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Theoretical studies and practical tools for a systemic design educational paradigm. Applications of Systems Thinking principles to design education
Full text linkThe paper analyses the relationship between currently changes, about cultural paradigm, and systemic designer's education. It represents a critical moment, because a suitable learning gives opportunities to practice abilities necessary for the communication with the complexity of social systems. In future scenarios concepts of complexity, systems, sustainability, “interdisciplinarity” and “transdisciplinarity” are the foundamental part of design language. So the design world gets closer to “the systems thinking” and the theory of complexity, conditioning its methodologies that becomes “systems oriented”. Through the critical analysis of some case studies, we want to analyse different methods used to get closer students to the systemic approach and trying to create a deep collaboration between theoretical studies and practice. Finally we would like to draw attention to some features of non conventional education, which are more affected into the development of a systemic awareness and which are useful to define a systemic educational model for design studies
Phytotechnology & Design for Vertical Greening Systems.Light requirements for indoor applications and low-cost solutions for fostering their diffusion.
Full text linkL'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen
Indoor Living Wall: educational tool for improving eco-health awareness in public school
Full text linkThe increasing urbanization trend may affect negatively people's health due
to the lack of natural areas. Younger generations carry out many daily activities in indoor
spaces, such as schools, where the quality of indoor environment could be poor. Recent
studies assert that the application of vertical greening in indoor spaces improves the quality
of indoor air and provides several benefits for occupants' wellbeing. Vertical greening
systems are included in the set of Urban Green Infrastructures (UGI) that apply nature-based
solutions and promote an ecological approach for the improvement of built environment.
They also offer the opportunity to develop educational activities focused on ecological
approach in urban areas. Urban environmental education involving green infrastructures
helps to rise people's awareness regard the importance of environmental quality for their
wellbeing. This paper investigates the opportunity to consider indoor living wall as
complementary education tools to promote (non-) formal education and ecological literacy.
It investigates how the development of green curricula activities using indoor living wall can
promotes the understanding of the cross-dependence between human health and the quality
of indoor environment
Healthy Plants vs Efficient Living Wall: Laboratory experiment and data analysis
Full text linkLiving walls are increasingly adopted as green infrastructures to reintroduce nature in built environment and provide benefits in addition to aesthetic amelioration such as the improvement of air quality or the increase of biodiversity. As for other nature-based solutions, living walls are complex systems in which vegetation plays a pivotal role in the mitigation of adverse conditions. Indeed, the efficiency and the aesthetic appearance of these plant-based strategies strictly depend by the health status of plants used to build the living wall itself. Substrate play a pivotal role on plant health and growth along with environmental conditions, such as light exposure, temperature and humidity. However, sustainability features of substrate are often overlooked, and non-renewable materials are frequently used to produce growing media for living walls. Therefore, this study presents and discusses results obtained during a 120-days laboratory experiment concerning the effects of some innovative growing media on health and growth status of plants commonly used for vertical greening. These innovative growing media were produced by upcycling some organic waste and by-products collected from local supply chain such as cork obtained by stoppers, raw wool, hazelnut shells, hemp stalks, fronds of invasive freshwater vegetation, and coffee grounds. Each waste and by-product have been mixed with regular soil used for the cultivation of ornamental and herbaceous plants (Chlorophytum comosum, Spathiphyllum wallisii and Mentha spicata). The chlorophyll content was considered as useful index to evaluate plant health status. It was monitored on plants set in modules that contain varied innovative growing media through a non-destructive procedure performed by an optical manual metre. On the other hand, the plant growth was assessed on the same plants by monitoring the “Total Leaf Area” (TLA) and the “Number of Leaves” that were used to calculate the “Mean Leaf Growth Index”. This index was elaborated to provides indications about the mean growth of plants during the experiment running. Moreover, two-way ANOVA was performed to statistically assess the effect of these innovative substrates on chlorophyll content and TLA. Promising results were obtained for some innovative growing media such as those containing hazelnut shells, grinded cork and hemp stalks. Indeed, all three plant species set up in these growing media presented positive results concerning the chlorophyll content and the “Mean Leaf Growth Index”. These outcomes suggest implementing further studies to move towards a techno-ecological strategy that consider plant physiology an essential indicator to design sustainable and efficient living walls. Moreover, this study proposes a ground-breaking methodology supported by the circular mindset that can be adopted to develop further substrates based on the upcycling of undervalued materials at local scale
Bio-based materials from Po River organic waste: a Do It Yourself design.
