The Modern Movement heritage: proto-bioclimatic solutions and building elements

Before the publication of the book Design with climate: a bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism (1963), which established its author, V. Olgyay, as an international figure in the bioclimatic design, several works of the Modern Movement (hereafter MoMo) had already revealed a variety of passive thermal solutions/elements. Le Corbusier’s brise-soleil has spread throughout the world the concern of merging arté and teknê in the design of shading elements increasingly adaptable to control changes in light radiation since the 1920s. Natural ventilation building solutions are integral parts of the iconic architectures designed by F.L. Wright, masterfully revealing some paradigms of climatic sustainability into the material heritage of the MoMo. Forward-thinking Italian architects have started testing an impressive combination of new thermo-insulation autarkic materials (e.g., Eraclit, Populit, Faesite) design performative climate-responsive building envelopes suitable for colonial buildings. By considering the ‘anatomy’ of the building, our study focuses on identifying, analyzing, and categorizing proto-bioclimatic building solutions conceived by the architects of the MoMo to achieve both the clime adaptability of building elements and adaptation of the International Style to diverse climatic conditions. Our critical survey goes beyond a single discipline as it results from an integrated process of interpretation of the history of architecture, building design, and construction history. This process has assumed a reductionist paradigm to highlight those systems seeking to reduce the building's negative impact through its passive thermal efficiency. Looking under the lens of thermal sustainability the building solutions of the MoMo legacy, our study aims to foster further progress in improving the resilience to climate change in design practices devoted to both: the conservation of the MoMo architecture and renovation the 20th-century building stock

Human settlements and sustainability: a crucial and open issue

The human habitation of the surface of the planet has led, especially since the mid-twentieth century, to an enormous increase in the built up area. This phenomenon concerns both the oldest industrialised countries, such as European Union and the United States, and the so-called emerging countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The urbanised built area has increased in different ways, but has led everywhere to the destruction of large portions of virgin soil, the loss of biodiversity in the number and type of species in fauna and flora, and often the total or partial impairment of ecosystem functions of enormous environmental value (such as the evapotransportive mechanisms of soil and vegetation). Although the curve of global population growth is slowing, the growth of urban areas continues to expand, even in countries which have long been industrialised, where the spread of building has given rise to cities dispersed over a territory so that there is no longer a recognisable clear division between the city and the countryside. In fact, contemporary cities are the main consumers of all environmental resources, from water to food, including energy and environmental stressors, and are responsible for 80% of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The ecosystem surface required to sustain a large city on the planet today can be about 200 times larger than its physical size. The urban civilisation of the 21st century, which at a superficial glance may appear as a symbol of the human capacity to radically adapt and transform the natural habitat to its own needs, is also a witness to the unsustainability of the human footprint on earth. Radically rethinking cities and human settlements entails an equally radical rethinking of our economic and development model, but it is a necessary and strategic task if we really want to face the challenge of sustainability with appropriate instruments

“LA FABRIL” RESISTENCIA’S INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE: RE-FUNCTIONAL CHANCE AND MANAGERIAL CHALLENGE

The La Fabril Financiera oil factory, founded by Juan Rossi in 1888, became a pioneer factory in the production of furfural oil. In 1919 it was acquired by the Compañía General de Fósforos and in 1920 by the Compañía General Fabril Financiera, becoming one of the most important industrial companies in the region. When “La Fabril” closed, the abandonment began: at the beginning of 2009, the official decision was made to demolish the complex to build a housing district, but a popular movement was organized to demand the preservation of the buildings, which motivated the Authorities to review their intentions and find a better solution to the need of the people of Chaco people

Proto-bioclimatica e Movimento Moderno: verso un repertorio di soluzioni ed elementi costruttivi

Prima della definizione dei principi della progettazione bioclimatica da parte di V. Olgyay (1963), alcuni maestri del Movimento Moderno (MoMo) avevano già felicemente coniugato la dimensione concettuale-formale e quella tecnica nella creazione di una varietà di soluzioni progettuali che possono essere considerate sostenibili o proto-sostenibili. Un’esplorazione delle opere del MoMo ha portato all'analisi e categorizzazione di schermature solari che inverano sia l’adattabilità climatica del singolo elemento costruttivo sia l’adattamento di uno stile internazionale a condizioni climatiche locali. La sperimentazione di soluzioni ed elementi innovativi, realizzati con materiali moderni o tradizionali, così come il ricorso a elementi della tradizione dei luoghi, fanno emergere aspetti inediti del patrimonio materiale e immateriale del MoMo che sono da rivalutare e preservare. Inoltre, da questi aspetti il progetto d’intervento sull'edilizia esistente può trarre un repertorio di soluzioni tecniche per migliorare la sostenibilità energetica del manufatto. Before the definition of the principles of bioclimatic design by V. Olgyay (1963), some among the Masters of the Modern Movement (MoMo) had already successfully combined the conceptual-formal and technical dimensions creating a variety of design solutions that can be considered sustainable or proto-sustainable. An exploration of the MoMo works has led to an analysis and categorization of the external solar shadings which epitomize both the climatic adaptability of a single building element and the adaptation of an international style to local climatic conditions. The experimentation of innovative building solutions and components, made out of modern or traditional materials, as well as the revival of elements from the local tradition, bring to light new aspects of the tangible and intangible heritage of the MoMo that have to be reasserted and preserved. Moreover, from these aspects, the project on existing buildings can find a repertoire of technical solutions, enhancing energy sustainability

