Eco: the reflection of sound against an obstacle, that is distinguished from the starting sound; an adjective that defines the relationship between man and nature.
Just as sound, upon encountering an obstacle, becomes ECO, so too does our intervention, adapting to the needs of its community is transformed according to the principles of sustainability, functionality and inclusion. Furthermore, the project respects the relationship between man and nature.
Local
Italy
Country: Italy
Region: Lombardia
City: Milan, MI
District: Giambellino-Lorenteggio
Address: Via Paolo Segneri n. 6-8
Postal Code: 20147
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
As an individual in partnership with other persons
First name: Laura Last name: Chiriano Gender: Female Age: 26 Please attach a copy of your national ID/residence card:
By ticking this box, I certify that the information regarding my age is factually correct. : Yes Nationality: Italy Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Adolfo Wildt 19/3 Town: Milano Postal code: 20131 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 338 128 6922 E-mail:laura.chiriano@mail.polimi.it
First name: Caterina Last name: Faglioni Gender: Female Age: 27 Please attach a copy of your national ID/residence card:
By ticking this box, I certify that the information regarding my age is factually correct. : Yes Nationality: Italy Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via G. La Pira 6 Town: Carpi, MO Postal code: 41012 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 334 269 2081 E-mail:caterina.faglioni@mail.polimi.it
First name: Anna Last name: Setti Gender: Female Age: 24 Please attach a copy of your national ID/residence card:
By ticking this box, I certify that the information regarding my age is factually correct. : Yes Nationality: Italy Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Nizzoli 9 Town: Brescello, RE Postal code: 42041 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 348 819 2357 E-mail:anna.setti@mail.polimi.it
The project developed recognises the need for urgent intervention in the existing heritage with a sustainable redevelopment approach under different aspects: the urban one, to make these areas function again as living parts of the city, the architectural one, which concerns the physical consistency of buildings and their spatial quality in response to changing demands, the social one, with actions of inclusion and participation in management processes and uses, and the energy one, to achieve an acceptable and sustainable level of consumption. On this last aspect in particular, it is necessary to create a new awareness so that the energy performance of buildings is not simply a technological variable to be achieved downstream from the definition of the building through its plant equipment, but a primary factor, with repercussions at different levels from the building envelope to the spatial system, from the operation of plants to the use of renewable energy sources, capable of giving quality to the project, as well as guaranteeing its economic and environmental sustainability.
The project will consider the buildings in their complexity and relations with their surroundings; it may include extensions or additions and limited demolitions, compatible with the nature of the buildings and their formal and structural characteristics. It will be developed on the different scales that allow for the specification of their urban role, architectural configuration, spatial organisation, and the provision of fixed and mobile equipment and furnishings, in their concrete constructive and material-formal definitions.
Inclusivity
Sustainability
Aesthetics
Functionality
Flexibility
The intervention envisages the environmental quality of the open and external spaces through an adequate ratio between light and air, the containment of the consumption of resources such as soil, energy, and water, thanks to the evaluation of the implications of the technical choices along the life cycle of the buildings, through the selection of low-impact materials, the reduction of waste, the use of materials with declared environmental performance, and integration between building and systems. In particular, assessments of the environmental performance of vertical and horizontal closures were studied through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Dry-assembled materials were selected for end-of-life recovery. Furthermore, to reduce the environmental impacts on the whole project, it was decided to keep the existing building as much as possible so as not to aggravate it with environmental impacts due to demolition. The vertical closure package, which does not comply with current regulations, is replaced by an external cladding capable of achieving transmittance values in compliance with current regulations. For the insulation, the choice fell on wood fibre insulation from sustainable forests, which does not contain hazardous substances (REACH and ECHA). For this integration to be completely reversible, the panels are installed completely dry. This means that when the existing masonry reaches its end of life, it will be possible to recover the entire integration, through a selective demolition process, and to re-impregnate these elements into a new building element. The redevelopment of the entire lot also fulfils the LEED credit with 69% of the total project area being open space, covering an area of 4973.50 square metres. The project includes 28.50% vegetated space, covering an area of 1417.45 square metres, exceeding the LEED minimum percentage.
