The “Mandolesi Pavilion”: an information model for a process of integrating multidisciplinary knowledge

The Mining Engineering Pavilion was designed by Enrico Mandolesi in 1962. It represents an icon heralding the transition from masonry to reinforced concrete and the use of “new” materials. Its recovery may become an important starting point for integrating all scientific levels, from the construction history, which reconstructs the history of the project and that of the building site, up to the most sophisticated energy diagnoses that include the definition of an integrated information system on the building, to be used in cutting-edge style with the BIM approach or even with experimentation in a first-step evolution towards a cognitive building

Abandoned landscape project design

AbstractConversion and transformation of historic buildings and industrial site reclamation projects are becoming topics of renewed interest. Many industrial buildings beckon architecture design theory to revitalize urban areas and make new use of public space. Ruins and historic sites speak to us about the need to rethink settings which belong to long-lost ages and yet are contemporary in the stories they reveal. There are present-day problematic and sensitive areas (abandoned quarries, ex industrial plants, landfills, etc.) which inspire renewed critical thinking; themes of memory and recollection touch us in the here and now. In contrast with the 1970s and 1980 s' tendency to treat such topics with a mix of lightheartedness and nostalgia, the projects presented in this work regard history as a process of revision and reclamation of profound spatial and social principles. Contact with historic, industrial and modern spaces pushes us to apply new methodological approaches in an effort to re-write the present. In fact, nowadays it is imperative that we engage a relationship with the past which takes into consideration not only ancient legacies but also those entrenched in 20th century crises—uncomfortable memories often embodied in areas of great landscape or historic value. How are we to approach our relationship with these legacies? Critical studies illustrate the value of those projects capable of breathing new life into the fabric of urban space by creating public areas and city parks. Memory, seemingly pushed into a playful, irreverently lighthearted vein for years, is thus allowed once again to speak to us of the human and social desire to reclaim time and provide urban and suburban areas with new opportunities for regeneration and growth

Low Input Techniques for Firebreak Covering: Agronomic Aspects

In Sardinia, wild fire prevention is traditionally passive , based on mechanical removal of vegetation and upper soil layers. This has a dramatic negative effect on plant diversity and soil erosion. This experiment concerns active prevention of wildfires, based on green covering and grazing of firebreaks. The objective was the establishment of a persistent green cover, to be grazed by animals to reduce fuel accumulation

The building information modeling for the retrofitting of existing buildings. A case study in the University of Cagliari.

Italy's very consistent buildings stock has become the major field for real estate investments and for the related projects and actions. The urge of working on built environment is however facing some crucial issues. The first is the lack of documentation on the construction history and on the real constructive layout of existing buildings (in terms of components, installations, plants, etc.). The second is the poor activity in surveying their current status, with reference to use (energy behaviour, real consumptions, etc.) and maintenance (conservation status, previous maintenance works, compliance with current regulations, etc.). These obstacles cause a deep inefficiency in the planning, programming and controlling of requalification and/or refunctionalisation works. Starting from these assumptions, this paper shows the findings of a research shared by the Politecnico of Milan and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari. It is aimed at testing the use of building information modeling (BIM) to structure the necessary knowledge to evaluate intervention scenarios. The research is focused on the Mandolesi Pavilion of the University of Cagliari, designed by Enrico Mandolesi. It is a highly stimulating architectural object because it incorporates values that require a conservative approach, but at the same time, like most contemporary buildings, it was designed and built for innovation and not for “long duration”. The work has actually led to the realization of a BIM model of the case study. It represents the first prefiguration of an approach that develops from construction history and continues with advanced diagnostics on the statical and energy performances of the building. The model formalizes knowledge and information on a significant building, aimed at its management. It allows also the setting of intervention scenarios that can be evaluated with real-time simulations of cost, time and ROI

Il mosaico della Sardegna interna come “cultura delle differenze”

Il Piano paesaggistico della Sardegna ha radicalmente innovato la cultura del paesaggio in ambito regionale, avviando per la prima volta una moderna strategia delle “identità sostenibili” e dandole strumenti che ancora, dopo 15 anni, dimostrano una sostanziale tenuta. Tuttavia, nel 2004 il PPR viene impostato per fare argine all’occupazione edilizia del territorio costiero, e rinvia sostanzialmente la “questione rurale”, largamente sovrapposta al tema delle Aree interne, proprio quelle rimaste escluse dal PPR stesso. Anche se questa indispensabile integrazione a distanza di 15 anni non si è ancora concretizzata, a partire dal 2015 si dà avvio ad un progetto di ricerca congiunta Regione-Università dedicato ai paesaggi rurali, destinato a colmare, almeno in parte, il divario di conoscenze e di linee guida progettuali in materia. Peraltro, questa ricerca si svolge in un momento in cui le grandi crisi contemporanee danno una nuova prospettiva alle strategie per lo sviluppo sostenibile. In particolare – come del resto era stato già anticipato nei principi posti alla base del PPR - quello che è stato percepito a lungo come un vincolo, la modernizzazione imperfetta e lo sviluppo insufficiente e comunque continuamente interrotto, alla luce dei concetti di resilienza/antifragilità, e di transizione ecologica, può essere interpretato invece come una risorsa. Questo saggio propone un primo bilancio di questa ricerca, della sua impostazione e dei suoi esiti. E giunge alla conclusione che nell’era delle grandi crisi, pandemiche e soprattutto climatiche, e del Green Deal europeo, il paesaggio rurale assume nuovi e decisivi ruoli

\u3cem\u3ePiptatherum miliaceum (L.)\u3c/em\u3e Coss: A Mediterranean Native Perennial Grass with Potential Use for Bioenergy

In Mediterranean regions, the development of a bioenergy sector is restricted by the scarce availability of species and varieties suitable to cultivation in rainfed environments, where summer drought affects plant survival (Scordia et al., 2014). Native perennial grasses that survive summer drought in a dormant or semi-dormant state may represent potential bioenergy crops. Nevertheless, the native germplasm of Mediterranean perennial grasses is unexplored for bioenergy production, except for giant reed, and little investigated also for other uses, as forage production. Smilo grass (Piptatherum miliaceum (L.) Coss) is a native species growing in marginal environments and it is palatable up to flowering stage. Its high aboveground biomass production suggests the alternative use as bioenergy plant when its palatability decreases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of variability in dry matter yield, biomass partitioning among organs and feedstock quality for bioenergy uses in Sardinian native smilo grass populations

The Seed bank dynamics as a tool for evaluating the pasture improvement efficiency in a Mediterranean environment

The ecology of seed bank is very informative of the vegetation development and persistence (Leck et al., 1989) and of the conservation of plant communities and species, mainly depending on the incidence of the persistent fraction of the seed bank (Diemont, 1990). The composition of the herbaceous community, and its soil seed bank, in the Mediterranean range lands is highly influenced by pasture management, climatic and topographic conditions, productivity levels (Osem et al., 2002). In this paper, with the aim of evaluating the efficiency of a legume-based over-sown pasture in Central Sardinia, the seed bank dynamic was observed during three years