Ricerche Researches Investigaciones

Stampa 3D in argilla e lolla di riso. Dall’architettura al design per la transizione ecologica

3D printing in clay and rice husk. From architecture to design for the ecological transition

Paola Altamura _paola.altamura@uniroma1.it Ricercatore universitario

Sapienza Università di Roma

Dipartimento Pianificazione Design Tecnologia dell’Architettura

Anna Chiara Perotta _annachiara.perotta@gmail.com

Designer

Sapienza Università di Roma

Dipartimento Pianificazione Design Tecnologia dell’Architettura

Summary

The transition from a linear to a circular economy, oriented towards reuse, recycling and recovery, is an essential step within the ecological transition. Designers, within a life cycle design approach, must consider how materials, as tangent physical elements and as limited resources, impact the planet. In a circular and material resource efficiency perspective, therefore, waste materials - especially those coming from bio-economy - represent a strategic investigation and experimentation field for both architecture and product design. This contribution illustrates the case study of an Italian company, Ricehouse, which has created a material for bio-architecture reusing waste of the rice cultivation with various innovative production techniques, including 3D printing. Starting from the experience of Ricehouse, using rice husk and clay for 3D printing in architecture, this study implemented an experimentation in the field of product design, with the objective of expanding the material’s application possibilities. From the point of view of Material Driven Design, the study started with the analysis of the properties, characteristics and technical performances of the material, in order to identify and explore its potential further uses. The results of this research phase showed that indoor use of the material is possible, for the design of modular elements for furniture. Then the experimentation saw the development of a conceptual and detailed design solution for a modular system printed in 3D and assemblable by the user, and therefore flexible and apt to modifications over time. The design project of the modular system Future research could investigate further data and technical specifications that characterize the material to verify its feasibility and explore further areas of application.

La circolarità delle risorse come driver d’innovazione nel settore dei laterizi

Circularity of resources as a driver of innovation in the brick sector

Jacopo Andreotti _jacopo.andreotti@uniroma3.it

PhD student

Università degli Studi Roma Tre

Dipartimento di Architettura

Summary

Tackling the consumption of resources, the production of waste, and the emission of greenhouse gas are the main challenges that the construction sector will have to face in the immediate future to achieve the climate neutrality foreseen by the European Union by 2050.

Extracting, producing, using, and throwing away is, therefore, a sequence of operations unsuitable for pursuing sustainable development goals. However, even though European policies foster the recovery and recycling of waste, activities related to the construction process are still mainly responsible for its production. Moreover, reusing recovered or recycled material still needs to be improved. Consequently, there is a growing demand to address research pathways that can trigger a change in how construction actors manufacture products and buildings. These experiences encourage applying production and resource-use circular models. Within this perspective, the “Circularity of Material Resources” project – financed by European PON funds on a Green theme – intends to act operationally on a case study in the brick sector. It investigates strategies and actions to prevent the waste of resources and reduce environmental impacts. Currently engaged in the first phase of studying the critical issues and the opportunities affecting the brick sector, the project exploits a combination of traditional and innovative approaches to research new circular processes and product solutions.

In this regard, the article illustrates the qualitative-quantitative analysis of the partner company’s product system, carried out by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, and then reflects on the opportunities for innovation related to the use of waste and by-products in the brick sector.

Il rovesciamento della piramide. Superiuso dei Termovalorizzatori di Colleferro The reverse Pyramid. Superuse of Colleferro Incinerators

Serena Baiani _serena.baiani@uniroma1.it Professore associato Sapienza Università di Roma

Dipartimento Pianificazione Design Tecnologia dell’Architettura

Paola Altamura _paola.altamura@uniroma1.it Ricercatore universitario

Sapienza Università di Roma

Dipartimento Pianificazione Design Tecnologia dell’Architettura

Gabriele Rossini _gabriele.rossini@uniroma1.it PhD student

Sapienza Università di Roma

Dipartimento Pianificazione Design Tecnologia dell’Architettura

Summary

Industrial sites, repositories of memory, find a new meaning as urban mines in which to redirect the design actions, at the different scales of intervention, towards Zero Land Consumption in order to contribute, through the adoption of Zero Waste-Zero Energy strategies, to the European objectives of eco-compatibility, decarbonisation and circularity of the built environment, understood as a renewable resource in the perspective of a closedloop city.

The case of Colleferro incinerators opens up new actions of intervention, in a sensitive and complex area, for the reuse of the existing building, defining new circularity of matter and energy. The methodology adopted in the project envisages an articulated approach, both from a strategic and technical point of view, in an attempt to identify complementary solutions to the complex problems identified. In this sense, the themes of the soil and landscape were the guide for the design of the interventions, starting from the operational reflection on the existing structures.

The waste-to-energy plant, having completed the waste incinerator phase, becomes the very subject of the reuse of its waste components, which are valorised in an up-cycling process: the second life of the complex, obtained through selective demolition and superuse processes, constitutes the socially, environmentally and economically viable alternative.