On the external thresholds, there is access to the stairs serving the upper floors of the complex, from which via a system of galleries there is access to the individual flats, which are interrupted in the two buildings at the north end by du¬plex flats. In order not to generate too much shadow on the living spaces themselves, the distribution system with galleries is "detached" from the building, and only adheres at the entrances. The design choice made, therefore, was to bring the distribution system outside the buildings by eliminating the existing in¬terna¬tral staircases, obtaining square metres for the flats, to which is added a loggia each towards the internal courtyard. As far as the views of the central courtyard are concerned, the visual planes that are captured are many, but we believe, hierarchical. The front elevated plate, which can also be reached by disabled persons utilizing ramps, acts as a stage for the system of walkways and accesses to the upper floors; the walkways are strongly characterised by a grid that is configured both as a walking surface and as a parapet, while the accesses to the upper living spaces are marked by winter gardens. Both systems are structurally uniquely distinguished in that the former is supported by a structural mesh with a full-height circular section, while the latter is supported by a system of autonomous pillars. The conservatories are in turn punctuated by four-part panels, some sliding, some fixed, composed of a wooden frame and steel tie rods, on which deciduous creepers climb. This ensures both a seasonal change of colour and solar shading that generates shade in the warmer months and allows sunlight to permeate in the colder months.
The project conceives new ways of social living, with the design of inclusive, safe, durable and sustainable living spaces. To access the flats, a system of ramps has been studied and designed, which acts as a filter space with the green space of the lot and elevates the entrances to the individual buildings, characterising them with a punctual and identifiable space, guaranteeing access in total safety for people in wheelchairs.
If, therefore, as far as access to the lot is concerned, the intention was to emphasise a horizontal connection, manifested by the paving in harmony with the surrounding urban space, and emphasised by the central walkability and accessibility of the new private space, an attempt was also made to reconnect the buildings, through the vertical lifts and the system of walkways and walkways that unite the distribution spaces. Access to the raised semi-public square, the filter before the actual entrance to the building, is via a series of steps, a lift and a ramp. The access to the ramp has also been taken from a portion of land, which serves the basement below the level of the buildings, to grant access to the cellars, distributed along a central corridor, to everyone. Within the buildings, the types of living spaces present are divided into simplex flats and duplex flats. Both categories follow the themes of inclusion and flexibility, concepts also used in the design of the furnishings.
The simplex flats are suitable for young families as well as for elderly and/or wheelchair users. Within these typologies, every space has been designed to guarantee all the comforts needed to enjoy the flat to the fullest.
The project recognises the importance of connective, horizontal intelligence, which is enriched by multiple fields of knowledge, inclusive and networked, fostered by the relationship between people and by tacit knowledge (that which is widespread, sedimented in places and communities); for these reasons it was based on a sharing of choices and conception with residents, to show politicians and citizens that change is a real possibility and that it depends more on the initiative and creativity of those who work to bring it about than on a large investment of public money. It was, therefore, bottom-up planning, involving the inhabitants of those spaces, who recognised multiple problems in the area including a lack of definition of public and collective spaces, the total absence of cultural gathering places, and the complete closure of residences.
To solve these problems, public spaces were designed to be lived in and enjoyed by the entire community, cultural services, and innovative, accessible and sustainable residences, to achieve a design capable of creating relations with the territory, and of triggering mechanisms capable of activating the liveability of places.
The project has been developed through a careful study of public documents and with the help of technical expertise from the City of Milan, which has allowed for a feasible and concrete project, in line with the constraints and needs of the neighbourhood's inhabitants. It was developed at different scales suitable to specify its urban role, its architectural configuration, its spatial organisation and the endowment of fixed and movable equipment and furnishings, in their concrete constructive and material-formal definitions, and through the collaboration of the head of the Technical Office of the Municipality of Milan, Loredana Brambilla. Furthermore, the data analysed for the development of the project refer to the building regulations of the Municipality of Milan, the local hygiene regulations of the Municipality of Milan, the regional energy nor¬mative, (dgr. 3868 of 17 July 2015, D.d.u.o. 8 March 2017 - no. 2456), to the regional law on housing services (no. 16, 8 July 2016), to the regulation for the regulation of the pro¬gramming of public and social housing supply and of access and perma¬nance in public housing services (no. 4, 4 August 2017), to the TMP of the municipality of Milan (in particular the Implementation Rules con¬tained in the Plan Document in the Plan of Rules and the Plan of Services, and analytical sheet NIL-57-Selinunte), to the regional law Norme sull'eliminazione delle barriere architettoniche e prescrizioni tecniche di attuazione (n° 6, 20 Febbraio¬io 1989) and to the Masterplan Lorenteggio, Municipality of Milan.
stato il valore aggiunto di questo processo
The disciplines that played an important role in the development of our project were definitely architectural technology and interior design. These two branches of the same macro discipline, such as architecture, come together to try to achieve a final product that necessarily answers several questions that are usually asked at the beginning of a project by a client. The technological and structural part is evident in the study of innovative solutions aiming at ease of construction (entirely dry structures, simple materials, etc.) and the achievement of maximum comfort.