Full text linkFreshwater ecosystems are increasingly affected by the raise of temperatures in
urban areas that causes the proliferation of invasive aquatic vegetation, such as the
case of Elodea nuttalii in the Po River in Turin (Italy). Mechanical eradication is the
most efficient method of environmental control, but it produces large amounts of
plant biomass treated as organic waste. This study focuses on investigating
opportunities to use aquatic plant biomass as raw material to produce bio-based
materials to move towards the replacement of fossil-based plastics. A preliminary
analysis led to develop almost 31 procedures and the study was performed in
laboratory by Do-It-Yourself approach as method to explore potentialities offered by
aquatic plant biomass. Material Tinkering was then adopted as method to
preliminary evaluate samples of bio-based materials. Some samples showed
promising characteristics and properties that suggest interesting real-scale
applications in the perspective of circular economy such as in footwear industry
Progetto Glume: from milling waste to resource for new materials
Full text linkThe paper discusses the results of experimental research concerning the enhancement of waste from wheat milling. It focuses on the analysis of Mulino Marino's production system, a leader cereals' milling company in the Cuneo province. The analysis of material flows identifies wheat husks and organic sand (about 30% of total wheat grains) as processing residues not classified as by-products that must be discarded as waste, following current regulations. Chemical-physical characterization certifies that they present qualities that are not optimized in their current end-of-life management. Looking at the main purposes of the circular bio-economy and the SDG12, the study focuses on defining a craft protocol for testing potential uses of company's organic waste through a set of basic experimental tests to investigate performances of wheat husks as a biopolymer, similar to thermoplastics, and as a compound for a bio-based material to replace to disposable plastics (e.g. for packaging)
Plant-Driven Design and Phytotechnology to improve the built environment
Full text linkIn post-industrial cities the quality of built environment is partially
affected by the high concentration of chemical pollutants in outdoor and
indoor spaces. An increasing number of people spend about 90% of their
daily time in indoor environment that often has a higher concentration of
pollutants than outdoors. The presence of many chemical compounds and
the absence of natural elements contributes to reduce the healthiness of
indoor spaces and to trigger the Syndrome of Sick Building in occupants.
Many researches support that natural ecosystems have a positive effect
on human health and other studies show the benefits provided by the
application of phytotechnology. This paper discusses the opportunities
offered by the application of plant-based solutions to improve the
healthiness of built environment (especially the indoor air quality) and
to re-establishing a relationship between man and rural spaces, with
positive implication on psychological well-being. Phytotechnology
includes many techniques to remediate polluted sites or to mitigate effects
of anthropogenic activities using plant’s metabolism according with
technological solutions. In the paradigm shift toward an ecological view,
natural ecosystems are considered as a part human society and plants are
good indicators of the quality of the environment. This study focuses on
the review of ecosystems services provided by plant-based solutions and
it also reflects on the inclusion of phytotechnology in design practice for
the well-being of people in indoor spaces and more in general in postindustrial
cities
Do-it-yourself approach applied to the valorisation of a wheat milling industry's by-product for producing bio-based material
No full textCereal processing and flour production play a key role in the Italian agrifood scenario generating valuable economic incomes and contributing significantly to the export market. The European Union's commitment to the transition towards the Circular Economic model has led to increasing attention to food by-products and waste valorisation practices in order to reduce the amount of food loss and waste and costs for disposal. Processing outputs produce secondary raw materials which often remain unexplored for alternative applications and other supply chains. This article focuses on the use organic residues obtained by cereal processing conducted by a small-size milling industry to produce bio-based materials. The research is structured in two stages: (1) the first investigates the production of organic waste through material flow analysis and characterisation of wheat dust, which is considered as waste, through nutritional and toxicological analyses; (2) the second explores the opportunity of using wheat dust as reinforcing filler for a starch-based bio-composite and as culture medium for a microbial cellulose. This second stage adopts the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach for upcycling of food waste and manipulation of bio-based materials. The wheat dust/starch bio-composite was processed to obtain surrogates of disposable plates, while the microbial cellulose was manipulated to achieve a film for food packaging. Strengths and criticalities of both applications are discussed, considering limitations implied by the DIY approach, and further implementations are defined. This article focuses on a case study located in Cuneo province (Piedmont Region, Italy), but it also considers the opportunity to upscale the study to larger milling industries due to the relevance of wheat grains processing in the Italian agrifood market
Systemic Education and Awareness. The role of project-based-learning in the systemic view
Full text linkThe paper investigates the role of Systemic design in a well-structured social network as a tool to solve complex problems difficult to face by the application of a linear approach. It's necessary a change of paradigm: from an approach based on the competition and on the logic of continuous growth to a systemic vision, based on the collaboration, the awareness and the rediscovery of qualitative values. The ecological emergency demands more and more the development of sustainable and resilient communities. We have to change the waymof thinking processes and relations, in other words we must be ecoliterate. Infact, ecoliteracy represents the starting point of innovative processes. It gives importance to the relations and to the multidisciplinary team-work. This cultural change begins at the level of the schooling system which now represents the official institution for growing conscious individuals. The current academic system has been defined by the same linear and competitive approach used to delineate our economic systems (social hierarchy,inequalities etc.). In practice, to achieve some important changes we need to act from students of primary school to college students and over. The paper investigates also the issues of the strict hierarchy between teacher and student and the support of collaborative behaviour. In this article we present different case studies (not only from the world of academia) and analyse the role of project-based-learning in order to inspire a new ecocompetent generation of people
The use of water for technical development or technical development for the use of water? Systemic and Ecological considerations about the clean energy production in urban context.
