Papers by Rossella Corrao
The paper reports some suggestions useful for designing the small footbridge in the Archaeologica... more The paper reports some suggestions useful for designing the small footbridge in the Archaeological Park named "Valle dei Templi" in Agrigento. The aim of the collection of different kinds of examples related to the design of bridges, footbridges and "aerial passageways" between buildings is to describe in which way -by using contemporary architectural "languages"- it is possible to solve the problem related to the necessity of climbing over an obstacle like a river, a street, a bunch of railways and so on, without interrupting the continuity of the pedestrians passage. Different kind of structures and materials are shown by underlining their potentialities in order to solve the pro\uacb\uaclems related to the workshop theme: finding the best way to improve the use of the archaeological area of the Valle by designing an "aerial passageway" able to connect the two areas of the park divided by the 118 Street. The special characteristics of the ar...
Architecture
The refurbishment of public residential districts represents a current and complex problem. The C... more The refurbishment of public residential districts represents a current and complex problem. The Cappuccinelli Social Housing (SH) district in Trapani, designed in the late 1950s by Michele Valori and built during the 1960s, is emblematic of the architectural quality and technological innovation of the time it was designed, but at the same time represents the physical and social decay that occurred just after its construction. The neighborhood was examined through a combination of inspections and documentary research. The inspections were conducted for the entire district in order to identify the recurrent external degradation of building components and the related causes, both physical and anthropogenic. This paper investigates the physical–mechanical degradation and problems connected to previous renovation work in this district. Furthermore, technological design solutions are discussed for deep renovation and energy efficiency improvement of one of the terraced buildings of the Ca...
L\u2019articolo illustra i primi risultati di una ricerca finalizzata ad indagare le ripercussion... more L\u2019articolo illustra i primi risultati di una ricerca finalizzata ad indagare le ripercussioni derivabili dall\u2019impiego della vegetazione per la riqualificazione energetica dei quartieri di edilizia residenziale pubblica di Palermo. Alla luce dei benefici ambientali e sociali, da pi\uf9 studi dimostrati, che derivano dalla presenza della vegetazione in aree urbane, si \ue8 messa a punto una metodologia di indagine finalizzata al progetto degli interventi possibili per il retrofit degli edifici, che consente di valutare gli effetti della vegetazione sia alla scala edilizia che urbana, fornendo dati certi circa la validit\ue0 delle soluzioni gi\ue0 ampiamente adottate dall\u2019architettura della tradizione mediterranea
The aim of the paper is to analyse the decay of the precast concrete elements which characterize ... more The aim of the paper is to analyse the decay of the precast concrete elements which characterize the building envelope of the Enel-SGES Building, designed by Giuseppe Samon\ue0 in 1959 and built after two years in Palermo. Thanks to the original technical documents, saved in the IUAV archive in Venice and in the Samon\ue0's archive of Parma, and according to contemporary evidence the building history has been defined in detail. Moreover we have studied in deep particular elements of the building envelope made of concrete like the windowsills that have different shape in relation to their position on the different building fa\ue7ades. The analysis of these elements, which represent the first example of precast concrete elements assembled on site in Palermo, allowed us to classify 17 type of windowsills that are different in shape and in relation to the water downflow. We have also determined the different mechanisms of decay pathologies and, at the end we have defined three different solutions in order to recover the windowsills based on the different entity of the decay
