Hybrid Economies in Hybrid Cities built on Manufacturing, Networks, and Design.

The concept of networks will be analyzed through a Hybrid Economy model, looking at new organizational forms and new multi-actor collaborations; Evolutionary Economic Geography defines these as interested in both social and financial returns, and it identifies institutions as particularly relevant in the success of these new enterprises. Six main factors that define the hybridity of a business and an enterprise have been identified: Offer; Goals and impacts; Founders composition; Team/Staff composition; (Relationship with) customers. To test this approach, we decided to analyze qualitative data collected during a research project which involved two sister cities: Milano and Chicago. The paper will focus on the Milanese case study, which considered manufacturing activities, including both 4.0 manufacturing and more traditional craftmanship activities. We will define different forms of networks that can favor the hybridity of businesses and the roles that design can play. The research project was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide; however, it is relevant to notice how reflections on the future of our cities were already part of policies and planning programs. The pandemic made evident the importance of local (and hyper-local) networks and also accelerated intervention processes devoted to favoring the creation of self-sustaining neighborhoods

Design for Territories as Practice and Theoretical Field of Study

Design for Territories is a rather recent field of study and research. It began to be outlined at the end of the ‘90s and was initially established as a direct application to real situations through action research activities or educational experimentations. Thus, situated design methods are applied and verified, models and processes are improved and specific tools are developed. The aim of this paper is to describe this field of study’s state-of-the-art in order to fulfil the goal of outlining the distinctive features of design for territories from a theoretical point of view. What does Design for Territories deal with? What are its strategies and its methods? The paper aims to answer these questions through a review of design research experiences and the debate with experts in the field, who have been involved in this study through interviews and focus groups

Tangibile/Intangibile. Dialoghi sul Design per i Territori 02

Il Network di Ricerca "D4T - Design for Territories" del Dipartimento di Design del Politecnico di Milano ha condotto un ciclo di focus group con l’obiettivo di attivare la discussione e il confronto sulla tematica del Design per i Territori. I focus group sono concepiti come momenti informali di impostazione critico-problematica, con l’obiettivo che diventino attivatori di un successivo dibattito allargato e condiviso. Il secondo focus group, tenutosi presso il Dipartimento di Design del Politecnico di Milano il 18 ottobre 2016, ha affrontato il tema del rapporto tra Tangibile e Intangibile cercando di rispondere ai seguenti interrogativi: in che modo il design si occupa del patrimonio e delle risorse tangibili e intangibili dei territori? In che modo il design è in grado di svelare le capacità di un territorio? Quali sono le azioni, gli strumenti e le strategie messe in atto? Gli ospiti invitati al second focus group sono stati: Daniela Calabi (Politecnico di Milano); Marco Ferreri (designer); Martha Friel (Centro Studi Silva Santagata; Università IULM); Lia Krucken (IPB Brasile); Federica Olivares (City Innovation Lab), Francesca Piredda (Politecnico di Milano); Raffaella Trocchianesi (Politecnico di Milano)

A Systemic Approach to Proximity Through Design for Relations

Proximity has lately become a keyword to approach territorial enhancement goals. The most common representation of proximity at the urban level is the idea of the 15-minute city, which has gained massive attention in political, economic, social, and academic discourses. However, this idea is not new in the worldwide panorama and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, has gained renovate attention because of contextual extraordinaire conditions. Furthermore, under so-called normal circumstances, this concept of proximity has certain evident societal constraints. In our paper, we want to propose and discuss a wider systemic approach and consequent definitions of proximity in connection with the different actors that compose and drive our societies. In the design for relations, we will identify a systemic and valuable strategy to overcome the previously discussed limits

Design Approaches and Methodologies for the Valorization of Places. Experiences from the Western Mediterranean Area.

Design approaches, competences, and methodologies have a significant impact and reputation on the process of analysis, construction and enhancement of places. Indeed, design is particularly able in driving interventions, focused on the valorization of tangible and intangible local peculiarities, which give shape to, highlight and connect specific territorial identities. In this paper, we are going to propose a model we want to use in order to synthesize the possible approaches design can activate for the valorization of places and in particular of the Mediterranean area. We are going to use the biological and artificial metaphors and express them according to tangible and intangible dimensions. As we are going to explain, this approach is particularly useful for the Mediterranean scenarios but can be extended to other territories with similar characteristics

An Air-well sparging minifermenter system for high-throughput protein production.

