Utopia e distopia nel progetto digitale

Sono passati più di venti anni dalla pubblicazione di Being Digital, il celebre libro di Nicholas Negroponte, all’interno del quale il fondatore del MIT Media Lab affermava che “il passaggio dagli atomi ai bit è irreversibile e inarrestabile”. Tale preannunciata rivoluzione, sembra oggi giunta a una fase più matura coinvolgendo sia la sfera pubblica che quella privata, le professioni, la politica e l’economia. Il digitale, facilitando e razionalizzando di giorno in giorno processi precedentemente analogici, è diventato ubiquo. Se da un lato gli aspetti positivi di queste trasformazioni sono evidenti, altrettanto palesi appaiono le aporie: dalla dipendenza tecnologica al rapporto con i social media, fino alla diffusione di una superficiale cultura dell’immagine che mette a rischio gli aspetti più complessi della disciplina architettonica. Il digitale maturo è caratterizzato inoltre dal fenomeno dei Big Data e dalla conseguente diffusione dei metodi di Machine Learning, che mettono ulteriormente in discussione i fondamenti ermeneutici del metodo scientifico, indicando l’inizio di una nuova era in cui non sarebbe più necessario costruire regole e formule per descrivere e comprendere i fenomeni naturali, ma sarebbe sufficiente trovare delle “correlazioni” computazionali (The end of theory, Anderson 2008). In questo numero abbiamo l’opportunità di tornare su un tema sicuramente dibattuto, ma sempre attuale per il frastagliato mondo dell’architettura, che come altri settori ha subito e adottato il digitale e i suoi metodi.It is been over twenty years since the well-known book by Nicholas Negroponte Being Digital has been published. In this book the founder of the MIT Media Lab stated that “change from atoms to bits is irrevocable and unstoppable”. It seems today that this announced revolution is in an advanced stage, investing the public and the private sphere, the professions, the politics, the economics. The digital, by simplifying and rationalizing analogic processes, is today a ubiquitous phenomenon. On one hand positive aspects may appear evident, on the other aporias are undeniable. Technological dependency, pathological relations with social medias, the diffusion of a superficial culture of the image that compromises the most complex aspects of architectural practice are just few of the problems that the digital may provoke. The contemporary phase of the digital is also characterized by the Big Data phenomenon and by the resulting Machine Learning methods. They challenge the hermeneutics principles of the scientific methods showing the beginning of a new era in which it will be possible just to find computational “correlations” (The end of theory - Anderson 2008) instead of rules and formulas. In this issue of IN FOLIO entitled “Utopia and dystopia in the digital project”, we have the opportunity to go back to a topic that has been long discussed. Nevertheless, it remains an actual theme for architecture. Digital techniques affected the way a project is produced, displayed, measured and communicated. Just as in our life, in our cities and in our offices, data become more and more important. Just think about how the BIM and its growing diffusion enrich architectural projects with digital information. Therefore, we invite you to send us original articles on the impact of the digital on architectural and urban design, on construction, on urban studies the history of art and architecture

Città-porto a prova di futuro. Linee guida per l’integrazione di soluzioni basate sulla natura per l’adattamento climatico e la tutela della biodiversità nei contesti urbano-portuali

Quale è il ruolo della pianificazione nel rispondere alle sfide della crisi climatica e della perdita di biodiversità nei contesti urbano-portuali? Il lavoro di ricerca costituisce un avanzamento del dibattito sulla riqualificazione delle aree portuali, contesti storicamente avulsi dalla considerazione di tematiche legate alla preservazione e valorizzazione degli habitat naturali e degli ecosistemi. La tesi desidera mettere al centro della discussione le città porto mediterranee come ecosistemi e come insediamenti urbani multi-specie, come attrici del cambiamento responsabile di fronte alle crisi e non soltanto nodi infrastrutturali strategici per l’economia, la finanza e gli usi militari. La ricerca propone la costruzione di un quadro teorico-tecnico sulla riqualificazione dei porti centrato sulla pianificazione urbanistica e sulle sue risposte nell’affrontare sia i cambiamenti climatici che la perdita di biodiversità e, al contempo, traccia una proposta di linee guida per l’integrazione interscalare e multilivello di soluzioni basate sulla natura in contesti urbano-portuali.What is the role of planning in responding to the challenges of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss in urban-port contexts? The research work represents an advancement of the debate on the redevelopment of port areas, contexts that have historically excluded preserving or enhancing natural habitats and ecosystems. The thesis wishes to focus the discussion on Mediterranean port cities as ecosystems and multi-species urban settlements, as agents of responsible change in the face of crises and not merely strategic infrastructural nodes for the economy, finance and military uses. The research proposes the construction of a theoretical-technical framework on port redevelopment centred on urban planning and its responses in addressing both climate change and biodiversity loss; at the same time, the thesis draws a proposal for guidelines for the inter-scalar and multi-level integration of nature-based solutions in urban-port contexts

