Architecture

The course aims to provide a theoretical and applied foundation on the principles that define the technological approach to architectural design. Rooted in the culture of construction, this approach identifies design as a fundamental tool for controlling the technical and architectural quality of interventions throughout the entire building process, with a focus on social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Specifically, the course seeks to equip students with the necessary skills to make conscious, sustainable, and contextually appropriate design choices by identifying the requirements of spaces and the technical elements that define them. By fostering an understanding of the regulatory, technical, and economic constraints that shape the professional context, the course aims to provide students with the knowledge required to assess and select construction systems and building products, evaluating their performance and ecological impact through circular economy models. The overall objective of the course is to transfer the knowledge necessary to initiate the development of a critical ability to interpret and integrate product and process innovations into design in an ever-changing context. The course is structured into three groups of lectures. The first group introduces the principles of the technological approach to design within the operational framework of the building process. The subsequent groups delve into the main construction systems and their associated materials and products, emphasizing the central role of design (and the designer) in integrating technical choices that align with functional, spatial, and expressive requirements. 1st group of lectures: Introduction to Technological and Environmental Design in Architecture ● The operational framework: building process, definitions, phases, activities, stakeholders and roles, objectives ● The building as a construction organism (environmental system and technological system) ● Performance-based design approach ● Quality control in construction ● Principles of circular economy applied to the building process 2nd group of lectures: Construction Systems – Part I ● Raw earth, ceramic materials, stone materials, binders, mortars, and concrete: properties and characteristics, production processes, products, and applications ● Construction systems and techniques using raw earth and load-bearing masonry 3rd group of lectures: Construction Systems – Part II ● Concrete, metals, wood: properties and characteristics, production processes, products, and applications ● Construction systems and techniques in reinforced concrete, steel, and wood ● Glass: properties and characteristics, production processes, products, and applications At the end of each group of lectures, students will have the opportunity to take an intermediate assessment (exemption test), which can be used as part of the final examination.

The course does not require specific prerequisites.

For the preparation of the final exam, the intermediate assessments, and the course activities, it is essential to study the following texts. The specific sections to be studied will be indicated through the detailed outlines of each lecture cycle, which will be made available on Classroom. - Campioli A., Lavagna M. (2013), Tecniche di architettura, Milano, CittàStudi. - Deplazes A. (2013), Constructing Architecture: Materials Processes Structures, Birkhäuser Publisher, Basel. - Perris R. (2015), Architettura e design: Complementi di tecnologia per un nuovo manuale architettonico, Gangemi Editore. - Pini A. (ed.) (2004), Architettura e materiali, Università della Svizzera italiana, Accademia di Architettura, Mendrisio. Additionally, it is recommended to consult the following journals: Costruire in Laterizio | L’Industria Italiana del Cemento | Architetture in Acciaio | Legnoarchitettura | Detail | Domus | El Croquis. Additional references will be provided during the course.

The course does not have a mandatory attendance requirement. However, in-person participation in lectures is highly recommended.

The final exam is oral and individual, consisting of an assessment of the student's understanding of the course topics and the texts listed in the bibliography. The final grade will also take into account the results obtained in the intermediate assessments and the activities carried out during the course (exercises). For the sharing of study materials and all course-related communications, the CLASSROOM platform will be used. Access details will be provided during the first days of the course.

The course will be delivered through in-person lectures. During the lectures, individual applied exercises will be conducted, aimed at providing an initial practical application of the theoretical concepts learned. These exercises will involve freehand reproduction of construction details under the professor's guidance, including annotations on technical information related to materials, systems, and components. For the collection of assignments (drawings and notes), students are required to use an A5-sized sketchbook. Further specifications will be provided during the first days of the course. The exercises recorded in the sketchbook will serve as evidence of active and productive participation in the course and will contribute to the final assessment. There will be 3 intermediate assessments (exemption tests) to verify students' acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge. The average score of these assessments will serve as the starting grade for the final exam. The intermediate assessments will be mixed-response tests, scheduled on predetermined dates that will be communicated from the beginning of the course.

In particular, the course is focused on aspects related to technological meta-design, i.e., the design of the performance system related to a building organism and the definition of the response to these in terms of construction systems, understood as organized sets of technical elements. The main theoretical-disciplinary contents of the course will be expressed through the following lesson topics: The evolution of construction technology over time, in relation to the conditions of modification of the logic and rules of construction and innovation of materials and techniques; The building process, the roles of the operators and the different organizational methods, from the traditional to the most advanced, based on construction and project management. The demand-performance theory (needs, requirements, performance) applied to the methodology for verifying the quality and reliability of building products, also in relation to procedural issues and the role played by the various operators within the building process. The structure of the building organism and its parts, with the classification of the building system and the constructive elements of the building; Characteristics and use of the main materials used in construction: wood, brick, concrete, steel, glass, and their relationship-contribution on the definition of the formal language in architecture; Critical reading of the main configurations of the construction elements (closures and partitions) of significant, modern and contemporary architectures, tending to identify the influence of technological and constructive choices with respect to the functional and formal relationships that are established in a project between spaces and components (environmental system and technological system). The phases of the life cycle of the building and building components, with particular attention to the aspects of environmental regeneration.

None. The course is in at the first year of a five-year-degree, and it's the first in the Scientific Disciplinary Sector of Architectural Technology.

Andrea Campioli, Monica Lavagna, Tecniche e architetture, Editore: Città studi edizioni, Anno edizione: 2013 Specific references will also be provided during the course. All lectures will be upload (in synths) on the w-learning page of the Course.

Attendance is not mandatory but highly recommended.

During the semester of study, the student will have to face three partial written examinations (ex tempore written essays) on the theoretical apparatus of the course. He/she will have to prepare and illustrate orally a group exercise in relation to case studies selected by the instructor. He/she will present to the final discussion of the exam a booklet in A3 format with notes, sketches, and some technical drawings selected in advance by the instructor.

The course includes a part of ex cathedra theoretical lectures and exercises in groups of three students to develop the ability to identify and evaluate the specific qualities of individual materials and construction elements used in different case studies. Lessons will focus on following topics: - Introduction to the discipline of Architectural Technology - Architecture as a process: phases, subjects involved and tools - Technological design and requirement-performance approach - The building as a system - The evaluation of environmental efficiency: the LCA methodology - Materials and built form: classification and properties - Natural stone materials: classification, production process and environmental profile - Mortars, simple and reinforced concrete: composition, production process and environmental profile - Ceramic materials: products, production process and environmental profile - Wood: products, production process and environmental profile - Metals: products, production process and environmental profile - Glass: products, production process and environmental profile - Plastics: products, production process and environmental profile - Technical textiles: products, production process and environmental profile - Fibre-reinforced materials: products and environmental profile - Insulation materials: classification and environmental profile - Innovative materials: products and environmental profile - Circular materials: products and environmental profile - The digitisation of building materials The course also includes a series of collective moments of comparison and revision of the work by the lecturer, through projections of the work carried out.

No prerequisites

Optional in-depth texts Deplazes, Constructing Architecture. Materials Processes Structures. A Handbook, Birkhäuser, 2005 Koolhaas et alt., Elements, Marsilio editore, 2014

Attendance is an important element of the learning process, although the course provides flexibility for special needs of students

The final examination consists of: -Three written exemption tests with open-ended questions (five questions per test). -An oral exam to assess the exercises completed in class. Students are required to register for the exam before the scheduled date, following the procedures established by the INFOSTUD system.

Deplazes, Constructing Architecture. Materials Processes Structures. A Handbook, Birkhäuser, 2005 Koolhaas et alt., Elements, Marsilio editore, 2014

The course will take place in presence