73 research outputs found
Gli elementi dell’abitare islamico
No full textOgni volta che studiamo qualcosa, è necessario applicare un processo primario di scomposizione nelle sue
parti per individuarne i suoi caratteri essenziali. L’elemento (dal latino elemèntum) rappresenta, infatti, la prima unità di riferimento per lo studio dei corpi. Possiamo
trovare questo termine ovunque: basti pensare che nel
noto testo rossiano L’architettura della città compare
quasi 200 volte.
Ma come può lo studio dell’elemento costituire la base
per un’analisi più approfondita dei meccanismi urbani,
sempre più complessi e variegati nello spazio moderno?
Obiettivo di questa ricerca è quello di enfatizzare il significato di elemento in relazione al concetto di vicinato.
Attraverso uno sguardo più approfondito degli organismi insediativi è possibile, infatti, trovare delle unità replicabili e componibili che spiegano non soltanto le costituzioni vicinale ma anche la forma urbana nelle quali
sono inserite. Nella pratica, farò particolare riferimento
al caso arabo, che rappresenta uno degli esempi tradizionali culturalmente più ricchi per mettere in luce la
relazione tra organismo edilizio ed urbano. Strade, corti,
mura e passaggi rappresentano infatti i minimi comuni
denominatori di una relazione più grande e complessa,
che permette la sussistenza della città nel territorio attraverso la ricerca di un equilibrio tra naturale ed artificiale.
La compenetrazione di tali denominatori può aiutare a
leggere la città sottoforma di un abaco di elementi, che
si rivelano piuttosto utili per una comprensione più amplia rispetto alle criticità e potenzialità degli insediamenti
urbani moderni. Ripartire dall’importanza di questi caratteri vuol dire comprendere la loro utilità sia dal punto di
vista morfologico che sociale ed ambientale, analiticamente ampliata dallo strumento della mappatura che è
in grado di proporre una lettura a più livelli delle città in
cui viviamo e di quelle che hanno caratterizzato l’abitare
tradizionale
Claude Parent: The Epistemological Shift from the Modernism to the Metabolism
No full textWhen the Cité de l'Architecture et Patrimoine in Paris organized the exhibition of
Claude Parent's works, it made very clear the change of phase in the modernism movement. In
fact, the author’s experience in his academic and working career demonstrates the key passages
from a mere rigorous execution of the rectangular and functionalist style which characterised
the modernistic thought, to an architectural vision orientated to a dizzying and unconventional
matrix, preferring to the right angles the slope and sinuous momentum of elements in space. In
some ways, the Claude Parent’s idea of architecture are a tangible example of a successful
interpretation of the modernism’s methodologic procedures in an organic and changeable way,
setting the stage for transforming the principles of the machine age into those of the age of life.
The purpose of this paper is to deal with the shifting point of the modernist school in
architecture starting from the theory and practice of Claude Parent. Firstly, through an in-depth
investigation and comparison of Claude Parent’s drawings and design projects it is indeed
possible to understand even original aspects of modern movement and, in particular, what were
the limitations that characterized it, eventually leading to the overcoming of the movement
itself. Secondly, the same Claude Parent’s drawings and design projects will be used to
understand how his work can also be interpreted as a point of contact between the modernist
movement and the metabolic movement which was established in Japan in the 1960s
Vertical versus horizontal: theory and practice of urban densification in evolving metropolises
No full textThe urban growth, its continuous use of land and the associated problem of soil sealing force urban
expansions to search for a sustainable densification.
The paper attempts to explore and compare the urban conditions' growth on the fringes of two
cities in Asia and Europe - Shenzhen and Vienna - as two opposite realities defining different
strategies to control the urban expansion: while Shenzhen use the verticality to create new space,
Vienna works on the horizontality and the regeneration, generating a neighbor’s contiguity in the
urban areas.
The paper discusses and illustrates the two possibilities for dense built environments -horizontality
and verticality in the metropolitan form-, as opposite yet possible strategies to achieve dense built
environments qualifying urban spaces, infrastructures, buildings.
To this aim Hong Kong, and Vienna are compared, to understand differences and attempt at
responding to the central research question: Is it possible to identify an optimal urban form?
Buildings’ and neighborhood’s typologies have been observed to aim at this understanding.
Even though general conclusions cannot be drawn from specific case studies, is the authors'
considered opinion that urban textures in the built environments are very much connected with and
their successful evolution depends on the strict relation with humans and their activities (working,
living, entertaining and dwelling). In this context, appropriate strategies for urban densification, in
their different forms, might represent an effective path to meet the new conflicting challenges of
sustainability and rapid urban growth
The Conveyor
No full textThe brand new landmark «The Conveyor» is a vast cultural hub, a megastructure that will host professionals to unite in one thinking
dimension sharing experiences from all around the globe, attracting tourists and locals, changing the cultural environment of the area.
