TECNOLOGIE E SISTEMI COSTRUTTIVI PER L'ARCHITETTURA

The course focuses on the principles of Architectural Technology, a discipline aimed at understanding the processes of implementation and transformation of the built environment, as well as methods and tools required to define, evaluate and control construction choices. The student will gain the basic knowledge needed to analyse and evaluate the construction systems and their elements, understanding their performance in relation to technologies and materials used for their realization.

At the end of the course, students will have acquired an adequate knowledge of:

• the main traditional and contemporary construction systems;
• the most common construction materials;
• the construction elements and the methods of analysis of their performance.

Furthermore, the students will develop operational, critical and synthetic skills:

• to propose, structure and manage design solutions and building performance, according to the expected requirements;
• to assess the compatibility of intervention solutions with the built and the natural environment, in the design, construction and maintenance.

Exercises and tests of learning in progress will guide students in the practical application and verification of acquired knowledge, as a solution to the complexity of building systems. The course will contribute to develop the communication skills of the students, leading them in the organization of the presentation of knowledge, also through exercises which require analysis and project drawings.

The course includes lectures, seminars and practical exercises. Learning process check tests (optional) will be scheduled (open-ended questions and drawings).

Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.

The final examination consists of a discussion on the topics covered in the lectures, the ex tempore representation of construction joints and the practical exercises, in order to test the achieved knowledge.

Learning assessment may also be carried out on line, should the conditions require it.

The course includes lessons aimed at providing the basic knowledge for the governance of the architectural project and graphic exercises on the analysis of building systems. In fact, the course proposes an approach based on the systemic view of the built environment and on performance-based building analysis. The course will focus on the construction elements, their relationships, their materials and their functions.

Main References

1. McLean W., Silver P., Introduction to Architectural Technology, Laurence King Publishing, London, 2013
2. Allen E., How buildings work: the natural order of architecture, Oxford University Press, New York, 2005.
3. Walshaw E., Understanding Architectural Details, 2017.

Other references will be suggested as the course progresses, depending on the topics covered in the classes.