Dopo lo smantellamento dei bastioni e delle \u201clogore muraglie\u201d che circondavano l\u2019a... more Dopo lo smantellamento dei bastioni e delle \u201clogore muraglie\u201d che circondavano l\u2019antico centro della citt\ue0 di Trapani, le aree resesi disponibili vennero utilizzate per la costruzione di nuovi edifici che determinarono l\u2019espansione della citt\ue0 verso est e la ridefinizione del suo bordo sull\u2019acqua, a sud-ovest. La demolizione del Bastione di San Francesco ed il prosciugamento del tratto di mare alle spalle del Convento che gli dava il nome, liberarono alcune aree su cui l\u2019I.N.C.I.S. decise, negli anni \u201830, di realizzare due edifici per Ufficiali e Sottoufficiali di Marina. Entrambi gli edifici, che sorgono su lotti angolari, furono progettati, sul finire degli anni Trenta, dagli ingg. G. Viola e G. Samon\ue0. Come quest\u2019ultimo, \u201cun povero costruttore di case\u201d, come si definiva, avesse pensato di risolvere il problema dell\u2019angolo dell\u2019edificio \ue8 testimoniato dal confronto dei disegni di progetto con quanto, poi, in effetti venne realizzato. L\u2019articolo racconta della relazione tra forma urbana, individualit\ue0 architettonica e paesaggio, approfondendo l\u2019iter progettuale che condusse alla realizzazione dei due edifici accennando anche al loro stato attuale
Nel corso del Novecento l\u2019impiego dei diffusori di vetro per la realizzazione di elementi te... more Nel corso del Novecento l\u2019impiego dei diffusori di vetro per la realizzazione di elementi tecnici traslucidi in grado di captare la luce naturale ha subito alterne vicende. Dopo un periodo di intenso utilizzo a cavallo del XIX e XX secolo e dopo la realizzazione, in Europa, negli anni a cavallo tra le due guerre, di alcuni edifici divenuti emblematici del Movimento Moderno, l\u2019impiego di questo prodotto \u201cinnovativo\u201d per l\u2019epoca, venne progressivamente \u201crelegato\u201d alle parti pi\uf9 nascoste degli edifici per la \u201cpragmatica\u201d risoluzione di problematiche legate, ad es., alla presenza di particolari vincoli urbanistici senza che, quindi, ne venissero ulteriormente indagate le potenzialit\ue0 espressive. Si \ue8 dovuto attendere fino agli anni \u201970 del se\uaccolo scorso per veder \u201criapparire\u201d il vetromattone sulle \u201cfacciate principali\u201d degli edifici, grazie alle sperimentazioni formali condotte dalla nuova generazione di architetti giapponesi, cos\uec come dai Neorazionalisti italiani che, per\uf2, l\u2019hanno impiegato ad esclusivo vantaggio dell\u2019aspetto dell\u2019edificio trascurando, spesso, le problematiche connesse ad altre classi di esigenza quali, in particolar modo, il benessere e la sicurezza. L\u2019adozione di un sistema di messa in opera \u201cad umido\u201d ha, inoltre, comportato una limita\uaczione nella realizzazione di involucri traslucidi in vetromattone in edifici con uno sviluppo prevalente in altezza. I pannelli preassemblati di vetromattoni, utiliz\uaczati comunemente per la costruzione delle fac\uacciate, infatti, sono formati da blocchi di vetro posati con malta cementizia e rinforzati con barre di acciaio. Per offrire una risposta ai limiti posti dalla tec\uacnica di assemblaggio \u201cad umido\u201d \ue8 stato stu\uacdiato, quindi, un sistema di assemblag\uacgio innovativo capace di fornire ai pannelli una rigidezza adeguata anche in direzione normale al loro piano di posa. Si \ue8 cercato di sfruttare al meglio le buone caratteristiche di resistenza meccanica dei vetromattoni renden\uacdoli \u201cattivi\u201d nella risposta del pannello alle solle\uaccitazioni esterne, rivalutandone ed ampliandone l\u2019usuale funzione che li vede impiegati come semplici elementi di tam\uacponamento e attribuendo loro una ulteriore funzione di carattere pi\uf9 prettamente strutturale. L\u2019articolo illustra le problematiche derivate dalla realizzazione di un pannello traslucido precompresso, per l\u2019incremento della sua resistenza meccanica e che prevede l\u2019assemblaggio \u201ca secco\u201d di vetromattoni standard e \u201cmodificati\u201d, questi ultimi messi a punto nell\u2019ambito dello stesso lavoro di ricerca (che l\u2019articolo tende ad illustrare) per ridurne il valore di tramittanza ed incrementarne cos\uec l\u2019efficienza energetica
Most of researches and experiences of the concept of near zero energy buildings (NZEBs) are highl... more Most of researches and experiences of the concept of near zero energy buildings (NZEBs) are highly concentrated on the developed countries more than the developing countries due to many reasons related to the different contexts conditions. This paper is a part of a PhD thesis, which is being supervised by the Department of Architecture at the University of Palermo. The paper aims at highlighting the challenges facing the house design in Palestine as a developing country in terms of NZEBs by making a study which is related to discussing different experiences in the field of energy saving strategies in Palestine and some surrounded countries, such as Jordan which shares certain climatic and architectural characteristics with Palestine. The data analysis process is based on the study of several attempts and experiences taking into consideration the contemporary house design situation in Palestine. This study follows a classification of challenges toward near zero energy house (NZEH) in...
