VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability

Rigid and soft modularity: the case of a Beiruti shoreline

2024-06-06T12:02:50+02:00

This paper explores spatial systems of modularity on the shoreline of Ein el Mrayseh located in Beirut. The modular systems are studied from a contextual lens while observing different modular interventions as design strategies on this shoreline. The Ein el Mrayseh corniche is one of the few remaining public spaces of Beirut, and is considered one of the most important outlet for the city residents. It is used by different types of groups, from different classes and backgrounds. Based on a series of observations, the paper analyses modular interventions by different stakeholders on this stretch. Two terms were coined: rigid and soft modularity, as linguistic and analytical modes to understand the spatial practices of Ein el Mrayseh. The paper argues that the users of this public space have developed soft modular strategies - dynamic and in constant flux, as a mean to tame the rigid modular strategies enforced on the site and to appropriate the space.

CiaBOT: the circular design of an experimental microarchitecture between material and immaterial values

2024-05-22T16:09:47+02:00

The transition to a circular economy entails new challenges for architects and designers. Among these, one challenge is to look at waste not only as new resources, from an environmental perspective, but also as bearers of information capable of communicating their history and origin. Moreover, waste can be considered as a means of activating unexpected knowledge and social connections. The article illustrates a circular design experimentation, conducted with architecture and design students and a wine farm, which led to the creation of the CiaBOT project, a belvedere aimed at enhancing the landscape and providing a temporary stopping point in the Monferrato hills (UNESCO World Heritage Site, Italy). CiaBOT is not only a belvedere but is a microarchitecture capable of conveying both material and immaterial cultural values. Its form and materials are intimately connected with the territory with and for which it was designed. These make CiaBOT a “space” of hybridization and dialogue between agricultural tradition and innovation. But it is also a “space” of fieldwork education and knowledge co-generation in which academic and non-academic stakeholders have measured themselves. Through the description of the different stages of the design process, the article is part of the debate on new sustainable ways of designing and building, reflecting on new models of circular economy based as much on design strategies and processes as on the enhancement of human labor and the use of technologies appropriate to the context and actors.

Adaptive reuse of modern heritage for cultural purpose: Hybridization strategies in Pier Luigi Nervi Hangar, Italy

2024-05-22T16:10:28+02:00

The evolution of cities and urban landscapes has witnessed the rise of architectural complexes and urban areas adapting to new functions while leaving behind others deemed obsolete. This phenomenon has sparked a surge in research endeavours aimed at hybridizing land use, not only for urban planning but also for the revitalization of historical edifices. This resurgence often entails the requalification and adaptive reuse of architectural artifacts, harmonizing their historical significance with contemporary demands. This paper delves into a case study focusing on the hybridization project of a pivotal piece of Italian engineering history: the 1938 hangar designed by Pier Luigi Nervi in Salerno, Italy, a groundbreaking prefabricated reinforced concrete structure. The study faces the dual challenge of preserving the hangar’s cultural and technological heritage while seamlessly integrating contemporary cultural functions alongside its military roots. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this research navigates through the complexities of architectural hybridization, offering insights into the preservation and adaptation of historical landmarks for future generations.

Design for disassembly and cultural sites. The use of modular architecture and prefabrication in exhibition venues

2024-05-22T16:12:36+02:00

The article discusses the use of modular architecture and prefabrication in exhibition venues, looking at the possibility of designing installations with multiple temporalities. Through four concrete experimentations, we discuss ways of repurposing precast modules in new layouts with different functional programs in line with the “design for disassembly” concept. The article also emphasises the relevance of the massive residential construction programme based on modular and prefabricated systems launched by the German Democratic Republic in the mid-1970s, and the importance of reducing the environmental impact of concrete production today. Moreover, aiming at the need to devise new strategies, it presents a research agenda towards the adoption of prefabricated modules or the cultural sector. The four cases presented here are derived from the experimental use of modular solutions by the Porto-based practice SUMMARY: the GOMOS system indicates that prefabricated modules may have a longer lifespan than traditional building layouts, as they can be repurposed, making their reuse economically viable and environmentally friendly; the “Infrastructure-Structure-Architecture” installation at La Biennale 2016 reflects on possible adjustments in the construction industry; the project for the 2018 YAP MAXXI showcases the design process of a temporary installation that becomes a permanent building; and the VR exhibition “The Reasons Offsite” addresses prefabrication as a portable dissemination project.

Architectures for immersive performances in the green, digital and inclusive transition

2024-05-22T16:09:20+02:00

This paper reports studies and project experiments being developed in researches financed by local authorities, the Ministry of University and Research with the support of NextGenerationEU and the European Commission. The work investigates the potential of culture, creativity and natural and built heritage in the green, digital and inclusive transition and is focused on the creation of sustainable, inclusive, beautiful spaces, involving the collaboration among different disciplines (architecture, music and immersive sound, visual arts, social sciences, and neuroscience). The studied spaces aim to create material and immaterial architectures, characterized by circular processes and therefore adaptable, flexible, removable, repositionable and reusable. We foresee the use of material elements (building products) and immaterial elements (sounds, images, colors, lights) to define spaces intended for the diffusion of different cultural forms and to implement the attractiveness of places afflicted by processes of abandonment and social degradation. Ideas, criteria and solutions for architecture and sound and video technologies (aimed at the definition of spaces whose perception involves full use of the senses as well as the application of the extended mind concept) will be presented to promote environmentally, economically and socially sustainable transformations of natural and built habitats for new forms of cultural diffusion.