The project of FITT headquarters combines the necessities and peculiarities of the working spaces together with the leisure activities,
which arise not only the wellbeing of the workers but also attempt to attract visitors and people who are passing by to the area.
For this purpose, the arena serves as a catalyst for exposition activities but also conferences as well as community organizations.
The shape derives from the primary values of the Fitt company representing progress and corporate identity. The geometry of
the new quarter has two key elements: circular arena and its following spine. Culture plays an important role for the Province
of Vicenza and the new Arena will contribute with its rich program and serve as an event space and education amenity.
By deviating within the plot boundaries, the spine creates a different distant relation to the
existing industrial building and allows generous green spaces for sunbathing and walks.
«The Conveyor» is created to bring people together to the Peri-urban context of the Province of Vicenza. The main access to the
new quarter is from Via Piave, where a whirlpool shaped arena opens up to the observer with it’s myriad of pipes following the
facade. Achieving the so-called «forest effect» sensation gives visitors an idea of easy access, equality and a sense of belonging.
Being located in close relationship with the infrastructure of Sandrigo city «The Conveyor» will
become a new point of attraction and will integrate the scientific and cultural program of the area
Il progetto urbano tra morfologia e sostenibilità. Il caso di un insediamento pilota alla Giudecca a Venezia.
No full textConcorso SACU sulla sostenibilità delle unità di vicinato veneziane. Presentazione degli argomenti di ricerca in ambito veneziano e progetto pilota nell'area della Giudecc
The language of reconnection. Two approaches in Venice
No full textOver the centuries, Architecture has chosen, as Summerson records in his 1963’s essay, a very precise grammar, a syntax that recognizes itself in the distinction of the four and later five, architectural orders, considered as fundamental for the construction of the project.
However, every artist who was inspired by the principles of these orders, enacted something more: they modified the rules in the most subjective and arbitrary way.
Maybe, Contemporary Architecture acquired this aptitude, trying to resist all kinds of constrains: it unburdened by any rough rules and dogmas.
What is left out is the order with whom the Architect will dispose these referenced paradigms in the syntagm, although he is equipped with a lexicon, a sort of logic thanks to which some permanent codes have existed and still exist today.
In this way it is possible to think that the syntax of every architect is something to be invented: he needs to find it in the increased diversity of the world of art and in the every day world. Architecture builds the communicative directions of his own language thanks to the continuous variatio, both diachronic and synchronic, with the other codes that probably do not always belong to the world of construction.
For its organization and constitutive value, Architecture has an active role in the capability of making changes and experiments that contribute to the definition of a language in the different spatial-temporal cultural areas.
Therefore, the city of Venice becomes a theatre of experimentation for a reflection on the evolution of the grammatical expressions of a consolidated common language, from the small to the large scale. Within the intent to respond to the needs of Time, rules have been broken, dogmas and canons have been violated, witnessing a metamorphosis of expressions regarding a particular Era. In this metamorphosis, a semantic gap is sometimes determined between two deliberately explicit works; it happens when architecture consciously faces a critical situation in relation to its context. It is not a question of different styles, but of how the language has assimilated the context from the project or how it has been interpreted.
Starting from the poetics and then from the action, in the sense of ποίησις, the two authors, Palladio and Muratori, will be read in relation to their interventions on the city and how their contributions interact in different ways in relation to the considered historical background.
The theme of consolidated island town and marginality will be read throughout the symbiotic relationship between code and canon, thanks to the design comparison of two different case studies: the Giudecca area for Palladio and the San Giuliano’s one for Muratori.
