Requalification, recovery of buildings and cutting-edge technology to design the home of the future: this is what was presented at 51° Edition of the SAIE, international building exhibition in Italy.

At the heart of the new SALT SMART HOUSE, in the Services area of Bologna fair (held like the interior of a great intelligent and sustainable house), SMART HOUSE LIVING has been presented. This project consists of 4 souls: an exhibition – Smart House Solution – on which was represented a new culture of sustainable living, which allowed visitors to ' touch ' practical applications and innovative technological solutions; a playful and participatory path – the Wheel of Sustainability – to bring the public to the culture to "triple zero" (zero consumption, zero emissions, zero waste); the Forums on the themes of designing, building and inhabiting the houses of tomorrow; the BIG Energy Idea — a ' emotional room ' of innovation told through videos and sounds: a project to push for change through knowledge.

In SMART HOUSE LIVING area, energy has been the main topic thanks to the forum "Building & Innovation". In the Digital Smart Building technology how this innovation can revive the construction industry has been the main topic. Many laid optical fiber is still unused. Since last July with the Decree Unlock Italy, "all new buildings must be equipped with a passive multiservice physical infrastructure inside the building, consisting of adequate space and installation of high-speed communications to the fiber optic network termination points". The legislation makes the provision in new homes be mandatory. SAIE #Idrogeo has been the main new of this edition: it is an informative area and exhibition dedicated to the theme of recovery and securing of the territory from the hydrogeological point of view, that this year 2015 focused on the theme of urban land preservation thanks to the work of engineers and geotechnical in particular. 'Green' has been the guest star in new edition of SAIE, too. Inside the 'Live' path, #Landmaking group has organized ‘To build green’, an area where some of Italian excellences in the field of green have been gathered. The construction industry's interest is directed towards the energy efficiency of existing buildings, as well as through the performance improvement with the aid of new and more modern systems and engineering solutions.

13 Jenuary 2019

The purpose of the Design Hub is to provide accommodation in one building for a diverse range of design research and post graduate education. The Hub provides a collegial research base where post graduates in fields such as fabric and fashion design will work alongside those involved in architecture, aeronautical engineering, industrial design, landscape architecture, urban design and so on.

Research groups have the ability to locate and fine tune their accommodation within ‘warehouses’ – open plan spaces where research teams can set up and tailor their work environment to suit their particular needs. Teams may stay for anywhere from six months to three years depending on the nature of and funding limits to their research and education programs. Research may include the need for workshops to make physical models to be located alongside computer studios, three dimensional printing, virtual reality modelling and so on. Given the time frames associated with research projects all the warehouses require a high level of adaptability and flexibility. In that sense these spaces are designed to accommodate the organic nature of research – ever evolving, adapting, changing and growing. The plan of the Hub acknowledges the desire for incidental cross pollination where researchers from one field encounter those from completely unrelated other fields as part of their day to day use of the building. An exhibition space and design archive provide a public interface with both industry and research outcomes. These spaces combined with a variety of lecture, seminar and multi purpose rooms facilitate high level exchanges in a number of forums.

The Hub has a large number of ESD features and incorporates strategies of water, waste and recycling management that are the equal of any ESD focussed building on the planet. In particular the outer skin of the Hub incorporates automated sunshading that includes photovoltaic cells, evaporative cooling and fresh air intakes that improve the internal air quality and reduce running costs. The cells have been designed so that they can be easily replaced as research into solar energyresults in improved technology and part of the northern façade is actually dedicated to ongoing research into solar cells to be conducted jointly by industry and RMIT. The entire building façade, in other words, has the capacity to be upgraded as solar technology evolves and may one day generate enough electricity to run the whole building. The façade comprises a specifically detailed double glazed inner skin on each face of the building and an automated operable second skin shading device. The second skin shading device surrounds the entire building, from the ground floor to the roof plant level. It is made up of nominally 600 mm diameter sandblasted glass disks, which are fixed to either a horizontal or vertical aluminium axel. Each axel is fixed to the outer face of a galvanised steel cylinder of a slightly greater diameter and nominally 130 mm in depth. 21 glass discs and steel cylinders are fixed together in panels of nominally 1.8 m by 4.2 m, which are supported on a secondary galvanised steel frame set out about 700 mm from the curtain wall face of the building. These are accessed by an external service walkway on each level.

Each typical panel is made up of 12 operable glass discs and 9 discs which are fixed. At the ground and plant room levels all glass disks will be fixed. There are 86 panels on each level and therefore 774 panels for the nine levels of the building. Perimeter air intakes and fine mist sprinklers incorporated into the double glazed inner skin provide passive cooling to the UFAD system. The water used in this ‘Coolgardie safe’ system is harvested from the roof. Fresh naturally cooled air provides a less expensive, lower energy consumption and more desirable thermal comfort alternative to a wholly conditioned work environment.   Credits: www.seangodsell.com RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, by Sean Godsell Material: Frosted glass,  Low-E insulating glass, steel profiles and galvanized steel Application: Envelope Area: 13,000 sqm Completed: 2012 Figures: © Earl Carter (Fabiana Cambiaso – Università La Sapienza Roma).