La riduzione del consumo di energia primaria e delle emissioni di CO2 nell\u2019aria sono due obi... more La riduzione del consumo di energia primaria e delle emissioni di CO2 nell\u2019aria sono due obiettivi chiave delle politiche internazionali, come dimostrato dagli standard sempre pi\uf9 restrittivi in tema di efficienza energetica degli edifici. Il settore edilizio \ue8 considerato, infatti, uno dei pi\uf9 importanti settori strategici al fine di raggiungere questi due obiettivi e per questa ragione le politiche energetiche a livello globale si stanno indirizzando sempre pi\uf9 nella promozione di strategie finalizzate alla regolamentazione della sua efficienza attraverso il progetto di edifici sostenibili. L\u2019articolo intende dimostrare, tramite la presentazione di un caso studio, l\u2019efficacia e la complementarit\ue0 di diverse strategie adottabili, sia a scala urbana che edilizia, per il miglioramento del comfort outdoor ed indoor degli utenti e per l\u2019efficienza energetica degli edifici esistenti. Queste strategie includono la riduzione del consumo di suolo e la rigenerazione degli spazi aperti urbani. Il quartiere di edilizia residenziale pubblica \u201cCappuccinelli\u201d di Trapani \ue8 stato analizzato al fine di valutarne lo stato attuale e promuovere azioni indirizzate a migliorare il benessere dei suoi abitanti. Questo quartiere \ue8 attualmente caratterizzato da condizioni di degrado urbano e sociale; il primo obiettivo dello studio \ue8 stato, quindi, quello di riqualificare il contesto urbano. Il ridisegno degli spazi aperti \ue8 stato sviluppato simulando differenti scenari che utilizzano la vegetazione ed i dati raccolti sono stati utilizzati per conoscere in dettaglio il microclima e soddisfare, cos\uec, i requisiti connessi alla Salvaguardia Ambientale, nel tentativo di ridurre, al contempo, l\u2019incidenza di costo degli interventi di retrofit sugli edifici. Alcuni di questi, infatti sono stati analizzati in dettaglio proponendo \u201csemplici\u201d strategie per il miglioramento del comfort indoor. L\u2019articolo vuole dimostrare come la sostenibilit\ue0 ambientale e la riduzione dei consumi energetici degli edifici richiedano uno studio accurato degli aspetti sociali, economici ed ambientali sia a scala micro-urbana che edilizia e come il retrofit del patrimonio edilizio esistente possa contribuire alla riduzione del consumo di suolo divenendo fondamentale per la protezione delle risorse ambientali, lo sviluppo dei territori e dei cittadini, in un\u2019ottica di economia circolare.The reduction of primary energy consumption and emissions of carbon dioxide are two key objectives of international policies, as demonstrated by the stricter international standards about the buildings\u2019 energy efficiency promoted worldwide. The building sector is considered one of the most important strategic sectors for achieving these goals so, energy policies at global level have been promoting strategies for the regulation of its energy efficiency through the design of sustainable buildings. This paper aims to demonstrate, through a case study, the effectiveness and complementarity of different strategies both at urban and building scales for the improvement of indoor and outdoor users\u2019 comfort and of the energy efficiency of existing buildings. These strategies include the optimization of land consumption and the regeneration of urban context too. Cappuccinelli Social Housing district in Trapani has been analysed in order to evaluate its actual state and to promote actions aimed to improve the climatic benefit of its inhabitants. This district is currently characterized by widespread conditions of urban and social decay and the first objective of the study has been to rehabilitate the urban context. The redesign of the urban context have been developed with the support of data collected through simulations carried out for understanding the local microclimate and with the aim to satisfy the needs related to the environmental sustainability through the use of vegetation, in the attempt to reduce, in the meantime, the cost impact of buildings\u2019 retrofit actions. Some buildings of the social housing complex have been, also, analyzed in detail and retrofit strategies for the improvement of inhabitants\u2019 indoor comfort have been proposed. The paper aims to demonstrate how the environmental sustainability issues and the reduction of the buildings energy consumption require a careful study of social, economic and environmental aspects both at micro-urban and building scales and how the buildings\u2019 retrofit can contribute to the reduction of soil consumption and be fundamental for the achievement of global results for the protection of environmental resources, the development of lands and citizens in a view of circular economy
