l’église Saint-Pierre de Firminy, de Le Corbusier : quarante ans d’histoire entre idée et réalisation

L’église de Saint-Pierre à Firminy, dernier projet inabouti de Le Corbusier dans la ville, a été achevée et inaugurée en novembre 2006. Elle s’insère ainsi dans le prestigieux contexte des œuvres religieuses de l’architecte, à côté de Ronchamp et la Tourette. D’après l’examen des documents d’archive et l’étude de l’œuvre construite – achevée « à l’identique » – on trace ici les linéaments de l’iter de réalisation du bâtiment à partir du dernier projet de Le Corbusier. Objet de l’analyse sont plus spécialement les transformations subies par des éléments qui sont fondamentales dans l’idée corbuséenne du projet : la coque couvrante la nef, hauteur et inclinaison ; les éléments liturgiques et architecturales qui conforment l’espace religieux ; parcours d’accès et espaces de transition. Pendant quarante ans le projet a évolué, le contexte aussi ; l’église de Saint-Pierre est ainsi en passe de devenir le symbole d’un lien avec un passé qui n’a jamais été, et qui aujourd’hui est en train d’être re-construit.The Saint-Pierre Firminy’s church, one of the lasts Le Corbusier’s unrealized projects, was completed and inaugurated in November 2006. It stands now as the third sacred project of the architect, besides Ronchamp and La Tourette. Based on the analysis of archive’s documents and realized building – achieved à l’identique – this article aims to define the main lines of the church construction iter, starting from the last Le Corbusier design. The study pays particularly attention to the transformation of those elements considered fundamentals in Le Corbusier’s original idea: the cone covering church’s nave, height and inclination; liturgical and architectural elements defining sacred spaces and spatiality; access path to the church and transitions spaces. The project during forty years evolved, as the context; the church of Saint-Pierre is becoming the symbol of a link with a past that has never been, and that today it’s about to be re-defined.Die Kirche Saint-Pierre, nach dem letzten unvollendeten Entwurf von Le Corbusier in der Stadt Firminy endlich fertiggebaut und im November 2006 eingeweiht, lässt sich neben Ronchamp und La Tourette in das weltberühmte religiöse Werk des Architekten einfügen. Die Studie, die sich auf Archivdokumente stützt, nimmt sich die Untersuchung des nach den Planungsvorgaben des Architekten « à l’identique » fertiggestellten Werkes vor. Sie definiert die Grundzüge des Weiterbaus der Kirche mit Rücksicht auf Le Corbusiers Enwurf und zeigt, dass in seiner Auffassung grundsätzliche Elemente verändert worden sind : konische Schale, Höhe und Neigungswinkel des Schiffes, liturgische und architektonische Elemente des Kirchenraumes sowie Zugangs und Übergangsräume. Innerhalb von vierzig Jahren haben sich also Projekt und Kontext entwickelt, so dass die Kirche Saint-Pierre heute von einer Vergangenheit zeugen will, die nie existiert hat und einfach nachgebaut wurde

Bark beetles and pinhole borers (Curculionidae, Scolytinae, Platypodinae) alien to Europe

Invasive bark beetles are posing a major threat to forest resources around the world. DAISIE’s web-based and printed databases of invasive species in Europe provide an incomplete and misleading picture of the alien scolytines and platypodines. We present a review of the alien bark beetle fauna of Europe based on primary literature through 2009. We find that there are 18 Scolytinae and one Platypodinae species apparently established in Europe, from 14 different genera. Seventeen species are naturalized. We argue that Trypodendron laeve, commonly considered alien in Europe, is a native species; conversely, we hypothesize that Xyleborus pfeilii, which has always been treated as indigenous, is an alien species from Asia. We also point out the possibility that the Asian larch bark beetle Ips subelongatus is established in European Russia. We show that there has been a marked acceleration in the rate of new introductions to Europe, as is also happening in North America: seven alien species were first recorded in the last decade

Minimum-Size Mixed-Level Orthogonal Fractional Factorial Designs Generation: A SAS-Based Algorithm

Orthogonal fractional factorial designs (OFFDs) are frequently used in many elds of application, including medicine, engineering and agriculture. In this paper we present a software tool for the generation of minimum size OFFDs. The software, that has been implemented in SAS/IML, puts neither a restriction on the number of levels of each factor nor on the orthogonality constraints. The algorithm is based on the joint use of polynomial counting function and complex coding of levels and follows the approach presented in Fontana (2013)

Lichen colonization on stoneworks: examples from Piedmont and Aosta Valley

Data on lichen presence on some monuments from Piedmont and Aosta Valley are reported. Sampling techniques, chosen on the basis of lithological characteristics of the substrata are described, and the ecological significance of the identified species is discussed. Preliminary data indicate that the majority of the species are neutro-basiphytic and rather nitrophytic, xerophytic and photophytic. Finally, most species appear to belong to the Caloplacion decipientis alliance

Snail Slime Extracted by a Cruelty Free Method Preserves Viability and Controls Inflammation Occurrence: A Focus on Fibroblasts

Snail slime (SS) is a viscous secretion obtained from different snail species. SS composition is variable according to factors such as the extraction method. Even if several papers have been published regarding this topic, the molecular mechanisms at the base of SS biological effects remain unexplored. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the capability of SS, extracted with the cruelty-free Muller method, to promote viability and angiogenesis processes and, in parallel, to counteract inflammation occurrence on skin cell populations. SS was administered to keratinocytes, macrophages and fibroblasts, then cell viability, through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test, cytotoxicity by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, morphology by haematoxylin-eosin staining, gene and protein expression through real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot, cell cycle phases by flow cytometry, and collagen secretion using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, were measured. Our results evidence SS capability to promote fibroblast viability and to trigger recovery mechanisms by activating the Erk protein. Moreover, an appreciable anti-inflammatory effect due to the significant reduction in cyclooxygenase-2 expression, and a positive modulation of new blood vessel formation demonstrated by increased Angiopoietin 1 gene expression and a higher matrix deposition (evidenced by the augmented amount of released collagen I) can be identified. This evidence led us to assume that the Muller method extracted-SS represents a valuable and promising natural product suitable for cosmetic and skin care formulations