B2280 - Integral Sustainable Design M

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student: - holds the basic knowledge of how and techniques to design an innovative service in the field of sustainability. In particular, he/she is able to address the issues of sustainability and, more generally, the context of the Circular Economy, providing guidance on how to create, organize and develop service projects that have a real impact on the ecosystem, through the adoption of a learning path of an experiential type and focused on the biunivocal correspondence between knowledge and know-how. This objective is pursued by correlating the theoretical content with the practical dimension of knowledge associated with the technical and economic feasibility of specific case studies that are intended to be developed within current or planned initiatives by the University of Bologna on the theme of sustainability.

Course contents

The course program is divided into two parts: a theoretical and an applied one.

The theoretical lessons focus on interventions in the residential building stock, with particular attention to buildings from the second half of the 20th century. The analysis is developed through a comparison between two main approaches: refurbishment and demolition with reconstruction. In this context, special attention is given to environmental sustainability requirements, considering the life cycle assessment of buildings and their relationship with the surrounding environment, analyzed at the urban block scale.

The applied part involves the use of digital tools to define the performance levels of buildings, both in terms of energy efficiency and maintenance. These tools provide support in selecting the most appropriate interventions for the case studies provided by professors.

Teaching methods

The lectures of the course will take place mainly with a first part of frontal theoretical teaching, which will be followed in parallel by laboratory activities or classroom exercises, according to a learning path that combines the acquisition of conceptual tools with their application in design actions.

Students will work in the classroom, supported by teaching tutors and will continue the work set up independently; explanations and revisions are carried out in the classroom.

There will be two intermediate presentations, one at the end of each of the two phases in which the workshop is structured, preparatory to the development of the course within the course. They will take the form of a short oral presentation, supported by slides, by each group and will not be graded.

Assessment methods

The course days will be held mainly with an initial part of frontal theoretical lectures, which will be followed in parallel by laboratory activities or classroom exercises, according to a learning path that combines the acquisition of conceptual tools with their application in design actions.

Students will work in the classroom, supported by teaching tutors and will continue the work set up independently; explanations and revisions are carried out in the classroom.

There will be two intermediate presentations, one at the end of each of the two phases in which the workshop is structured, preparatory to the development of the course within the course. They will take the form of a short oral presentation, supported by slides, by each group and will not be graded.

Teaching tools

To carry out the analyses, students will work in parallel using multiple tools:

Analysis of the existing heritage, based on data from georeferenced digital archives and assessments made by the research team

Calculation of the energy performance of the building envelope, through the use of the Edilclima EC700 energy modeling software, which can be downloaded in an educational version (90 days):

Calculation of environmental impacts, at the scale of the building and individual project stratigraphies, employing OneClickLCA software, downloadable in educational version (365gg):

Office hours

See the website of Riccardo Gulli

See the website of Cecilia Mazzoli