In a strict correlation with the city of Venice, the two projects will try to understand which will be the new dialogue to establish with pre-existing canons and how to find out groundbreaking codes with whom reading modernity in an innovative way
Post-war Modernism in Greece: The “XENIA” Construction Program for an Architecture of Tourism During the 50s–60s
No full textAbstract
The “XENIA” programme was the first coordinated Greek government effort during the 1950s to establish tourist hotel complexes throughout the Greek territory. Their architectural value and their contribution to the development of tourism were fundamental in the revitalization effort of the country after World War II and the Civil War. Through the “XENIA” programme, Greek modern architecture has found it’s typical and original expression worldwide recognized, as these exceptional structures were part of the country’s cultural heritage. A number of notable architects undertook the design headed by Aris Constantinides, considered the most important contemporary Greek Architect in the Modern Movement. For the first time, specific architectural elements were applied in the design, from landscape integration to interior details. In this context the environmental principles are being recognized as a determinant factor for the design. In the late ‘80s, the state proved incapable of following the touristic demand and the XENIA took the path of abandonment with the last state-run Xenia closed in 1997. Chronic deterioration, devaluation and abandonment have caused significant damage to many of these buildings. Today they lie either time-destroyed and unoccupied or, have undergone interventions, which have distorted their original conception. A proper re-use of these unique structures can come through recovering their authentic message, with an emphasis on their high architectural value, their elegant use of the local environmental resources and conditions, representing an extraordinary pre-condition for a sustainable approach that can enhance the appropriate and energy efficient upgrading of the Xenia hotels throughout the Greek territory
Renovation, densification and Intensification in the built environment
No full textThe paper illustrates the main strategies, methods, and solutions that are possible for the actions of
renovation in the existing built heritage, in view of the necessary to upgrade of such heritage to achieve the
highly energy efficient and decarbonized targets set by the recent action plans and directives at EU level.
However, the built heritage encompasses an extremely large variety of different building’s types and
ranges from historical and protected buildings up to the modern stand-alone buildings in the peripheries of
the cities. Thus, starting from considerations on the challenging issues related to the energy efficiency in
historical buildings, the paper moves up to illustrate new buildings’ design and different cases of deep
transformation for the buildings built after the second world war, particularly from the ‘60s and ’80s.
With reference to that more recently built heritage, it is the authors’ considered opinion that the nonenergy-related benefits might play a key role in the deep energy renovation.
Actions that focus on the creation of a substantial increase of the architectural and urban quality,
along with the growth of real estate value of the existing buildings through significant energy and
architectural transformations, can be considered strategically effective. They can be indeed necessary to
develop harmonized, concerted, and innovative actions to unlock public and private funds, fill the energy
efficiency investment gap, and ultimately contribute to re-launch the construction market.
The paper illustrates some of the results from two EU funded projects Abracadabra and Pro-GETonE, both dealing with new renovation strategies based on the possibility of densifying, intensifying the
consolidated urban environment. Regulative obstacles must be overcome for the implementation of such a
punctual densification policy, that has been proven capable of fostering the investments in deep renovation
of the existing built environment while contrasting the urban sprawl and soil sealing
Environmental Urban Morphology: A Multidisciplinary Methodology for the Analysis of Public Spaces in Dense Urban Fabrics
No full textA city is an organism made of social, economic, cultural, and environmental fabrics, the interactions of which determine the form and functioning of city life. Different disciplines are then involved in analyzing the complex processes of the 21st-century city. The aim of this study was to explore the use of an analytical method that can act as a catalyst for the main players involved in the environmental urban morphology (EUM). This multidisciplinary methodology focuses on the study of public space in dense urban fabrics as a key context for understanding a city. Operationally, the work shows the potential of integrating morphological analysis, pedestrian flow analysis, and environmental analysis and applying them in dense and compact urban fabrics. The first of these analyses methods was carried out using urban survey tools and the geographic information system (GIS) in order to detect the physical forms of the city and develop a number of morphological maps. The second, using the global positioning system (GPS) and on-site detectors, maps pedestrian movement within public spaces. The latter mainly focuses on the microclimatic analysis of public spaces and outdoor comfort, carried out using environmental software such as ENVI-met (4.4 version). The ultimate goal of this study was to achieve the definition of a dynamic, multidisciplinary, and multilayer methodology for the analysis of dense urban fabrics which we believe could be very useful for addressing the regenerative processes of the contemporary city.Environmental Technology and Desig
Climatic performance of urban texture: public spaces in Venice fabric
No full texthe open spaces of Venice represent an emblematic excerpt of the social,
environmental, and traditional identity of city life. One of the most disregarded aspects in
Venice is the relationship between the natural and the built environment elements, such as
building facades and the waterways. The paper thus focuses on assessing the fabric
characteristics and their trade-offs in two of the largest public spaces in Venice. The first is
Campo San Polo, a great quadrangular “Campo” of the Venetian urban structure dating back
to the 10th-11th century known as the “Archipelago City”. The second one is Campo Santa
Maria Formosa, dated back to Gothic Venice, which features a bone structure and is
characterized by the balance between water and land systems. The climatic performance of
the two Campo Types is based on morphological and microclimatic analysis via ENVI-met, to
identify the integrated performance of public spaces as the preferential place for reading,
designing, and living in a city. The climatic behaviour of the Campo types was performed
considering four key variables: urban morphology, anthropogenic heat from buildings facades
and from street materials, albedo values, and the role of water. The results show that the
variability of urban form has a major impact on urban temperature, urban livability, as well as on thermal resilience behaviour in future climatic conditions
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