Cross-cultural aspects of streetscape perception

2024-05-22T16:11:04+02:00

Public space auditing is an efficient tool for urban planning of active mobility infrastructures. It enables real estate developers and urban planners to judge the level of comfort their design of sidewalks and public places can provide. Most of the research focus on the methodology to characterize the satisfaction of a public space, but there is a lack of knowledge about inter-cultural aspects of such methods. Our main research question is whether there is consistency in the way in which French and Spanish auditors perceived an urban streetscape: would they rate a public space the same and what features would be differently audited. We selected three urban identities of a modern district representing a variety of urban form: a public place with a tramway station, a commercial street designed as a strip mall, and green residential area with leisure activities. Each of these points of view were audited by a pool of French and Spanish participants according to criteria related to buildings’ architecture and sidewalks’ design for walkability and cyclability purposes. Both virtual reality and real scenes of the public spaces were recorded in videos and provided to participants for rating purposes. Architectural ambiances were measured with qualitative scales, quality of public space was measured with two integrated indicators of pedestrian level of service, and the accordance of infrastructures for active mobility was probed with individual scales. Results from the audit suggest that some streetscape impressions may be quite similar when assessed with various types of measurement, in different cultural contexts: scale, size and architectural style stimulate the same kind of feelings, and the quality of public spaces were perceived equivalently by the two communities as well as bikeability. Dissimilarities in perception occurred for the perception of materials and general feelings of the areas, and in the rating of walkability and in preferences for walking.

Critical analysis and digital documentation of the transformations of heritage buildings

2024-05-22T16:11:30+02:00

Trabzon Hagia Sophia Mosque symbolizes significant cultural heritage with its historical diversity and distinctive architectural features. Today, this building is remarkable for its cultural transformation and historical layers. The study aims to address the transformation processes of the Hagia Sophia Mosque in the light of international conservation criteria, to understand the history of the building and to reveal the digital perspectives of this historical place. The study comprises a four-stage process: (1) investigating the building’s history through a literature review, (2) obtaining visual and technical data through fieldwork, (3) conducting a transformation analysis and generating a three-dimensional measured model, and (4) providing evaluations and recommendations on the building’s transformation and digital modeling in alignment with conservation criteria. The digital model of the building as a result of the study will be part of the preservation of such an important piece of cultural heritage for future generations. The study emphasizes the need for more effective integration of digital modeling techniques in conservation and documentation studies, extending from Hagia Sophia to various cultural heritage sites.

Dwelling architecture in the context of socio-economic and technological conditions of modern Kazakhstan (on the example of Almaty city)

2024-05-22T16:12:04+02:00

The relevance of this research is highlighted by Almaty’s continuing status as a historical and cultural centre and a financially independent city, despite no longer serving as the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Currently, an important issue is the formation of the “Smart City” plan in the context of modern concepts of resource conservation and environmental policy. The research aims to substantiate changes in the formation of housing architecture under the influence of socio-economic, political, and technological processes in the context of gradual historical changes in the example of Almaty, as well as to determine the priority directions of development of urban planning processes, in particular on the territory of the residential zone. The following methods of scientific research were used: abstract-logical method; comparative method; historical method; method of system analysis and synthesis. To achieve the research aims, the elements of the socio-economic development of Almaty in the context of historical, cultural, and educational centres were defined. The peculiarities of dwelling architecture from the 1920s to the present day are analysed. This research proposes priority directions for urban planning in Almaty’s residential area by analysing historical architecture influenced by socio-economic and technological factors.

Towards resilient communities through prototypes for human-centered public spaces

2024-06-28T18:07:25+02:00

MARCELLA DEL SIGNORE

Architect, urbanist, educator, scholar, and the principal of X-Topia, a design-research practice that explores the intersection of architecture and urbanism with technology and the public, social, cultural, and cognitive realm. She has been involved in evidence-based research and applied-design projects investigating the intersection of architecture, urbanism,emerging technology, livability, and emotional/cognitive spaces. She is an Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Science in Architecture, Urban Design at New York Institute of Technology. Since 2007, she has taught Architecture and Urban Design in international institutions of higher education in the USA and Europe, and in 2019 she received the NYIT Presidential Award for the integration of Technology and in 2023 the Outstanding Faculty Research Award. She has published five books on urbanism, human-centered design, and emerging technologies, including Urban Machines: Public Space in a Digital Culture (LISTLab, 2018; OROEditions 2020) and "Data, Matter, and Design" (Routledge, 2020).

She co-curated the Data and Matter exhibition during the 2018 Architecture Venice Biennale. She was invited to exhibit at the 17th Architecture Venice Biennale in 2021 in the Italian Pavilion Resilient Communities, and she was the deputy curator of the NYIT Students as Researchers Collateral Event at the 18th Architecture Venice Biennale in 2023.

Editorial

2024-06-28T18:17:31+02:00

Editorial VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability, Volume 9, Issue 1 (2024)