INFRASTRUTTURE E PAESAGGIO ALPINO. L’EREDITÀ SVIZZERA

Nella storia della costruzione della rete stradale, ferroviaria e autostradale svizzera è possibile riscontrare, in diversi casi, un’attenzione particolare da parte del progettista e delle istituzioni al rapporto tra il manufatto e il territorio su cui esso incide. D’altra parte il paesaggio svizzero, prevalentemente montuoso, ha sempre sfidato la genialità del costruttore, comportandosi come elemento rivelatore del suo approccio nei confronti del contesto. In questa sede si intende ricostruire un filo conduttore che porta dai progetti di fine Ottocento ai grandi cantieri del secondo dopoguerra, attraverso il susseguirsi di generazioni di progettisti che, incrociandosi nelle aule dei Politecnici di Zurigo e Losanna, hanno permesso un’evoluzione della cultura tecnologica, strutturale e architettonica.Si guarderà con attenzione anche al rapporto tra ingegneri e architetti, che ha visto l’alternarsi di fasi di netta separazione degli ambiti di lavoro ad altri di fruttuosa collaborazione, osservando infine, negli esempi contemporanei, segni di una trasformazione e di una dilatazione delle rispettive competenze. Infine, ci si soffermerà su alcuni progetti recenti, nei quali il rapporto con il paesaggio viene assunto coscientemente come dato progettuale, per un’operazione che affida all’infrastruttura non semplicemente una dimensione funzionale connettiva, ma anche una valenza formale ed espressiva

Environmental changes and the first Olympic Winter Games. Infrastructure projects for ‘Chamonix 1924'

This paper investigates the infrastructure projects undertaken for the event initially known as the Semaine des sports d’hiver, which took place in Chamonix, France, from 25 January to 4 February 1924 and was later recognized as the first Winter Olympics. Although the already famous resort town was able to use its existing hotels to accommodate visitors and athletes, it also made a considerable investment in the construction of new sports infrastructure. Following an agreement signed just 9 months before the Games, these facilities included a large ice rink, a bobsleigh run and a ski jump. The project was entrusted to the Ponts et Chaussées engineers, who encouraged local firms to help with the construction. Archival analysis will be used to examine the relationship between the project and the changing environment. Our aim is to show how the work in Chamonix modified the environment by exploiting certain natural elements (e.g. water, soil and forests) and, conversely, how the natural (in particular, the geological and climatic) and historical (notably land ownership) components of the environment affected the execution of these works

Environmental History, The History of Tourism in the Mountains and the Construction of New Knowledge: A Study of the Architecture of Winter Sports Resorts in the French-Italian Alps

Environmental history is a rapidly developing field of study. In keeping with the ecological, energy and health issues that affect contemporary societies, it is important to understand the past by examining the interactions between human and natural factors. This interest is particularly evident in work on the Alps and mountains in general. Our contribution relates and adds to studies focused on the history of tourism in the Alps and assesses the capacity of environmental history to produce a renewed knowledge. Moreover, it investigates the specificity of the Alps and the mountains as a privileged field of study for environmental history. After outlining recent scientific output from around the world based on environmental history, we present the results obtained through a research experiment on the history of winter sports resorts in the French-Italian Alps. Understanding the relationships between the evolution of the projects and the natural and historical components of the sites where they are located and extending the spatial and temporal frameworks of the analyses and the use of multiple sources will clarify how tourism develops in high-altitude areas. Our work invites researchers to move beyond the image of infrastructure built “ex nihilo” or on so-called “virgin” sites and a narrative limited to the period of the “Trente Glorieuses” to reveal the dynamics of how a territory transforms over time

Glomeruloid reactive angioendotheliomatosis in a woman with systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid syndrome mimicking reticular erythematous mucinosis

The umbrella term ‘‘cutaneous reactive angioma- toses’’ was introduced in 2003 to include uncommon angioproliferative (capillary) cutaneous conditions, which present with variable clinical features and involve patients with a variety of underlying systemic conditions.1 Histologically, these disorders are char- acterized by different patterns of intravascular or extravascular lobular or diffuse hyperplasia of endo- thelial cells, pericytes, and, sometimes, histiocytes, mostly throughout the dermis.1 The first condition to be described was reactive angioendotheliomatosis (RAE), which is usually associated with prothrom- botic conditions.1 We report a case of RAE in its rare glomeruloid variant, occurring in a woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphos- pholipid syndrome (APS), which is notable because it mimics reticular erythematous mucinosis (REM)