On the other hand, the study of the interior component was very thorough as it was necessary to understand which spaces were suitable for lonely, sick or handicapped people. But the study also involved simple but modular furnishing solutions, being able to achieve several configurations according to needs.
But it was not just a purely design exercise; social, economic and environmental reasoning also took place. Social because we tried to understand which target group was most in need of help, what the problems of the neighbourhood were, but also the positive aspects we could relate to. Economic in that no proposals were made outside the real possibilities of realisation by the administrations (as residential buildings owned by the municipality), offering reduced space without lowering the quality of the product.
The strong point of the project concerns the development of the principles of flexibility and reversibility in the conformation and composition of the interior furniture and partition parts, such as doors and panels. As far as the interior is concerned, in the simplex, a flexible piece of furniture has been designed inside the double room: the cabinet contains a small desk designed to achieve the smallest possible spatial footprint, without having to renounce comfort and practicality, being able to use the room also for working. Particular mention must be made of the main cabinet in the room adjacent to the master bedroom: despite the minute dimensions of the room, we find a furnishing configuration that guarantees flexibility. The bed can be extracted from the cabinet, with the possibility of using a storage container for blankets, which can also be extracted; alternatively, it can be placed inside its storage space and used as a writing desk, thanks to the insertion of a pull-out writing surface.
Meticulous attention has also been paid to flats for the disabled. Within this typology, every piece of furniture has been studied and designed to guarantee maximum comfort for wheelchair users. The room furniture offers a shelf that can also be used as a study area. In addition, a pull-out bed underneath allows for the possibility of future assistance from a family member or nurse. To facilitate active daily use, the kitchen has been designed to simplify everyday gestures, making them more comfortable and less limiting. The kitchen features a series of adjustable and customisable components, which allow the space to be adapted to one's characteristics and needs, whether for wheelchair users or those with other types of special usage requirements.
One of the various nodal themes on which the proposed intervention is based is that of redeveloping an area of the city, specifically a suburb considered unsafe and inhospitable by public opinion. Putting a special focus on those who were born in the post-war period in these working-class neighbourhoods, namely the elderly, who together with foreigners populate the suburb, where the housing issue is increasingly hot. Providing a home, a roof, preferably at reduced prices, is a prerogative of many European realities, not only in the Lorenteggio district; creating a safe place for those who feel lost in the contemporary metropolis.
The challenge was not to abandon these social housing buildings, which are no longer suitable to meet the current needs of the residents, but rather to start by re-functionalizing some residential parts and inserting services; to intervene also on the sub-standard flats (currently unusable) by recovering them, and finally to raise the energy efficiency of the complex, integrating an insulation system to the existing shell and reasoning in an environmentally friendly logic with the choice of all materials from scratch. In summary, therefore, these methods of intervention can also be applied in other contexts to avoid the abandonment of obsolete buildings, with a circular approach.
Sustainability is currently one of the hottest topics within the international discussions, the era in which we live requires us to reason about the ways in which this can be applied within the architectural discourse, preventing our practice from further burdening the great global issues we are facing.
Within our design development, this theme is declined under three main aspects, which together make up the realization of an architectural complex that makes it the aspect of strength.
Firstly, energy sustainability is taken into consideration: the Leed, Itaca and LCA certification assessments identify this building as an environmentally sustainable construction.
Sustainability is then declined through the point of view of construction: the pre-existing elements characterizing the context, understood as both buildings and natural features, are included in the design discourse, avoiding demolition which would lead to further harmful CO2 emissions, as well as representing a considerable cost for the municipality.
Lastly, sustainability in social terms has been taken into account: inclusiveness becomes a fundamental characteristic within peripheral contexts such as the one in which the project is inserted, located within an area that identifies one of the last built-up layers before the agricultural fields surrounding the city.
The ability to bring into dialogue people with different economic and social backgrounds is one of the challenges that architecture placed on the urban fringe must give itself in order to avoid situations of discrimination that unfortunately characterize our cities.
