Università Iuav di Venezia
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Geographies of Design for Emergencies: Toward a Framework for Design Practices
No full textIn recent years, the frequency and complexity of emergencies—ranging from natural disasters to pandemics and socio-political crises—have highlighted the need for responsive, context-aware design practices. In this uncertain landscape, design has assumed an increasingly central role in addressing emergencies. However, a shared conceptual framework to clearly define the scope, methods, and potential impact of design in these situations is still lacking. This paper explores the geographies of design for emergencies through a series of product design projects developed within academic contexts. It aims to identify specific areas where design can effectively operate during crises. The proposed conceptual framework seeks to map and analyze how design interventions take shape in emergencies. By analysing design experiences held at Iuav University of Venice in Italy, the paper identifies recurring patterns, strategies, and approaches. These insights contribute to the construction of a preliminary system for categorizing design interventions within the field of product design. The resulting framework—encompassing areas such as design for rescue; design for crisis contexts (in terms of both health and recovery); design for protection and safety; design for extreme climate conditions; design for vulnerable populations in emergencies; and intelligent devices for emergencies—is proposed as both a theoretical and practical tool to guide future design practice. This taxonomy is intended as a flexible, preliminary guide to help frame and assess the contributions of design in emergency contexts. For each category, two sample projects will be presented to illustrate the typology and characteristics of the design interventions. This article represents a first attempt at classifying the contributions of product design in emergency contexts and invites the academic community working on these challenges to contribute to the geography initiated in this study
Un passo avanti e due indietro = One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
No full textDa sempre l’architettura, le città e i territori si sono costruiti in relazione agli spostamenti umani. Dalle distanze costrette entro spazi minimi, misurati sull’ergonomia del singolo individuo, fino alla vasta scala delle migrazioni di interi popoli, l’atto del camminare rappresenta un’azione talmente radicata e imprescindibile nell’esperienza del mondo, addirittura inconsapevole, da poter apparire scontata. Eppure la scelta di intitolare Wave 2024 alle Walkable architectures non va intesa in senso riduttivo, come banale riaffermazione di una tautologia. Si tratta piuttosto di una proposta esplorativa, occasione di riscoperta e intensificazione del tema, finanche una presa di posizione: è l’affermazione che l’architettura, nel suo farsi spazio e nel dare forma alle relazioni che in questo si dispiegano, nella sua fisicità esperita e nella dimensione immateriale che è in grado di evocare, continua a trovare le proprie ragioni d’essere. Il discorso assume particolare significato in un periodo storico pesantemente segnato dalla pervasiva fortuna della dimensione visiva. Nel campo dell’architettura troppo spesso la tendenza alla cristallizzazione del progetto in immagini, per così dire, appiattite fa sì che la loro facile fruizione abbia preso progressivamente il sopravvento sull’intraducibile pienezza dell’esperienza fisica dello spazio. E il prevalere di un approccio oggettuale alla concezione gli edifici ne ha fatto troppo spesso contenitori fragili, esposti al rischio di gratuità, erodendo invece il senso profondo del dare forma e sistema alle cose. Volumi sempre meno interessati a dialogare vedono venire meno il gioco sapiente, rigoroso e magnifico delle relazioni sotto la luce. E mentre si fanno stringenti le norme che regolano aspetti altri del progettare, aspetti di natura procedurale o tecnologico-prestazionale, ma essenzialmente non formali, sembra non essere più al centro la dimensione relazionale insita nell’idea di costruire, non oggetti, ma luoghi
Mitigation urban heat island by using porous and permeable block pavement
No full textLocal climate change has intensified extreme events such as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where urban areas experience higher temperatures than nearby rural zones, primarily due to the prevalence of heat-retaining materials and reduced vegetation. This creates challenges for sustainability, health, and energy use. A key mitigation method is the use of porous and permeable pavements, which enhance surface reflectivity, promote cooling through evaporation, and limit heat storage. This study examines the performance of permeable and porous block pavements for outdoor urban applications. Field and lab measurements and ENVI-met simulations were conducted to assess various pavement types implemented in mainland Venice. Experimental tests focused on three samples-a standard block and two porous variants (dark and light-coloured) were developed to characterize the thermal properties (thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, solar absorptance, emissivity, and solar reflectance index) and to determine the changes in thermal fluxes during the monitoring period. The experimental test shows how the porous light-coloured material has proved as most effective in mitigating UHI, able to reduce the average external surface temperature of by 1.5-2 degrees C in the afternoon in respect to the standard block; while dark porous block, even if made by the same porous material composition of light coloured, it is not always effective in improving the application due to the different albedo. The results of the simulations are comparable to those characterised in the laboratory, with similar daily mean (almost 32 degrees C) and maximum (38 degrees C) temperatures in the receptor at the same sample location, although the daily trend is closer to that of the outdoor air. The adoption of permeable paving blocks offers significant environmental and urban planning benefits, such as an improvement of stormwater management, thermal comfort, public health, urban liveability. Their integration into urban design could support climate resilience according to sustainability policies
Il progetto della luce: Carlo Nason tra artigianato e design = Lighting: Carlo Nason Between Craftsmanship and Design
No full textUno dei designer di lampade in vetro più prolifici in Italia, Carlo Nason, cresciuto all’interno della cultura tradizionale muranese, ha saputo orientare la sua ricerca e la sua vasta produzione verso il design, coniugando sapientemente la padronanza delle tecniche e delle lavorazioni tradizionali con l’attitudine alla sperimentazione innovativa.
Il volume, nato dall’iniziativa di Fragile di Alessandro Padoan e Alessandro Palmaghini, e che inaugura una serie di pubblicazioni dedicata al design italiano, indaga la ricca produzione del designer Carlo Nason, conosciuto prevalentemente come progettista di lampade in vetro, proponendo una prima sistematizzazione della sua attività.
One of Italy’s most prolific lamp designers, Carlo Nason, raised in the heart of traditional Murano glass culture, oriented his work and vast production in the direction of design, expertly uniting his mastery of traditional techniques and processes with an aptitude for innovative experimentation.
This volume, the result of an initiative of Alessandro Padoan and Alessandro Palmaghini’s Fragile, and inaugurating a series of publications dedicated to Italian design, explores the rich production of designer Carlo Nason, known mainly as a creator of glass lamps, and offers the first organised account of his activity
The impact of TCMs in TES systems with PCMs: Modelling and dynamic simulation of a novel prototype
No full textAmong sensible, latent and thermochemical thermal energy storage (TES), thermochemical materials (TCMs) result to be the most promising solution to achieve EU target for 2050 of net-zero GHG emissions. A novel TES solution using TCMs and phase change materials (PCMs) for space heating and cooling is being developed within the Horizon Europe project ECHO. A TRNSYS model able to simulate the prototype in dynamic mode at system scale was created to optimise the installation and testing of the prototype. Experimental data from a small set-up of the reactor were used to define the equations describing the charging and discharging phases of TCM, which were implemented in the reactor model. The ability of TCM to increase the efficiency of the system where it is adopted was investigated for the heating period. The TCM-integrated heat pump system showed an 8.8 % reduction in seasonal electricity consumption compared to the system without TCM, and an increase in the seasonal COP from 3.4 to 3.8. Finally, the evaluation of the thermal contribution provided by TCM combined with PCM highlighted that the two TES systems were able to cover about 10 % of the heating energy demand, with PCM accounting for almost 50 % of the TCM contribution