Entre Trapani et Tunis. De la période du Risorgimento à la fin du Protectorat français: parcours de travailleurs et d’entrepreneurs au-delà du Canal de Sicile

Sin dai tempi più antichi, il Canale di Sicilia e la città di Trapani hanno costituito un ponte naturale fra il Maghreb e la Sicilia. Il saggio mette a sistema alcuni studi sugli architetti ed imprenditori di origine trapanese che emigrarono in Tunisia fra il XVIII e XIX secolo e ne propone una lettura inedita. Il fil rouge che lega Giuseppe Abita, la famiglia di imprenditori Canino e Domenico Basciano riguarda sia la loro provenienza dalla città siciliana, ma soprattutto l'importante contributo che essi hanno trasferito nell'architettura del periodo coloniale e post-coloniale francese nel Maghreb

Palermo resiliente : complessità e contraddizioni di una città mediterranea di fronte alle sfide in atto

Palermo, città portuale dalla storia millenaria, si inserisce nel quadro delle previsioni che vedono il bacino del Mediterraneo sottoposto alle molteplici pressioni dovute all’innalzamento del livello medio marino, ai fenomeni climatici sempre più violenti e a regimi di precipitazioni sempre più irregolari ed ondate di calore, amplificate dall’effetto di isola di calore urbano. Il contributo costituisce una narrazione degli elementi di resilienza urbana, siano essi naturali, di paesaggio, di biodiversità e sociali. Il capitolo indica altresì in che direzione il capoluogo siciliano sta agendo per mitigare e adattarsi alle sfide in atto ed è corredato da materiale grafico, fotografie e mappature.Palermo, a port city with a millennial history, is among the cities that, being part of the Mediterranean basin, are and will be subjected to multiple pressures due to rising mean sea levels, increasingly violent climatic phenomena and increasingly erratic rainfall regimes, and heatwaves, amplified by the urban heat island effect. The contribution narrates the elements of urban resilience, whether natural, of the landscape, of biodiversity, or social. This chapter indicates the direction in which the Sicilian capital is taking action to mitigate and adapt to the challenges and is accompanied by graphic material, photographs, and maps

I progetti di Francesco Fichera e dei fratelli Rapisardi per il Sacrario ai Caduti di Siracusa

Costruito tra il 1928 e il 1937, il Sacrario dei Caduti di Siracusa rappresenta un raro esempio di architettura votiva e religiosa aI tempo stesso. L'edificio, che oggi prende il nome di Chiesa di San Tommaso al Pantheon, è dedicato al culto della memoria ed alla devozione per i Caduti della Grande Guerra. Il saggio ripercorre la storia del monumento, dalla sua concezione alla sua realizzazione, inserendolo nel più ampio contesto storico, artistico ed architettonico d'epoca e confronta i progetti dell'architetto Francesco Fichera (Catania,1881-1950) con quelli dei fratelli Gaetano ed Ernesto Rapisardi, mostrando anche alcuni materiali inediti

TOWARDS A LIVING-ORIENTED APPROACH TO URBAN DESIGN BY COSMOPOLITAN RISK COMMUNITIES

At a defining moment for the future of life on Earth, active citizenship and informed communities play a decisive role in sensitising stakeholders to issues and influencing their decisions via physical and digital platforms. Anthropogenic climate change generates risks, causes migrations, expands inequalities, and mobilises people: these challenges question both the relationship of coexistence between different cultures and that between humans and other living species, such as animals, insects, and plants. If inhabiting cosmopolitan cities means living in and sharing a plural habitat, it is of utmost importance that we gather our collective expertise and rethink cities as welcoming spaces for life and species interaction in order to enhance cosmopolitan diversity. This contribution will focus on European project proposals and ongoing activities and draft a possible path to developing an empathetic, inclusive approach to urban life and living beings by building resilience through urban design

Towards the urbanisation of the Med sea: MSP challenges and opportunities for floating cities between utopia and reality

