The Controversial History of the “Steel and Glass” by Lods, Depondt and Beauclair. The GEAI Housing Estate La Grand’Mare in Rouen (1968–2016)

Marked by numerous setbacks, the history of the GEAI housing estate La Grand'Mare in Rouen is troubled, even highly controversial. It clearly epitomizes the twists and turns in the debate over the preservation of postwar architecture, whose “industrialized” (often meaning “experimental”) dimension, is mistakenly made the excuse for its demolition. This is exemplified by the uncertain future of this now badly amputated pioneering housing complex, designed by Marcel Lods and his fellow architects

Georges Addor’s Housing Complexes: an Observatory on the Conservation of “Large-Scale” Heritage

The timeliness of swiss architect Georges Addor's oeuvre is indeed vast and heterogeneous. Illuminated by a few successful operations, which should be showcased as such, the picture is, however, highly nuanced, since many questionable conversions have hurriedly followed each other in recent years. The broader reflections on the methods and techniques of preservation of the contemporary heritage that emerge from the current relevance of Georges Addor's work appear to be decisive; extended to a broader production, they deserve to be addressed without dela

Avanchet-Parc in Geneva: an experimental housing scheme, an exemplary complex

In the teeming context of the 1970s, the Cité Avanchet-Parc is an undeniably original achievement, representative of the approach – above all cultural – of a generation of architects who sought to experiment with new urban and architectural forms in response to current practice. The satellite precinct is also a sign of skillful construction, undoubtedly pioneering in the context of the 1970s and which is still today, half a century later, the essence of its relevance to the present. An exemplary experience, the Cité Avanchet-Parc today deserves renewed recognition

Housing Reloaded Collective. Housing in Europe, 1945–2015

“Should the grands ensembles be demolished?” This question was a major preoccupation for architects in the 1990s. Incidental as it may seem today, the question is not completely old hat. The initial, progressive shift towards the practise of maintenance is to be welcomed. But we still need to be conscious, looking forward, that the qualities or values of constructions built between 1945 and 1975 are only rarely recognized and safeguarded. A tremendous variety of strategies have been adopted, and this thematic issue on collective housing's present-day relevance proposes to revisit, on the European scale, this very multiplicity of approaches

Restoration of the Petite Maison, Corseaux, 1924, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. Construction Practice as Research

The Petite Maison, or the villa Le Lac was built by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret at Corseaux, near Vevey, in 1924 for the parents of the former. Various modifications were made from then until 1973. The exteriors, façades, gardens and enclosures of this emblematic work were repaired and restored based on detailed research of the fabric and a well judged program of conservation which concluded in June 2015. This essay reports on some of the specifics of the project, the construction itself, the problems of ageing that the architects had to address, and the most recent conservation works (2013–15)

Modern and Green: Heritage, Energy, Economy

Built between 1963 and 1971, the Lignon satellite precinct in Geneva (Georges Addor, Dominique Julliard, Louis Payot, Jacques Bolliger) is regarded as the most spectacular housing development in post–war Switzerland. For some, it is an energy–guzzling black hole; for others, an historical monument. Either way, the Lignon has been in the spotlight. Faced with new imperatives to reduce energy consumption, a pilot project in the area of “conservation and thermal improvement” of the Lignon façades has been carried out by the Laboratory for Techniques and Preservation of Modern Architecture at the École Polytechnique Fédérale of Lausanne. The aim of this study is to introduce measures that will allow us to conserve the outer skin of the existing façades, while respecting energy standards, thereby guaranteeing the consistent level of intervention, across all 100,000 square meters of curtain walling, that the site deserves

Application of pre-adaptation strategies to improve the growth of probiotic lactobacilli under food-relevant stressful conditions

While formulating a probiotic food, it is mandatory to make sure that the viability of probiotics is adequate at the point of consumption, which can be strongly compromised by stressful conditions due to low pH and high osmolarity. In this study, three probiotic lactobacilli were subjected to different pre-adaptation conditions, and the turbidimetric growth kinetics in challenging conditions (pH 4.0–6.5, NaCl 1–7%, sucrose 0.1–0.7 M) were evaluated. Different effects were observed for Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lacticaseibacillus casei, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Indeed, pre-exposition to sub-optimal conditions in terms of pH and % NaCl significantly improved the ability of L. acidophilus and L. casei to overcome the osmotic stress due to salt or sucrose, and similar effects were observed for acidic stress. L. plantarum showed to be more tolerant to the challenging conditions applied in this study. Anyway, the pre-adaptation at conditions SUB_1 (pH 4.5 and NaCl 4%) and SUB_2 (pH 5 and NaCl 2%) speeded-up its growth kinetics by reducing the length of the lag phase under sucrose stress and enhancing the maximum growth rate at the highest pH tested. Moreover, an improvement in biomass amount was observed under sucrose stress. The whole data evidenced that the application of the appropriate pre-adaptation condition could contribute to making probiotics more robust towards challenging conditions due to food matrix, processing, and storage as well as gastrointestinal transit. Further studies will be necessary to gain insight into the proteomics and metabolomics responsible for increased tolerance to stressful conditions

Systemic reuse models for sustainable glass packaging design and innovation

The Italian glass packaging industry is the first in Europe, with 21.3% of production value. It has 14 companies with 39 factories, 7,800 employees and a growing annual turnover of 2.4 billion euros. This trend of production preserves, on the one hand, a good synergy concerning the recycling process, but at the same time, it needs to reduce environmental impacts through reuse practices. This research and analysis work was carried out in collaboration with a company that designs and produces glass packaging, focusing on and evaluating the current reuse and returnable-empty models, outlining the opportunities for a transition towards systemic business that stimulates innovation in new sectors. Subsequently, through a research-through-design approach, a second concept phase defines which guidelines to design packaging within returnable vacuum systems in new sectors and which strategies are feasible to start a transition