Introducción al proyecto biomimético

La Biomimética es la ciencia que, a partir de competencias multi e interdisciplinarias, estudia el funcionamiento de los organismos naturales para extraer principios para aplicar en formas, procesos, sistemas y estrategias útiles para resolver problemas humanos en modo sostenible. La aplicación de principios biomiméticos en el proyecto de arquitectura puede ser un camino interesante, aún por explorar, con el objetivo de realizar edificios innovativos con bajo impacto ambiental.

Studio dell'influenza delle variabili agrometeorologiche sulla diversità genetica in Myrtus communis

Myrtus communis L. is an evergreen shrub of the Mediterranean maquis. This work reported the use of Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) markers (14 primers pair) to assess the genetic diversity within some Sardinian population and the correlation of this diversity with some environmental and climate characteristics. I defined the genetic profiles of 22 population divided in 400 wild accessions and 65 candidate cultivar. SSR analysis attested an high polymorphism level (93% of the loci analyzed). Structure analysis divided the myrtle population into two main genetic groups (K=2). The analysis of the genetic diversity distribution in the populations examined, displayed a geographical gradient from north to south, which reflects the Sardinian shape, and from west to east, which reflects the Sardinian mountain distribution. The partial Mantel test found a positive correlation between mean temperature and genetic distance, but none between minimum and maximum temperature and mean precipitation. In conclusion, the wild accessions were well differentiated than candidate cultivars. The level of genetic variability was high. The genetic data confirmed that myrtle has a mixed pollination system, including both out-pollination by insects and self-pollination. This work represents the first attempt to characterize the myrtle Sardinian germplasm from a genetic and environmental point of view

Verde tecnologico, biomimetica e Nature-based Solutions per città più accoglienti e resilienti

Da un punto di vista generale tutte le città contemporanee hanno un’impronta ecologica estremamente elevata e influenzano in vari modi, direttamente o indirettamente, le relazioni tra le componenti biologiche e biofisiche dell’ambiente. Ad esempio le superfici impermeabilizzate e dure dell’ambiente urbano impediscono la normale infiltrazione nel sottosuolo dell’acqua piovana e modificano il ciclo evaporativo dell’acqua che nei sistemi naturali riveste un ruolo importantissimo per il raffreddamento del suolo. Tutto ciò è anche causa di forte stress per le piante e gli animali che vivono in città. La dispersione urbana inoltre, spezzando i confini storici tra città e campagna, è causa primaria della perdita di biodiversità tra la popolazione animale e vegetale. L’utilizzo del verde tecnologico, se inserito in un contesto di pianificazione che consideri la città in ottica sistemica, nelle sue complesse interconnessioni tra sistema antropico e naturale, all’interno di una progettazione, dalla scala urbana a quella di dettaglio, basata su un approccio Biomimetico e di Nature Based Solutions (NbS), può concorrere validamente al ripristino degli ecosistemi degradati, alla mitigazione degli effetti dei cambiamenti climatici e concorrere al sequestro della CO2. Può inoltre contribuire a migliorare il benessere delle aree urbane, a controllarne la gestione dei rischi e aumentarne la resilienza. Il contributo intende esplorare questi aspetti valendosi anche di casi esemplari

Colloqui.AT.e 2019 - Ingegno e costruzione nell’epoca della complessità atti del congresso (Torino, 25-27 settembre 2019)

Il volume raccoglie e sistematizza all'interno della disciplina dell'Architettura Tecnica i contributi al Congresso "colloqui.AT.e 2019", articolato in tre ambiti principali (Storia della costruzione e recupero edilizio, Prestazioni dell'edificio, del sistema e dei componenti, Progetto alle diverse scale e tecnologie). Si tratta di oltre un centinaio di contriibuti di studiosi afferenti alle principali scuole di ingegneria ed architettura anche internazionali che rintracciano lo stato dell'arte in materia di intervento sul nuovo e sull'esistente, a livello di territorio, di edificio e di componente