Marco Mignatti

19 October 2018

The Psenner distillery is a space that combines innovative design and tasting, and the first European project made with zinc-steel mesh titanium by Zintek®. One of the most famous distillery in South Tyrol, and established itself at the international level, Psenner is over 60 years grappa and distillates' synonymous. The company want to communicate its own identity based on transparency and visibility, this inspired the architects Freissinger and Elzmbaumer, who have built the project: the image of manufacturing processes move from inside to outside. The skin envelope comes from the three basic stages of Psenner production - distillation, evaporation and condensation - occurring in copper stills and tubes. These produce tube shapes that characterizes the showroom, and Onyx backlit display changes color creating a different atmospheres. And here the "bubbles" of steam come, as round shapes in the steel's zintek® mesh which is the production's shed covering. The sheet metal, chosen for its texture, was deliberately mounted to reverse, with openings upward to maximise the nighttime lighting, through white light filtered by satin glass, which lit up from within the walls of the building. An effect of great suggestion possible by the workmanship of the slabs and the quality of the workers who have made the work, the Schmidt AS Bolzano. Zintek ®, is therefore ideal for innovative project due to its excellent processability and able to blend perfectly with other materials used, first of all, the total white glass that reduces the difference between internal and external. The Psenner's new headquarters is today a point of reference for the world of wine (it will be promotion site for events and educational and informative activities) as well as industrial design. (Fabiana Cambiaso Università La Sapienza Roma).

Carlo Bardelli

25 November 2018

It's Kengo Kuma's project that speaks of the continuous interest in reconnecting architecture with nature or, to quote the architect, the need “to recover the place”. Using architecture as a frame of nature, the project seems to echo a need for experiencing built space through its interaction with the elements and transformations affected by the passage of time. The faceted wall is populated with plants, creating an impression of two tectonic forces, the natural and the artificial, fighting for supremacy. The multi-purpose building is located near the railway station in Odawara, Japan. The façade, achieved by using decayed styrene foam, encompasses the building, leaving the ground floor transparent and accessible. The first floor facilitates a clinic and pharmacy while the upper floors are used for offices. The planters are comprised of aluminium die-cast panels, made in monoblock casting. Each panel is slanted, and its surface appears to be organic, of which cast comes from decayed styrene foam. Equipment such as watering hose, air reservoir for ventilation and downpipes are installed behind the panels so that the façade can accommodate a comprehensive system for the building. The piping delivers rain water to the aluminum die-cast planters, keeping the whole structure organic and alive. (Fabiana Cambiaso - Università La Sapienza)

Marco Mignatti

02 February 2019

Tvzeb is an experimental zero energy building brought to fruition by virtue of a cooperative endeavour between the traverso-vighy architecture studio and the University of Padua’s Department of Technical Physics.

The goal of the project was to develop a low-impact building that blended seamlessly into the surrounding natural setting and exemplified the visual, renewable energy and user well-being resources of its context both in form and function. The building structure was designed and manufactured in parts by a network of small industrial and craft companies, combining CNC machined and handcrafted components.

This reflects the project’s firm relationship to the concept of potential reversibility and respect for the land: the building can be disassembled at the end of its life cycle and its materials can be separated and recycled, restoring the site to the natural landscape. TVZEB reflects a strong relationship to sustainable practices and environmental awareness, concepts which are not limited to zero-energy measures: its location imposed a natural connection with the land through the use of materials that were produced by local craftsmen and industries, and through the selection of chromatic nuances and materials that would blend easily into the surrounding natural context. Natural light is integrated by an accurate and efficient indirect lighting system that involves a sequence of LED bars, developed by COEMAR, recessed into the floor. The light from this source is reflected off the internal walls fitted with aluminum panels. Each bar combines light from three different LED sources dynamically supplementing and emulating the natural light spectrum that penetrates the building envelope from outdoors.

16 “sunpower” photovoltaic panels are integrated in the building’s design. The 5.6 kWh produced by the system supplies the annual energy demand of all the building’s functions.

The metal cladding in cor-ten steel blends the building into the wooded surroundings. The metal roofing system was created by patient craftsmen, using the traditional crimping technique. The minor building block is clad with untreated larch boards. Larch is valued for its weather resistant qualities and is traditionally used as exterior cladding of Veneto rural and mountain buildings. The interior ambient lighting will change continuously both in quantity and color, as occurs in nature. The external walls and the building roof are insulated with a double layer of 90 mm polyester fiber wadding manufactured by ORV that derives from approximately 40,000 recycled plastic bottles. Besides providing excellent thermal and acoustic insulation, this material – unlike mineral wool – is produced with very low energy consumption.The quick assembly time was possible thanks to careful planning of all structural nodes. 55mm- thick larch planks cover the building structure’s roof and external wings. Xlam panels cover the longitudinal walls to provide bracing. It was assembled in 3 days with the aid of a crane truck. The precision joints between the timber and the metal plates were achieved by using self-centering lathed metal pins. The base plate rests suspended on the ground mimicking the deck of a ship. The floor is made using Hi-Bond corrugated sheets with a collaborating overlying concrete slab. The main structure of the building is made of laminated larch wood . The 450×200 mm. beams have been processed with a five-axis milling machine. The 15 mm. metal plates are laser cut and  pre-assembled on the timber structure. Tvzeb is suspended on the ground and connected to the foundation with just 18  steel spacers.

The metal base was manufactured in parts. Following pre-assembly carpentry, it was galvanized and installed onsite. This reflects the project’s firm relationship to the concept of potential reversibility and respect for the land: the building can be disassembled at the end of its life cycle and its materials can be separated and recycled, restoring the site to the natural landscape. (Fabiana Cambiaso, Università La Sapienza) Credits: www.tvzeb.org www.traverso-vighy.com TVZEB, an experimental project for sustainable architecture Prototype between University of Padua’s Department of Technical Physics - Traverso-Vighy Architecture Studio Completed: 2013 Site: Veneto Materials: Lamellar larch, Galvanized Steel; Cor-ten Steel, Larch boards, Xlam panels Applications: Structure, Cladding Figures: © Traverso Vighy.

Carlo Bardelli