357 research outputs found
Adaptive by Nature
No full textIn light of the pressing realities posed by climate change, there is an increasingly urgent need to re-evaluate individual responsibilities, develop effective adaptive models, and establish governance frameworks
that are vital for our collective survival (Folke, 2006; Walker et al., 2004). At its core, adaptation signifies a decisive and necessary undertaking, allowing both natural organisms and human-made environments
to persevere and maintain their functionality in the face of external pressures (Adger et al., 2005). In this context, adaptation is not merely reactive but appears to be an intrinsic predisposition – a capacity seemingly endowed by nature itself. This perspective aligns with the view that biological and built systems possess inherent resilience, allowing them to adjust dynamically as challenges evolve (Berkes & Folke, 1998). Such an approach resonates with contemporary frameworks in design and sustainability, which emphasise the integration of adaptive and regenerative practices into planning and policy (Mang & Reed, 2020)
A2R+M From Architecture and Urban Design
No full textIntroduction to the Architecture and Urban Design Framework of the boo
Territorio e città: la “centralità migrata degli elementi naturali”. Dalla cartografia al progetto per il recupero e la valorizzazione del paesaggio
No full textDall'analisi della cartografia al progetto del territorio
Experimenting with adaptive architecture: Tools for climate-responsive design
No full textThis chapter explores adaptive architecture as a climate-responsive design approach, operationalising a more-than-human and regenerative agenda through Nature-based Solutions (NbS) supported by microclimate modelling. A university campus in Turin (Politecnico di Torino) is analysed as a living laboratory where compact, low-vegetated historical courtyards coexist with more open and greener recent expansions. Campus-wide simulations in ENVI-met 5.1 (810×810×40 m) reproduce peak heat-stress conditions on 25 July 2022 using meteorological inputs from the closest ARPA Piemonte station; pedestrian thermal stress is assessed via PET. Results identify the historical inner courtyards as critical hotspots due to canyon geometry, trapped radiation, limited airflow, and low-albedo surfaces. A representative courtyard (DIATI; TO_CEN02_U026) is then modelled in detail with ENVI-met 5.7.1 and tested with NbS (dense mini-forests, increased permeable/vegetated surfaces, high-SRI permeable paving, rain garden, and rainwater harvesting). The proposed scenario improves microclimatic performance, notably reducing PET by 32.48% and lowering surface temperatures, with the strongest benefits in previously unshaded areas near exposed façades
Herschel-ATLAS : deep HST/WFC3 imaging of strongly lensed submillimetre galaxies
No full textThis work is supported by STFC (grants PP/D002400/1 and ST/G002533/1)We report on deep near-infrared observations obtained with the Wide Field Camera-3 (WFC3) onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of the first five confirmed gravitational lensing events discovered by the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS). We succeed in disentangling the background galaxy from the lens to gain separate photometry of the two components. The HST data allow us to significantly improve on previous constraints of the mass in stars of the lensed galaxy and to perform accurate lens modelling of these systems, as described in the accompanying paper by Dye et al. We fit the spectral energy distributions of the background sources from near-IR to millimetre wavelengths and use the magnification factors estimated by Dye et al. to derive the intrinsic properties of the lensed galaxies. We find these galaxies to have star-formations rates (SFR) ∼ 400–2000 M⊙ yr−1, with ∼(6–25) × 1010 M⊙ of their baryonic mass already turned into stars. At these rates of star formation, all remaining molecular gas will be exhausted in less than ∼100 Myr, reaching a final mass in stars of a few 1011 M⊙. These galaxies are thus proto-ellipticals caught during their major episode of star formation, and observed at the peak epoch (z ∼ 1.5–3) of the cosmic star formation history of the Universe.Peer reviewe
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