Patterns of Sustainable Innovation in the Building Industry. Towards a Strategic Management Perspective on Environmental, Social, and Economic Values.

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Integrated approach to sustainable building design programming

This paper aims at analysing the relationship between aesthetic and technological aspects in the design process. ‘Sustainability’ is often a label associated mainly to technological systems aimed at achieving energy efficiency, without considering architectural quality of spaces or environmental and sustainable performances as a holistic approach. Since buildings are working as systems and not as simple sums of elements, this paper proposes an integrated building design methodology, which embeds and merges technological, environmental and esthetical aspects. To this end, the paper presents the design teaching and research experience carried out with the students of final atelier of the Master of Sustainability, at the Polytechnic of Turin in 2014. In this atelier students were asked to design a building for the Architecture Faculty for The University of Melbourne. During this final atelier, a number of tools were applied throughout the overall design development to helps students in developing projects able to integrate aesthetic, environmental and technological aspects. For instance, one of these tools was the site microclimate matrix, which is a valid instrument for precisely defining master plans organizations, or placing volumetric solutions on sites, following a decision making process based on site-specific functional, technological and environmental aspects. This tool, as well as others that were adopted in the atelier, demonstrated to provide students the ability of developing projects characterised by efficient technical solution and high creative architectural designs

INTEGRATED APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN PROGRAMMING

This paper aims at analysing the relationship between aesthetic and technological aspects in the design process. ‘Sustainability’ is often a label associated mainly to technological systems aimed at achieving energy efficiency, without considering architectural quality of spaces or environmental and sustainable performances as a holistic approach. Since buildings are working as systems and not as simple sums of elements, this paper proposes an integrated building design methodology, which embeds and merges technological, environmental and esthetical aspects. To this end, the paper presents the design teaching and research experience carried out with the students of final atelier of the Master of Sustainability, at the Polytechnic of Turin in 2014. In this atelier students were asked to design a building for the Architecture Faculty for The University of Melbourne. During this final atelier, a number of tools were applied throughout the overall design development to helps students in developing projects able to integrate aesthetic, environmental and technological aspects. For instance, one of these tools was the site microclimate matrix, which is a valid instrument for precisely defining master plans organizations, or placing volumetric solutions on sites, following a decision making process based on site-specific functional, technological and environmental aspects. This tool, as well as others that were adopted in the atelier, demonstrated to provide students the ability of developing projects characterised by efficient technical solution and high creative architectural designs

Integrated approach to sustainable building design programming

This paper aims at analysing the relationship between aesthetic and technological aspects in the design process. ‘Sustainability’ is often a label associated mainly to technological systems aimed at achieving energy efficiency, without considering architectural quality of spaces or environmental and sustainable performances as a holistic approach. Since buildings are working as systems and not as simple sums of elements, this paper proposes an integrated building design methodology, which embeds and merges technological, environmental and esthetical aspects. To this end, the paper presents the design teaching and research experience carried out with the students of final atelier of the Master of Sustainability, at the Polytechnic of Turin in 2014. In this atelier students were asked to design a building for the Architecture Faculty for The University of Melbourne. During this final atelier, a number of tools were applied throughout the overall design development to helps students in developing projects able to integrate aesthetic, environmental and technological aspects. For instance, one of these tools was the site microclimate matrix, which is a valid instrument for precisely defining master plans organizations, or placing volumetric solutions on sites, following a decision making process based on site-specific functional, technological and environmental aspects. This tool, as well as others that were adopted in the atelier, demonstrated to provide students the ability of developing projects characterised by efficient technical solution and high creative architectural designs

Natural ventilation as sustainable response to Covid-19: Designing an airborne disease treatment centre in Burkina Faso

Climate, pandemic and energy have often shaped and characterised the transformations of our built environment. Today, under the current pandemic conditions, we are witnessing the ability (or not) of the built environment in responding to such emergency through changes and adaptation. Among many approaches to such changes and emergencies, we are presenting the idea of relying on passive design as a medium to manage and prevent pandemic events. In particular, this paper will focus on the tight relation between natural ventilation and architectural design as a sustainable response to Covid-19. To do so, the work focus on the design of a Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) Treatment Centre in Dori, Burkina Faso, in collaboration with an International humanitarian Institution. This experience shows the ability of passive design and natural ventilation to deliver a sustainable and resilient health facility able to engage the local community and optimise resources in a context of scarcity. The importance of this work is to inform design guidelines for further health facilities in the same climatic area, as well as to set the example of passive design support the prevention of the spread of air borne diseases

Designing Health Structure in Emergency Contexts. Natural Ventilation as Response to COVID-19 Pandemic.

The importance of ventilation as response to pandemic emergency is a concept that trace its roots back in the history of human pandemic and it remains valid up to the current covid-19 emergency. Yet, extreme climates, scarcity of resources, and poverty might impinge heavily on the ability of designing a built environment fit for the purpose of guarantee environmental conditions appropriate to respond to pandemic. Often, in contexts of scarcity and hot climates, safety parameters of ventilation in buildings are achieved as ersatz, rather than by design, due to the difficulties of managing economic resources, thermal characteristic, and ventilation requirements. Keep buildings cool and well ventilated seems to be still a challenge. This work presents a study carried out to design health structures - both permanent and temporary - in response to covid-19, in the Global South. Specifically, the study focused on: 1) the design of a Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) Treatment Center (hospital for airborne diseases) in the city of Dori in Burkina Faso, and 2) the design and test of High Performance Tents. Natural ventilation is studied by mean of transient dynamic simulations, using Energy+ software, and the probability of contagion are evaluated applying the Gammaitoni-Nucci model, based on the original Wells and Riley approach. The yearly dynamic simulations are supported by specific 3D airflows analysis by mean of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamic), with the intent to underline the effects of different internal partitions configuration. CFD is also used to evaluate pressure coefficient at the openings. Through this ventilation study and morphological design proposal, this work provides compositional, technological and environmental solutions to overcome limits due to the need of coexistence of ventilation and thermal control, and socio-economic limitations. The significance of this work is the ability to show the importance of the balance between passive ventilation, architectural design and behavioral organization by design. Such approach can play a critical factor to achieve healthy and resilient environment, and offer a feasible solution to the need for health buildings in hot climates and poor contexts