BackgroundOver the last few years High-Throughput Protein Production (HTPP) has played a crucial role for functional proteomics. High-quality, high yield and fast recombinant protein production are critical for new HTPP technologies. Escherichia coli is usually the expression system of choice in protein production thanks to its fast growth, ease of handling and high yields of protein produced. Even though shake-flask cultures are widely used, there is an increasing need for easy to handle, lab scale, high throughput systems.ResultsIn this article we described a novel minifermenter system suitable for HTPP. The Air-Well minifermenter system is made by a homogeneous air sparging device that includes an air diffusion system, and a stainless steel 96 needle plate integrated with a 96 deep well plate where cultures take place. This system provides aeration to achieve higher optical density growth compared to classical shaking growth without the decrease in pH value and bacterial viability. Moreover the yield of recombinant protein is up to 3-fold higher with a considerable improvement in the amount of full length proteins.ConclusionsHigh throughput production of hundreds of proteins in parallel can be obtained sparging air in a continuous and controlled manner. The system used is modular and can be easily modified and scaled up to meet the demands for HTPP

I concetti di habitus e field applicati al design per i territori

Il dibattito sulla definizione della disciplina del Design si è storicamente divisa fra l’identificazione di un approccio razionale e di problem-solving e la descrizione del Design come pratica riflessiva (Carvalho, Dong, Maton, 2009; Dorst, 2008; Simon, 1995; Schön, 1988). In effetti, “The problem with any debate over design is that the intellectual resources with which the debate is typically engaged are themselves located within the field” (Carvalho, Dong, Maton, 2009: 485); per questo motivo credo che sia importante aprire la discussione non tanto e non solo ad accademici e professionisti di altre discipline, ma anche e soprattutto utilizzare alcune teorie, metodi e strumenti derivanti da altri campi di studio. Il design, di per sé, è già una disciplina eteronoma che di fatto acquisisce dall’esterno soprattutto i metodi e gli strumenti, li traduce e li fa propri. Per quanto riguarda le teorie, anche queste trovano sicuramente spazio nella disciplina, ma sono forse meno considerate come funzionali ad una auto-lettura e definizione della disciplina stessa. In questo breve saggio, intendo in particolare, spiegare questo approccio del design attraverso tre concetti fondamentali e interconnessi proposti dal sociologo Pierre Bourdieu: habitus, capitale, field

Collaborare per competere: la forza dei legami deboli.

Il concetto di capitale sociale è presente in tutte le sezioni del libro, ma è in questa terza sezione che alcune delle sue possibili attuazioni e funzioni emergono in modo più evidente. Jane Jacobs (1961) delinea il concetto di capitale sociale come strettamente collegato alla capacità auto-organizzativa e, potremmo dire, di “sopravvivenza” delle aree urbane. L’importanza di fattori come la prossimità, da un lato, e le reti informali dall’altro sono già presenti nella trattazione di Jacobs. La funzione del capitale sociale si esplicita e agisce in due ambiti, separati e collegati contemporaneamente: quello personale e quello collettivo. Da un lato il capitale sociale supporta i singoli individui nella risoluzione di problemi di ordine quotidiano, dall’altro, facendo ciò, può generare delle ricadute positive più ampie, a livello cittadino e territoriale. Quest’ultimo punto è quello preso in considerazione nell’ultima sezione del libro; gli autori, infatti, identificano diversi approcci del Design per i Territori che riteniamo particolarmente rilevanti nei processi di (ri)produzione del capitale sociale

DESIGN OF OPTIONS AND SOCIAL INNOVATION: new forms of design, production and consumption

This text is a preliminary reflection on the concept of Design of options, unrelated but still derived from research projects conducted in recent years by the Department of Design at Politecnico di Milano. It aims, therefore, to raise useful questions to build a future research framework