Anthropogenic climate change effects push us to reimagine human life on the planet confronting extreme living conditions. Droughts, risk of submersion and flooding, saline intrusion, and land scarcity lead to more inhospitable life conditions on land. These demanding risks have led governments to envisage the displacement from the coasts of some cities at significant risk or to think of new settlements for human life, such as floating cities. Floating offshore settlements, reminiscent of the XXth-century architectural utopias, are gaining more and more popularity in contemporary debate and are, in fact, emerging realities in other parts of the globe due to advanced technology. Floating settlements imply more impactful urbanization of the maritime space, in which human presence is already pervasive. If, on the one hand, contemporary advanced technology allows humans to prosper in extreme conditions, this does not seem to lead to more just and sustainable conditions and could provoke the marginalization of fragile communities; on the other hand, the idea of living on the water carries both fascination and worries for its implications on social, political, geopolitical and environmental ecosystems. Since this kind of settlement represents an emerging and—in a way, experimental—situation, floating cities are not (yet) taken into account by the Maritime Spatial Planning discipline. The contribution aims to underline the fundamental role of Maritime Spatial Planning in order for the Mediterranean region to look pro-actively at emerging sustainable floating urban settlements. This work could offer opportunities to reflect on the role of Maritime Spatial Planning and focus on some issues of future human life on the planet that could be further explored in future research

Palermo Open Frontier. Progettare l'interfaccia liquida porto-città

Palermo Open frontier, ossia Palermo come "frontiera" aperta, indaga e propone una risposta progettuale alla problematica relazione di interfaccia tra la città di Palermo ed il suo porto. Il lavoro prende avvio dalla consapevolezza del controverso attuale legame tra la città di Palermo e l'acqua, nonché della complessità ed eterogeneità del tessuto urbano. L'area fulcro del progetto è l'interfaccia Molo Trapezoidale-Piazza Tredici Vittime, nodo fra il progetto di ampliamento del porto crocieristico/spugnoso e la città consolidata, ripensando lo spazio pubblico compreso fra la Cala ed il Castello a Mare, la via F. Crispi e la via Emerico Amari

7th Winter School on “Research Methodology in social sciences, urban studies and spatial planning”. Università degli Studi di Firenze, gennaio 2020

Winter Schools are intensive in-depths programs, platforms of knowledge, cultural exchange and network opportunities. The 7th Winter School on Research Methodology in social sciences, urban studies, and spatial planning offered Ph.D students and young academics the opportunity to have a deep insight into research methods, career, and academic job market. The event was organized by the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence (DiDA) and hosted in Complesso Le Murate from 29th to 31st January 2020. The Winter School, such as its previous editions, has a specific focus on pre-methodological and methodological questions. During the three-day scheduled program, each participant had the opportunity to choose the learning and training path, with specific thematic workshops and lectures. Furthermore, individual meetings with international faculty members and journals’ editors on research projects and papers were offered to participants. Such occasions represents milestones for those who are approaching a research career path and a great learning opportunity for young academics

Latina e Valdelacalzada: sviluppi recenti e trasformazioni necessarie per un rinnovato rapporto tra paesaggio urbano e rurale

This article gathers some reflections and suggestions that have been carried out throughout the workshop “Arquitectura construida y espacio habitado en los poblados de colonizatión de Italia y España” held in Palermo between the 21st and 22nd January 2020. The case studies that are here analysed and compared are Latina (ancient Littoria), in the Lazio region, Italy, and Valdelacalzada, in the Extremadura region, Spain. The two cities have in common the fundamental cross-shape relationship that characterises their primary urban foundation. Furthermore, both have been conceived and built under totalitarian regimes: Franco’s in Spain and Mussolini’s in Italy. Also, the reasons for their foundation had been in some degree similar: the Plan Badajoz in the Extremadura region and the marshland remediation of the Agro Pontino had in common the creation of rural centres for agricultural and economic development, with an increase in population and somehow better life conditions. The case studies comparison highlighted some major differences between the two settlements. First of all, the dimensions and the scale for which the two cities had been conceived: Latina (Littoria) had an extension of 276,55 squared kilometres and a population of more than 20 thousand inhabitants in 1932, whilst Valdelacalzada was about ten times smaller. There is also a fundamental difference regarding the epoch in which Latina and Valdelacalzada were designed and built: the first was inaugurated in 1932, while the latter was conceived in the late 1940s and built over the years 1948–1950. The analysis and diagnosis of these two cities led to unveil contradictions in their evolution and in the dynamics of urban development as well as in their relationship with the landscapes around them. The description of the two case studies are presented in chronological order: the Italian city Latina (Littoria) first, built in the 1930s, then the Spanish urban centre of Valdelacalzada, built in the late 1940s. Each text follows the same structure: a brief introduction with a short description of the territorial framework in which the city is located; a historical background presenting the peculiar reasons and aims of the project; a description of the urban settlement, its features, and the choices taken by the designers (analysis); notes about the development and evolution of the urban form and its public spaces (diagnosis); a project-proposal to rebuild a harmonious relationship between urban and agricultural landscape