Preliminary study of the hybrid solar DEC "nAC wall" system integration in building façades in urban context

A new concept of hybrid/natural air conditioning system, “NAC (Natural Air Conditioning) wall”, with a high level of architectural integration is presented. NAC wall concept is that of a solar DEC (Desiccant Evaporative Cooling) open cycle with very low pressure drops, thus drastically reducing, or even avoiding, the electricity consumption for driving fans. The supply air is dehumidified by an adsorption bed and is cooled indirectly by an evaporative cooler, through a low pressure drop heat exchanger. Adsorption bed is a finned coil heat exchanger coated with a SAPO-34 zeolite layer realizing both heat and mass transfer in a unique component. The assembling of NAC wall components is analysed in order to optimize architectural integration and performances. Experimental data carried out in different operation mode offered promising optimization suggestions to increase the specific cooling power for a better building integration. The integration at a building level would represent an architectural innovation, and the NAC wall production would not impact the supply chain with disruptive changes

Smart Solutions for Sustainable Cities—The Re-Coding Experience for Harnessing the Potential of Urban Rooftops

Urban rooftops are a potential source of water, energy, and food that contribute to make cities more resilient and sustainable. The use of smart technologies such as solar panels or cool roofs helps to reach energy and climate targets. This work presents a flexible methodology based on the use of geographical information systems that allow evaluating the potential use of roofs in a densely built-up context, estimating the roof areas that can be renovated or used to produce renewable energy. The methodology was applied to the case study of the city of Turin in Italy, a 3D roof model was designed, some scenarios were investigated, and priorities of interventions were established, taking into account the conditions of the urban landscape. The applicability of smart solutions was conducted as a support to the review of the Building Annex Energy Code of Turin, within the project ‘Re-Coding’, which aimed to update the current building code of the city. In addition, environmental, economic, and social impacts were assessed to identify the more effective energy efficiency measures. In the Turin context, using an insulated green roof, there was energy saving in consumption for heating up to 88 kWh/m2/year and for cooling of 10 kWh/m2/year, with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 193 tCO2eq/MWh/year and 14 tCO2eq/MWh/year, respectively. This approach could be a significant support in the identification and promotion of energy efficiency solutions to exploit also renewable energy resources with low greenhouse gas emissions

Re-coding. Ripensare le regole della città

La complessità del sistema normativo italiano è un ostacolo con cui ci confrontiamo quotidianamente. Rallenta il lavoro delle amministrazioni, rende difficile la comprensione degli effetti delle regole, rende oneroso il contesto di lavoro di cittadini e imprese. L’esigenza di individuare soluzioni per razionalizzare e riordinare questo sistema non è una novità. Semplificazione e snellimento della burocrazia sono state parole chiave nel panorama politico internazionale fin dal secondo dopoguerra. Nonostante le molte strade intraprese in questa direzione - e anche a causa della crescita di complessità della società in cui viviamo porta che con sé una continua accumulazione di norme e leggi - ancora oggi il problema non può considerarsi risolto. 1 Una soluzione efficace Il Future Urban Legacy Lab (FULL) è un centro di ricerca del Politecnico di Torino che esplora, immagina e progetta il futuro delle città, interpretando le sfide poste dalla contemporaneità. Per affrontare con maggiore competenza queste questioni ha creato il progetto Re-coding: una squadra di ricerca che si occupa di semplificare le norme legate allo spazio urbano. L’intento è quello di supportare i decisori politici e gli amministratori nel lavoro di ottimizzazione del complesso sistema di regole. 2 Un metodo alternativo FULL propone di affiancare all’approccio più ricorrente di semplificazione delle procedure - che elimina passaggi, trasferisce responsabilità tra gli attori in gioco - un approccio più radicale di semplificazione dei contenuti delle regole. Le regole esistenti vengono sistematizzate e messe in ordine; si individuano e riducono le sovrapposizioni, le ridondanze, le contraddizioni; si identificano quindi le opportunità di innovazione, arrivando a riorganizzare i contenuti all’interno dei regolamenti o anche a riscrivere parti di regole ormai obsolete. 3 Un’opportunità da cogliere Rendere le norme più leggibili e trasparenti, significa liberare il potenziale di trasformazione di città e territori. Una città “semplice” è una città in cui: • il cittadino può comprendere facilmente come trasformare un suo immobile, e si sente attivo e più coinvolto nel sistema; • l’amministrazione comunale (ma anche provinciale e regionale) può dedicare meno tempo nella risoluzione di contenziosi, e più tempo ad agevolare le procedure in corso; • le imprese sono invogliate a investire in un contesto con regole chiare che permette una valutazione efficace dei rischi; • i professionisti possono offrire costi di progettazione più competitivi grazie a una più semplice verifica di conformità alle norme. 4 Un modello esportabile Il Re-coding sperimenta questo approccio dal 2018 lavorando al fianco della Città di Torino. Il gruppo, grazie alla sua natura interdisciplinare, ha le competenze per operare in ambiti normativi diversi, tra cui edilizia, energetica, urbanistica e ambiente. Attraverso questo metodo che pone la semplificazione al centro FULL sta (ri)definendo un modello esportabile e replicabile