FULL SEMINAR CYCLE FALL 2020 – Colloquium #007
Sustainability can be conceived as the ability to produce balanced changes in the exploitation of primary resources, in economic models, in the direction of technological development, in institutional development, and at the same time to ensure the satisfaction of current and future human needs and aspirations (WCED 1987). Such an approach has triggered many changes within the building industry, opening the debate whether the re-use of existing buildings should be preferred over other development strategies. This work explores the sustainable innovation potential of building reuse through the qualitative compare and contrast analysis between different embodied energy approaches. To do so, the work explores 3 case studies in which the relation between morphological design decisions and embodied energy shows successful approaches (or not) to set the case of sustainable demonstration projects and good practice. The importance of this study is to highlight sustainable innovative patterns by design solutions for policymakers and designers to deliver sustainable projects for our built environment.
Elena Guidetti is a PhD Candidate in Architecture, History and Project and a PhD fellow at the ‘Future Urban Legacy Lab’. Her research focuses on the transformative potential in existing buildings. Until 2018, she keeps working both as a freelance architect and as a teaching assistant in the Design Lab at UniFe, taking part in the organization of two international workshops in Sarajevo. During 2017 she worked in Zimoun Contemporary Art Studio in Bern. In 2017 she graduated at the Faculty of Architecture of Ferrara, with a thesis focused on design strategies for a post-industrial site in Porto, in collaboration with the Faculdade de Arquitectura do Porto.
Dr. Marianna Nigra is a Research Fellow at the Politecnico di Torino. She is an experienced Architect with a demonstrated history of working in the research industry. Skilled in Design, Management, Sustainable Innovation and Construction, she has international research experience. She holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Management, Production and Design from Politecnico di Torino.