Full text linkNowadays in the global context, the use of water resources for daily activities is one of the main topic discussed by the international community. This paper presents a required reflection on paradigm shift toward an aware water management. As we know, in the past, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries, water power plays a crucial role in early stages of industrialization. Waterwheels was applied in many industrial sectors, as in textile, iron and wood production, improving manufacturing processes and affecting economic, environmental, social and cultural structure of societies. Water power is one of the most known renewable energy and scientific and technological innovations lead toward the introduction of new machines. Many industrial sites and cities were developed near rivers, lakes and other watersheds and citizens improved technical solutions to manage water resources for producing hydroelectric power.
Considering the global goals of the Agenda 2030, especially the SDG 6, focused on providing sustainable management of water and on fighting water scarcity, and the SDG 7, focused on ensuring renewable and clean energy, we need to tackle some of main current issues to move toward sustainability. Many other examples suggest that we need to consider that the development of human communities depends by the availability of water resources and also to undertake considerable actions for a sustainable use.
Water power is considered one of the most ancient type of clean and sustainable energy and it provides many benefits for local citizens, as reducing water and air pollution and enhancing local resources. Hydroelectric power includes both large-scale hydroelectric dams and small run-of-the-river plants and the construction of hydroelectric power stations depends by the topography of the land. On the other hands the construction of new hydroelectric facilities might impact the environment in land use changing and also in preserve aquatic wildlife’s ecosystems. In some cases in large water reservoirs the amount of nutrients and sediments might increase, changing habitats and conditions for animal and plant life and increasing greenhouse gasses emissions. On one way some targets expressed by the SDG 6 (e.g. 6.6) regards the protection and the restoration of water-related ecosystems, as rivers and lakes, and on the other way some of them focus on the development of innovative technologies for wastewater treatment (e.g. 6.A). We need to look at these issues in a systemic view and to apply the systems thinking approach in water management practices to sustain local communities.
A systemic approach to hydroelectric power considers the impact in design practice of dams on natural ecosystems and urban contexts and it tries to reduce negative effects through the application of ecological principles.
Ecological Engineering practice works to provide benefits for humans, to preserve natural ecosystems (Bergen, Bolton, Fridley, 2001) and it designs integrated systems (Mitsch & Jørgensen, 1989; Mitsch, 1996). In the ecological and systemic thinking, we shouldn’t consider water only like a resource for human benefits, but it is also habitat for other species of plants and animals.
In this paper we would present benefits provided by small-scale
hydroelectric facilities through a case study made in the urban context. It underlines how a natural and local resource, as water of urban river, can be used in order to “produce” systemic services for human being, in a sustainable way. Some of these benefits are the protection of biodiversity of riparian ecosystem and the reduction of environmental impact and noise and air pollution.
Mini-hydro power presents many advantages as the dependence by natural flow of watercourse, the low relative cost of the system and possible applications in remote areas. It creates new opportunities for rural and isolated communities but also reduce the environmental impact in urban and suburban areas. The use of this local and natural resource for micro hydroelectric power contributes to increase urban metabolism, producing clean energy that can be used in the local context.
The case study here presented is a low heat hydroelectric power plant that was developed in Turin urban city center, in Regio Parco district, an historical interest area. During the 20th century in this district were established one of the oldest Italian manufacture, Manifattura Tabacchi, and the main lighting company of Turin. The small scale hydroelectric power plant is located in the Dora Riparia river, known for its importance, in 20th century, in generating hydroelectric power for local manufactures in Vanchiglia and Dora disctricts. The aim of the project is to recover the existing weir intake structure, that in XIX century was used to deflect a part of water’s course into Regio Parco canal for energy supply of local manufactures. It was technically transformed in a inflatable weir used to produce hydroelectric power, placed in electric grid of the city, and to reduce the urban flood risk.
Considering the purpose to preserve river ecosystem, the project has planned to establish a fish ladder in vertical slot to facilitate fishes’ natural migration. It is also designed to reduce the environmental impact on landscape, local vegetation and urban noise. We need to apply systems thinking for providing benefits for humans and at the same time preserving ecosystems and enhancing historical pre-industrial heritage. Managing local resources and providing benefits for the whole context is important to promote sustainable urban metabolism, through the application of the holistic viewpoint. Urban context and natural river ecosystem are complex systems and design in-for-with them is a practice to undertake in a systemic view. Finally this paper’s purpose is to show how systems thinking and ecological principles can be applied to face one of the most important challenge of our time: produce clean and sustainable energy in site and reduce its ecological footprint
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