Primary Localized Cutaneous Nodular Amyloidosis and Limited Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis: Additional Cases with Dermatoscopic and Histopathological Correlation of Amyloid Deposition

Primary localized cutaneous nodular amyloidosis (PLCNA) is a rare condition due to the plasma cell proliferation and skin deposition of immunoglobulin light chains, without systemic amyloidosis or hematological dyscrasias. The association with autoimmune connective tissue diseases has been reported, especially with Sjogren's syndrome, and in a few cases with systemic sclerosis. Herein, we describe three cases of PLCNA occurring in women with a diagnosis of limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis and review the literature on the topic to highlight a stereotypical presentation. Moreover, we support the usefulness of dermoscopy, characterized by a yellow-orange waxy pattern surrounded by telangiectasias, for a rapid and non-invasive diagnostic assessment. Thus, when asymptomatic nodules occur on lower limbs of women affected with limited systemic sclerosis, and dermoscopy identifies yellow-orange blotches, a diagnosis of PLCNA can be considered and further confirmed by histopathology. Monitoring for systemic amyloidosis development is advisable, although the risk of progression is considered very low

La production d’un paysage par et pour le ski. Une histoire des stations de sports d’hiver dans les Alpes franco-italiennes, à travers l’œuvre de l’architecte et urbaniste Laurent Chappis

La présente contribution interroge, à travers un regard historique, les interrelations entre la conception des stations touristiques nouvelles et la transformation des paysages de haute montagne. En effet, la création des stations de ski ne s’est pas uniquement concrétisée par l’implantation d’édifices et d’infrastructures en haute altitude. Tout au contraire, diverses composantes de l’environnement telles que la forêt, la morphologie du sol, l’hydrographie ont été modifiées. Par ailleurs, les caractères à la fois biophysiques et historiques des sites d’implantation ont influencé les processus de conception et de construction des stations de haute altitude. Nous adoptons comme angle d’observation et comme fil conducteur le parcours professionnel de l’urbaniste et architecte Laurent Chappis (1915-2013), qui permet d’explorer divers cas d’étude dans les Alpes franco-italiennes, à partir des années 1940 et jusqu’aux années 1980. Nous voulons comprendre les méthodes et les outils empruntés par l’architecte dans la définition des plans des stations, les éléments qui participent à la construction d’un paysage, l’évolution à la fois de l’approche de l’architecte et des plans. Par une relecture de l’histoire, nous parvenons à une réflexion sur les rapports entre projet et environnement dans les terres de haute altitude

Histoire environnementale et histoire du tourisme en montagne : vers la construction d'une connaissance nouvelle ? Une étude de l'architecture des stations de sports d'hiver dans les Alpes franco-italiennes

L’histoire environnementale est un champ d’études en plein essor. En effet, la compréhension du passé à la lumière des interactions entre facteurs humains et naturels est en phase avec les enjeux écologiques, énergétiques et sanitaires qui affectent les sociétés contemporaines. Cet intérêt se retrouve notamment dans les travaux qui portent sur le territoire alpin et la montagne en général. Notre contribution s’inscrit dans les études sur l’histoire du tourisme dans les Alpes et met à l’épreuve la capacité de l’histoire environnementale à en produire une connaissance renouvelée. De plus, elle interroge la spécificité des Alpes et de la montagne comme terrain d’étude privilégié pour l’histoire environnementale. Après avoir retracé le contour d’une production scientifique récente et internationale qui se réfère à l’histoire environnementale, nous présentons les résultats obtenus par une expérience de recherche menée sur l’histoire des stations de sports d’hiver dans les Alpes franco-italiennes. La compréhension des relations entre l’évolution des projets et les composantes naturelles et historiques des sites d’implantation, l’extension des cadres spatiaux et temporels des analyses et le recours à une multiplicité de sources permettent un nouvel éclairage des processus de mise en tourisme des hautes terres. Notre travail invite à dépasser l’image des infrastructures construites « ex nihilo » ou dans des sites dits « vierges », et une narration limitée à la période des Trente Glorieuses, pour dévoiler les dynamiques de transformation d’un territoire sur le temps long