11 research outputs found
RESTORY. Managing a COST Action as a Project
No full text"This publication has a two-fold aim: to summarize the main results from
the COST Action CA16114 REthinking Sustainability TOwards a Regenerative
Economy (RESTORE, 2017-2021); and, to provide some insight into the
project management strategies that are in place for our team, thereby
ensuring that the Action will be properly and successfully developed. COST
is the longest-running European framework supporting trans-national
cooperation between researchers, engineers, and scholars throughout
Europe. The RESTORE Action is working for a paradigm shift towards
restorative sustainability for new and existing buildings and space design
across Europe, through active lobbying and mentoring, as well as through
working groups, training schools and Short-Term Scientific Missions
(STSMs), advancing the sustainability of restorative builtenvironment
sustainability.“
Editors: Carlo Battisti and Martin BrownRESTORE Final Action Dissemination Publication: RESTORY. Managing a COST Action as a Project.
RESTORE Chair Carlo Battisti (Eurac Research, I)
RESTORE Vice-Chair Martin Brown (Fairsnape, UK)
RESTORE Contributors
Daniel Friedrich (Duale Hochschule Baden Wüttemberg Mosbach, D)
Ilaria Alberti (Eurac Research, I)
Jelena Brajković (University of Belgrade, RS)
Lisanne Havinga (Eindhoven University of Technology, NL)
Roberto Lollini (Eurac Research, I)
Emanuele Naboni (Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen, DK)
Giulia Peretti (Werner Sobek, D
A framework to support the design of a regenerative indoor environment
No full textIn recent decades, a new generation of “green indoor” spaces has fulfilled the latest regulations and guidelines for a carbon-neutral society. Their targets are reachable through certifications embracing sets of measures and the adverse effects on occupants. Notwithstanding this, it has constituted a significant step forward in building design. However, the challenges given by climate change and the ecological crises lead to the need for new disruptive approaches to indoor design and function, enhancing human health and adopting regenerative design” at the forefront of buildings’ conception. Besides the positive energyperformance attributes, the creation of a Regenerative Indoor Environment utilizes appropriate construction technologies and systems, to reinforce human
health, and enhance users’ experience. This regenerative paradigm shift foresees putting ecosystems at the centre and the users’ psycho-physiological wellbeing, thus magnifying their collaboration. Despite regenerative design gaining some attention, a framework towards its implementation promoting the actual performances of the indoor environment is still missing, and designers do navigate among guidelines with no apparent performance indicators to be achieved, technologies to be implemented, or methodologies for postoccupancy evaluations. These three levels, constituting a stepwise methodology, are addressed by the authors within the sections of this paper, and validated as an example of the office buildings’ typology. i) What characterizes a Regenerative Indoor Environment? ii) What technical solutions underpin the realization of a Regenerative Indoor Environment? iii) What methods or standards are crucial for its evaluation? With these premises, the paper contributes to supporting the creation of a regenerative indoor’ design, by sampling and outlining regenerative indoor performances to be obtained, describing the adequate tools to implement them, as well as by displaying approaches and solutions for their final verification
Exploring the potentials of ICT tools for human-centric regenerative design
No full textAiming for sustainable buildings and cities is critical to achieving a future that is socially just, ecologically regenerative, culturally rich, and economically viable. However, our current concepts of sustainability often exclude the essential domains of data, information, and the knowledge relating to the relationship between buildings and people that inhabit them. Thus, the research questions at the core of this paper have been as follows: Can technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) be used to create systems that enhance relationships between buildings and inhabitants? Can social networks and natural interactions support further research relating to human-centric design tools for the built environment? The Human Observation Meta-Environment (HOME) project was developed to address this question. The ICT architecture has been tested to observe and collect human behaviour data within a sentient room at the Politecnico di Torino (IT), where the inhabitants were strategically aware of their behaviours. Methods of analysis included technologies related to the domain of AI (such as Natural Language Analysis, Computer Vision, Machine Learning and Deep Learning) that have been used in social network analysis in connection with the word ‘comfort’, and definitions resonate strongly with the realm of regenerative design. Results were used to further research the role of users that could serve as leverages to design (both spaces and related smart systems) according to actual user needs. People from very different disciplinary backgrounds interacted with the prototype in a workshop and provided stimuli for further considerations regarding the possible technological, psychological, cognitive, cultural, social, political, and aesthetical impacts of the use of these technologies inside sentient buildings. The paper enriches the discourse on how ICT data can be organised and read in a human-centric regenerative design process perspective
Climate change and indoor temperature variation in Venetian buildings: The role of density and urban form
No full textAlthough the influence of urban form on microclimate and building thermal processes has been acknowledged, few studies have addressed the influence of overheating mechanisms on heterogeneous urban fabrics for existing historical cities. This study investigates the impact of changing urban climate on indoor temperatures by focusing on three Venice morphological patterns. Through microclimate modelling techniques, outdoor and indoor temperatures are simulated in 2020 and 2050 scenarios. Results show that the compactness of the urban fabric contributes to reducing indoor building temperatures. The analysis suggests that the increased density of shadow areas can mitigate the outdoor temperature values and reduce direct radiation on façades. When comparing the two climate scenarios 2020 and 2050, average indoor temperatures increase in the latter. However, the analysis highlights that the absence of insulation and the relatively high thermal mass of typical Venetian envelopes plays a crucial role in the building thermal processes preserving indoor comfort in a warmer climate future.Environmental Technology and Desig
On Venetian Campi Resilience to Climate Change
