0000000000527079
AUTHOR
Elvira Nicolini
showing 21 related works from this author
Towards a Sustainable Use of Architectural Heritage: How to Assess Accessibility and the User’s Role
2022
Scientific communities and institutional bodies are supporting many shared efforts towards improving accessibility to architectural heritage, in the awareness that it provides the basis for inclusion and enhancement. Accessibility is related to the wider tendency toward a conscious and sustainable use of the architectural heritage, considered as a multifaceted tool for its conservation. This has also highlighted the user’s role, which is paramount in order to reach and increase sustainable processes in the field of architectural heritage, as well as in all the technological processes. The user should be active in his/her relationships with the built heritage, in a multi-sensorial way and in…
Monitoring of the effect of solar radiation and rain on the building envelope with integrated vertical vegetation
2022
The goal of the present paper is the verification of the improvement of the performance of a building envelope with a green wall also in conditions of high irradiance (≥0.6 kW/m2) and with variable meteorological conditions (sunny, cloudy, and rainy), with a focus on intense rainfall and tempest. The object of the analysis has been the Innovation and Technology for Development Center in the University Campus of the Polytechnics of Madrid, where a modular system of integrated vertical vegetation has been installed on the skin of the South and West prospects. The study is based on the analysis of the effective thermoregulation capacity of the system in different climatic situations and has be…
Strategic Vision of a Euro-Mediterranean Port City: A Case Study of Palermo
2013
Italian harbours assume a decisive role in order to develop a Euro-Mediterranean web for maritime transportation. The geostrategic position of the Italian peninsula can be seen as a logistic platform at the centre of the maritime trades in the Mediterranean area, giving to its port cities the role of gateway of economic flows. The port poles, meant as hubs, are able to attract investments and create economic growth and territorial development through new operative models of urban usage and management. The management policies have to consider the environmental characteristics and distinctive features, respecting the identity of the places as concrete evidence of history, a source of intellec…
Land Healthcare Resilience and Technology
2020
The Covid 19 pandemic and emergency has highlighted the precarious conditions in urban and areas and has bettered opportunities offered by smaller towns and inland areas in which the healthy atmosphere, sparser population and sustainable relational system represent alternative ways of life, guaranteeing physical space and health controls without actually entailing social distancing and isolation. This is even more crucial for the weaker elements, of any age and condition, for whom a different model of living embodies prudence and prevention. The marginality of services represents a limitation on the possibility of transforming villages and small towns into alternatives with regard to qualit…
Design and use of a Facebook 4 Urban Facelifts
2015
The renewal of the 'urban look' (Urban Facelift) could play a crucial role for the development of the whole city. This study will analyse the case of the Palermo port area, which is considered as the 'face' of the city. Sicily is indeed an island, and therefore, because of its natural and infrastructural features, the sea is still its main connection with the world. For this reason, urban renovation in the city of Palermo has begun first with its coastal area. The tested methodology combines future urban faces with the present–state evaluation criteria by involving different stakeholders. Then, the urban faces are associated with possible and suitable future scenarios. In this way, an Urban…
Past and Future: The Urban Landscape and the Virtuous Management of Resource Flows for a Sustainable Environment
2022
A circular process in the case of resource flows can best be expressed according to a plan that takes into account the geographical proximity and synergy between citizens and industries. The study hypothesizes the possibility of anticipating part of the recycling processes in residential urban areas. This streamlines the work phases and consumers become an active part of the process. Circular management of resource flows is an operational problem that emerges with greater severity in an urban landscape, due to the constraints generated by road networks and the need to protect basic values. It often happens that the degradation generated by the irresolute nature of the technical environmenta…
Comparative analysis of the thermal insulation performance of a façade enclosure integrated by vegetation under simultaneous windy and rainy climatic…
2023
The literature offers some studies on the capacity of the greenery apparatus to decrease wind speed and regulate temperatures with the combination of the moisture retained by the plants and the air passing through them, but there is little on the maintenance of performance under particular weather conditions. The aim of this contri- bution is to verify the effectiveness of a vegetal façade in particularly windy conditions combined with rainy and/or high-irradiation events. The subject of the study is the enclosure of the Technology Innovation Centre for Development (itdUPM), on the Polytechnic University of Madrid, where a green wall prototype has been installed. For the purposes of the ana…
