palermo

The memory of the former asylum in Palermo has a future. The reuse of the complex can reveal to the urban community the everyday life of who was called "mad" but also of the monuments, underground paradises, other historical traces, and a new permeability of the urban paths. The project for the Vignicella Palace, elaborated, among others, in a PRIN research (Program of Research of National Interest) is, rather than a solution, an exploration of the potential of the complex and a contribution to the knowledge of its architectural principles.La memoria dell’ex manicomio di Palermo ha un futuro. Il riuso del complesso può svelare alla comunità urbana vicende quotidiane di chi fu chiamato “pazzo”, monumenti, paradisi ipogei, altre tracce storiche e una nuova permeabilità dei percorsi cittadini. Il progetto per il Palazzo della Vignicella, elaborato, fra altri, in una ricerca PRIN, più che una risposta è un’esplorazione delle potenzialità dell’opera e un contributo alla conoscenza dei principi architettonici a questa sottesi

Re-Inhabiting Inner Areas Triggering New Regeneration Trajectories: The Case Study of Sicani in Sicily

The Italian debate on the so-called ‘inner areas’ has received a much-needed boost, following the COVID-19 pandemic, which has further highlighted the differences between metropolitan and inner areas. While the progressive depopulation of inner areas is a worrying phenomenon, the limits of incessant urbanisation and the concentration of settlement and infrastructure policies in large conurbations have become evident. Departing from the framework of the B4R-Branding4Resilience research project of national interest and, by continuing in the furrow initiated by the SNAI, but also surpassing it, the aim of the University of Palermo’s research is to define the requirement for a more inclusive settlement model in the Sicani area in Sicily (Italy) to re-balance existing asymmetries by recharging peripheral areas with new centrality. The aims of the research are to demonstrate that inner areas could be an engine for innovation, thereby outlining a roadmap through which to encourage the resilience of new sustainable lifestyles. These aims would be achieved by working on new perspectives and projects, which are capable of radically modifying production, consumption, and tourism dynamics and work/life models, and which are gleaned from a study regarding the Sicani area in Sicily. The paper discusses case study quantitative and qualitative analyses and first results

Quadriceps muscle compensatory activations are delayed following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using hamstring tendon graft

Objective: To investigate compensatory and anticipatory quadriceps muscle activations before and after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) using hamstrings tendon graft. Design:Twelve participants who underwent ACLR and 12 healthy controls were exposed to 10 either unpredictable or predictable perturbations of the knee joint before ACLR (T1), 2 months (T2) and 6 months (T3) after surgery. Latencies of compensatory and anticipatory postural activations in the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF) and vastus medialis (VM) muscles were recorded by surface electromyography with respect to the arrival of the perturbations. Results:Latency of compensatory activations was significantly delayed in ACLR compared to that in healthy participants at T1 for VL (105 ± 25 vs. 57 ± 9 ms; P<0.001), RF (102 ± 23 vs. 56 ± 9 ms; P<0.001) and VM (107 ± 24 vs. 66 ± 16 ms;P<0.001), at T2 for VL (68 ± 14 vs. 55 ± 10 ms;29 P<0.01) and at T3 for VL (105 ± 22 vs. 58 ± 7 ms;P<0.001), RF (102 ± 22 vs. 58 ± 12 ms; P<0.001) and VM (106 ± 20 vs. 63 ± 8 ms;P<0.001). Anticipatory activations occurred earlier in ACLR than in healthy participants at T1 for VL (-82 ± 64 vs. -14 ± 11 ms; P<0.05) and VM (-105 ± 32 68 vs. -9 ± 12 ms;P<0.05). Conclusion:While anticipatory quadriceps activations show no alterations, compensatory muscle activations are delayed following ACLR with hamstring graft. Post-surgical rehabilitation should address alterations in compensatory lower limb postural control

Asymmetrical lower extremity loading early after ACL reconstruction is a significant predictor of asymmetrical loading at the time of return to sport

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine whether asymmetrical lower limb loading early after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (1 mo) can predict asymmetrical lower limb loading at the time of return to sport (6 mos) and whether other early predictors as knee joint range of motion or maximal isometric strength affect this relationship. DESIGN: Ground reaction forces were measured during a sit-to-stand task 1 mo after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and a vertical countermovement jump 6 mos after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in 58 athletes. Other early postoperative measurements were knee joint range of motion (2 wks, 1 mo, and 2 mos after surgery) and maximal isometric strength of the knee extensor and flexor muscles (2 mos after surgery). Linear regression models were developed using side-to-side limb symmetry index (LSI) of countermovement jump as the dependent variable. RESULTS: LSI of sit-to-stand task 1 mo after surgery was a significant independent predictor of LSI of countermovement jump 6 mos after surgery. After accounting for deficits in knee joint range of motion and LSI of maximal isometric strength (ΔR² = 0.35, P < 0.01), LSI of sit-to-stand task predicted LSI of countermovement jump (ΔR² = 0.14 P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Asymmetrical lower extremity loading 1 mo after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is an early predictor of asymmetrical lower extremity loading 6 mos after surgery

Modulation of spinal excitability following neuromuscular electrical stimulation superimposed to voluntary contraction

Purpose. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) superimposed on voluntary muscle contraction has been recently shown as an innovative training modality within sport and rehabilitation, but its effects on the neuromuscular system are still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate acute responses in spinal excitability, as measured by the Hoffmann (H) reflex, and in maximal voluntary contraction (MVIC) following NMES superimposed to voluntary isometric contractions (NMES+ISO) compared to passive NMES only and to voluntary isometric contractions only (ISO). Method. Fifteen young adults were required to maintain an ankle plantar-flexor torque of 20% MVC for 20 repetitions during each experimental condition (NMES+ISO, NMES and ISO). Surface electromyography was used to record peak-to-peak Hreflex and motor waves following percutaneous stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve in the dominant limb. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to assess maximal voluntary contraction output of the ankle plantar flexor muscles. Results. H-reflex amplitude was increased by 4.5% after the NMES+ISO condition (p < 0.05), while passive NMES and ISO conditions showed a decrease by 7.8% (p < 0.05) and no change in reflex responses, respectively. There was no change in amplitude of maximal motor wave and in MVIC torque during each experimental condition. Conclusion. The reported facilitation of spinal excitability following NMES+ISO could be due to a combination of greater motor neuronal and corticospinal excitability, thus suggesting that NMES superimposed onto isometric voluntary contractions may provide a more effective neuromuscular stimulus and, hence, training modality compared to NMES alone