No full textVenice is known for its history and beauty and its fragility and potential demise. The city is experiencing an increase in yearly average temperatures affecting outdoor - indoor comfort and average energy expenditure. Owing to existing literature demonstrating how local microclimate depends on urban density, shape, and orientation of buildings and materials, the work studies the influence of changing Venice temperatures by targeting such issues, focusing on an urban fabric typical form, known as Campi. Based on IPCC's future weather predictions for 2050 scenario A1B, the work highlights how the urban fabric configuration affects the local microclimate and outdoor conditions to define how buildings will mitigate and adapt to environmental transitions. The method couples microclimate and outdoor comfort users' perception of Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), via ENVI-met. Preliminary results show that the compactness of the urban fabric in Venetian Campi significantly reduces outdoor temperatures due to the increased density of shadow areas in the courtyard or in narrow Venice streets. The role of water is also simulated via ENVI-met, as buildings' materials and indoor energy consumption are assumed as invariant to evaluate the historic urban fabric climate resilience. The results constitute a first step towards understanding to what extent a particular urban fabric type is thermally resilient.Environmental Technology and Desig
On the thermal resilience of venetian open spaces
No full textVenice is known for its urban heritage fragility. The city is experiencing an increase in yearly average temperatures affecting outdoor–indoor comfort and average energy expenditure. Owing to existing literature demonstrating how local microclimate depends on urban density, form, and materials, this investigation studies the influence of the changing local climate on Venetian vernacular open spaces, known as Campi. Based on the comparison of contemporary weather and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) future predictions for the 2050 scenario, this investigation highlights how Campi’s open spaces and the surrounding buildings, canals, and green public areas contribute to building climate resilience. By employing advanced modelling, the study analyses microclimate and outdoor comfort with respect to users’ perception of Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET). The ENVI-met tool is used to simulate the thermal behaviour of two representative Campi: SS. Giovanni e Paolo and S. Polo. Despite significant temperature growths, Venetian urban fabric characteristics seem to play a crucial role in strengthening the climate resilience of open spaces, thus preserving outdoor comfort quality in a warmer future. The analysis shows how the historical matrix of open spaces and buildings cooperate. Thus, this study offers a contribution to how built heritage should be considered in light of climate change
About the Triggering of UN Sustainable Development Goals and Regenerative Sustainability in Higher Education
No full textHumans are at the center of global climate change: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are igniting sustainability with proactive, global, social goals, moving us away from the Brundtland paradigm ‘do nothing today to compromise tomorrows generation’. This promotes a regenerative shift in the sustainability concept, no longer only considering resources and energy, but also significant human-centric attributes. Despite this, precise ecological and sustainable attitudes have little prognostic value regarding final related individual human behavior. The global cultural challenge, dominated by technological innovations and business imperatives, alongside the mirroring technological fallacy and lack of ethical reasoning, makes the role of small actions, at individual and at academic scale even harder. This paper outlines the context in which universities can collaborate and contribute to triggering sustainability values, attitudes, and behavior within future regenerative societies. This contribution consists in three main areas: the first analyzes the issue of sustainability transitions at the individual scale, where influencing factors and value–behavior links are presented as reviewed from a number of multi and transdisciplinary scholars’ works. The second part enlarges the picture to the global dimension, tracing the ideological steps of our current environmental crisis, from the differences in prevailing western and eastern values, tradition, and perspectives, to the technological fallacy and the power of the narratives of changes. Finally, the task of our role as academics in the emerging ‘integrative humanities’ science is outlined with education promoted as an essential driver in moving from sustainability to regenerative paradigms
Experimental Study on the Mechanical and Light-Filtering Properties of Functionally Graded Bio-Composites
No full textThis study investigates the development of functionally graded wood bio-composites, integrating sawdust and 3D-printed wood polymer filaments as fibre reinforcements within a rosin-beeswax matrix. Aimed at providing sustainable material alternatives for the construction industry, this research explores the customisation of mechanical properties and light-filtering capabilities through the strategic distribution of filler materials. Experiments assess mechanical strengths and translucency characteristics, revealing how varying compositions influence the composites’ structural integrity and light permeability properties. A proof-of-concept prototype panel was designed and manufactured by combining additive manufacturing of wood polymers with resin casting, using these early findings to showcase the potential for creating composites with tailored functionalities by modifying the filler distribution. This study sets the ground for future material refinements and investigations on bio-composites that offer innovative opportunities for performance-driven design through functional grading, with perspective applications in external building envelopes and interior partition systems
The Effects of the Myobrace<sup>®</sup> System on Peripheral Blood Oxygen Saturation (SpO<sub>2</sub>) in Patients with Mixed Dentition with Oral Dysfunction
No full textIntroduction: Myobrace® is an orthodontic device that has the purpose of correcting oral dysfunctions, thus predisposing the physiological growth of the jaws, aligning teeth, and optimizing face development. This device is usually associated with Myobrace® Activities to reach this target. Considering the lack of studies in the literature about peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and the use of preformed oral devices, the aim of this study is to quantify the change in blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) in patients treated with the Myobrace® System in mixed dentition. Materials and Methods: In this study, 23 children (11 females and 12 males) were involved, who were affected by different oral dysfunctions and were treated with a Myobrace®. Blood oxygen saturation measurements were taken at baseline and after every four months for a year. The SpO2 measurements were taken in the rest position and with a closed mouth for a total of 12 min—6 min with and 6 min without the Myobrace® oral device. All data points were anonymized and recorded on an Excel spreadsheet. A statistical analysis was carried out. Results: Therapy with a Myobrace® in patients with mixed dentition resulted in a statistically significant increase in oxygen saturation. In particular, in patients with a closed mouth, a statistically significant increase in oxygen saturation was observed, bringing it from 97.66% to 99.00%, while in the rest position, the increase was from 98.03% to 99.07%. Conclusions: The use of Myobrace® devices in patients with mixed dentition could lead to a significant improvement in blood oxygen saturation