Smart Technologies for the Environmental Design of Smaller Urban Centres
2020
The present study focuses on welfare measures and specifically on healthcare. The challenge we would like to accept is to provide efficient healthcare to residents in an isolated area without health services, maintaining the same level of healthcare ensured by hospitals. The innovative design, that we want to experience, is closely linked to the use of ICT, information and communication technologies, because these technologies would be able to perform autonomously multiple functions, using remote control. Telemedicine or “virtual health” is a particular branch of ICT that can improve future quality of living in a marginal urban center as a tool to ensure prompt access to expert advice, as w…
Bio-based Materials. Standardizzazione e processi per la commercializzazione
2021
Il contributo si occupa degli aspetti normativi nel campo della produzione e uso di una malta con componenti organici derivanti dal riciclo di scarti agricoli e silvo-pastorali. Viene prestata attenzione alla normativa internazionale più diffusa e nota, a quella europea e a quella italiana. La riduzione del consumo di suolo e di risorse lapidee, degli scarti, la limitazione dell’utilizzo di materiali di cava naturali sono solo alcuni benefici che hanno indotto la comunità scientifica a investire nell’uso di materie prime-seconde di origine vegetale, ecosostenibili; oggi, lo stato dell’arte è molto ricco. Tuttavia, non ci sono ancora normative tecniche e procedurali relative ai materiali che…
Almond shell reuse: a viable non-conventional aggregate for sustainable building materials
2022
Bio-based or green architecture is a new way of designing and building in line with the European Green Deal and in light of the Circular Economy principles. The main green approach directs the whole construction life cycle to be eco-sustainable and environmentally friendly from the beginning to the end of the building process. Beyond the use of eco sustainable and highly performing structural materials, new technologies able of reduce the environmental impact of buildings must be used. This paper is aimed at reviewing the possible reuse of bio- wastes of agricultural origin whose massive production generates a number of issues for their treatment and disposal. In particular, this study will…
FACELIFT FOR A NEW PORT AREA IMAGE: THE CASE OF PALERMO
2012
The renewal of the urban look (Urban Facelift), starting from the harbor zones, could play a crucial role for the development of the whole city. This study will analyze the case of Palermo port area, considered as the “face” of the city. Sicily is indeed an island, therefore, because of its natural and infrastructural features, the sea is still the privileged connection with the world. For this reason, the urban renovation in the city of Palermo has begun just with its coast area. The tested methodology will combine the Urban Faces with the present state evaluation criteria by involving different stakeholders. After that, the Urban Faces will be associated with possible and suitable future …
Favignana bio-calcarenite: technological culture, knowledge and recovery
2022
Favignana Island, the biggest one among Egadi islands, is well known for its deposits of calcarenite, which has been extracted and used since ancient times. The landscape of the Island is shaped by the widespread presence of quarries that mark the seaside as well. Furthermore, the constant presence of dry-stone walls, made of calcarenite, and of the characteristic architecture of buildings, represents a hallmark for the rest of Egadi islands as well, making it clear how important the presence of this material has been for the architectural and technological culture of these places.Calcarenite itself, exported by this island, is still a constituent material of many buildings in the western p…
The Circularity of MSW in Urban Landscapes: An Evaluation Method for a Sustainable System Implementation
2022
The debate on the sustainable perspective of a circular economy and MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) management is no longer focused on the resolution of an emergency and on the pure technicality of creating efficient services. New light has been shed on the operational phase, as often unresolvable technical-environmental issues during service management lead to a state of decay, affecting urban vulnerability and users’ involvement. The research aims to develop an auxiliary tool for public administrations in planning a zero-waste future whilst enhancing the urban landscape. This study considers the perspective of virtuous management of the resource flow cycle along with evaluating implementable …
Il comfort indoor nel patrimonio edilizio esistente. Tecnologie e metodi per gli ambienti di vita
2022
This volume is the result of wide-scope research on the application of IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality) in existing buildings. The examined items are the evaluation methods and standards related to the environmental parameters for the well-being levels required to guarantee suitable livability in indoor environments. An analysis is provided on the state of the art of technological aspects in architecture for the achievement of salubrious and comfortable indoor spaces. The study is focused on passive systems for microclimatic control, with a re-proposition of the most ancient ones. Nowadays, when revisited, they have proven to be effective solutions, especially due to their possibility to …
RIFIUTI E CITTA' STORICA. IL PAESAGGIO URBANO E L’IMPATTO DELLE SOLUZIONI TECNOLOGICHE
2019
Circular management of resource flows is an operational problem that appears with greater severity in an historical urban landscape due to the constraints generated by road fabrics and by the need to protect its values. It often happens that the degradation generated by the irresolute nature of the technical-environmental issues related to the service management, affects both the vulnerability of the historical city characters and the involvement of different actors. Here, we present the results of a research work that, through a case study, develops the experimentation of a methodology that identifies criteria for a waste collection system planning in an urban landscape of high historical …
DAL CONTESTO EUROPEO ALLE CITTÀ ITALIANE. RIFERIMENTI NORMATIVI E ORIENTAMENTI PROGRAMMATICI
2019
Esiste una cospicua letteratura internazionale dedicata alle possibili modalità di gestione dei flussi di risorsa urbani. In ambito comunitario gli studi che possono essere considerati un riferimento sono quelli promossi dalla Commissione Europea. Sui risultati di questi studi è in larga parte fondata l’attuale politica di gestione dei servizi urbani che prevede una gerarchia di principi gestionali mettendo al primo posto la riduzione della produzione degli scarti alla fonte, seguita dal riuso, dal riciclo di materiali, dal recupero indiretto di energia o materiali secondari e solo come estrema soluzione, lo smaltimento in discarica. Particolare attenzione, inoltre, è posta sulla trasformaz…
IL COMFORT INDOOR, STRUMENTI LEGISLATIVI: PANORAMA LEGISLATIVO INTERNAZIONALE E NAZIONALE
2022
Già da qualche decennio si parla di IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality) con particolare attenzione sulla salubrità dell’ambiente costruito e alla sua possibile influenza sulla sostenibilità ambientale. Tale interesse si è riversato per lo più sulla qualità dei prodotti e delle tecnologie dell’edilizia, incentrando la questione sulle prestazioni di essi e sugli effetti ambientali che essi generano. Con gli obiettivi previsti dall’Agenda 2030 si supera l’idea che la sostenibilità sia una prerogativa ambientale e si afferma una visione olistica mirata alla salute umana (obiettivo 3), emergendo la necessità di un passaggio da un approccio “Green” al costruito verso un approccio “Human Centred” c…
RIABITARE IL PATRIMONIO URBANO ED EDILIZIO DEI TERRITORI INTERNI: SPAZIO DIGITALE PER SERVIZI SANITARI EFFICIENTI
2020
La necessità del distanziamento fisico, dettata dall’epoca pandemica in corso, ricade inevitabilmente sulla vivibilità degli spazi urbani e di quelli abitativi. L’esigenza pressante di qualità della vita, nella fisicità e nelle relazioni umane, impone di riguardare con interesse a quei luoghi che ne sono depositari per sedimentazione storica. Una delle risposte è nel riabitare i centri minori dei territori interni, luoghi con bassa densità demografica e costruita, luoghi resilienti alle mutazioni urbane, luoghi salubri. Questi luoghi, di contro, sono affetti da marginalità e carenze di infrastrutture e servizi. Le tecnologie digitali si propongono sempre più come ausilio nel recupero del pa…
Prestazioni di accessibilità nei siti archeologici: criteri per la valutazione e miglioramento
2021
Knowledge of the heritage on the part of the visitor is the premise for its conservation and enhancement. In order to appreciate the identity of the site completely, the visitor must enter into an active relationship with the heritage, in a multi-sensorial, safe and comfortable manner. But is this always the case? Archaeological heritage is considered a sort of limited case, in which the general critical conditions of accessibility are emphasized. For this reason, this research, applying a systemic approach, is geared towards evaluating whether, in some of these sites, selected as case-studies, the solutions for accessibility comply with technical and performance features in accordance with…
Circolarità delle risorse idriche. Tecnologie e prassi per una gestione virtuosa.
2023
L’acqua è un bene prezioso, insostituibile e limitato, che rischia di divenire scarso a causa dell’irrefrenabile aumento di consumo. Numerosi studi hanno più volte evidenziato i rischi connessi all’aggravarsi della crisi idrica, con l’aggravante che l’inquinamento rende inutilizzabile per uso potabile una sempre maggiore quantità di essa. La gestione sostenibile delle risorse idriche è oggi un obiettivo fondamentale per l’Agenda ONU 2030 (Obiettivo 6). Intervenire sul costruito esistente e ripensarlo idoneo al contenimento delle risorse può incidere notevolmente sull’obiettivo di riduzione dell'impatto ambientale, ed in particolare, in riferimento alla gestione circolare dell’acqua, ragiona…
Built Environment and Wellbeing—Standards, Multi-Criteria Evaluation Methods, Certifications
2022
The debate on IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality), with a focus on the healthiness of the built environment and its possible influence on the natural environment, has been a relevant topic for a decade. This interest has expanded to the quality of building technologies, specifically their performances and environmental effects. The objectives set by the 2030 Agenda have led to overcome the idea that sustainability is only related to environment; instead, a holistic vision aimed at human health has been affirmed (objective 3). The period marked by the Covid19 emergency contributed to strengthen the need for human well-being, as the “quarantine” made us observe our living spaces, r…