Background: in Colombia the consumption of fresh green mango (also known as mango "biche") is qui... more Background: in Colombia the consumption of fresh green mango (also known as mango "biche") is quite popular, and is consumed with lemon juice, salt, and honey. However, its high humidity content and high water activity makes of mango a highly perishable fruit, thus requiring processing alternatives. Osmotic dehydration (OD) is an interesting alternative for the conservation of mango. In OD, binary solutions (Solute + water) and ternary solutions (2 Solutes + water), have been traditionally used, however, more water removal can be achieved using ternary solutions, which leads to the improved organoleptic properties of dehydrated products. Objetives: to evaluate the kinetic water loss (WL), solutes gain (SG), weight reduction (WR), water activity (a w), and volume (Shrinking Coefficient, SC)) in green mango (Mangifera indica L. Filipino variety) osmotically dehydrated (OD). Additionally, to calculate water and solutes diffusivity (D ef) for each treatment. Methods: green mango samples, with maturity scale zero, were used. Ternary solutions of sucrose at 40% and NaCl at 3, 6 and 9% were used for OD. The binary solution of sucrose with water as control treatment, was used. In the osmotic process samples were taken out at different times of OD (15, 30, 60, 90, 180, 240, and 300 min). Results: the findings show that at a higher concentration of NaCl, the dehydration kinetics was more rapid, a w and SC were smaller and water and solutes D ef were higher. The samples dehydrated with the greatest solutes concentration (40-9%) reached the highest WL, SG, and WR with 89.52, 13.10, and 46.68%, respectively. Coefficients D efw and D efs showed a magnitude order of 10-10 m 2 /s, which is within the interval of dehydrated foods. Conclusions: this research showed that binary (sucrose + water) and ternary (NaCl + sucrose + water) solutions, are suitable for dehydrating green mango, however, the ternary solutions were more effective.
The widespread use of glazed envelopes, especially in high-rise buildings, is pushing building de... more The widespread use of glazed envelopes, especially in high-rise buildings, is pushing building designers and researchers to the development of novel solutions for the improvement of their performance. At the University of Palermo, SBskin. Smart Building Skin s.r.l. (an innovative start up and academic spin off) is prototyping precast, pre- stressed and dry-assembled panels made of 3D glass subcomponents, able to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, to produce clean energy and to maintain high level of mechanical resistance against horizontal forces due to winds and earthquakes. The integration of glass subcomponents with third-generation PV technologies -Dye- Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC) and/or Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) allow to build energy-saving and producing building roofs and fa\ue7ades reducing time and cost of panels\u2019 installations thanks to the mechanical assembly system used both at component and building level. The paper aims to present and discuss the results of the numerical simulations for the assessment of the mechanical performance of these innovative building components for safe and active fa\ue7ades in high rise building, by underlining differences between the innovative dry assembly system and the wet assembly system traditionally used for assembling glass blocks. Actually, in high-rise buildings \u2014 quite often characterized by glazed curtain wall solutions, as shown by contemporary architectural trends \u2014 the problems related to the action of horizontal forces, such as wind and earthquake, must be taken into account, as well as the necessity to speed up the construction of the building envelope, in order to reduce the building costs. These are the reasons why SBskin\u2019s panels are made of 3D glass subcomponents totally dry assembled by means of plastic profiles instead of mortar. Panels are prestressed by using steel bars positioned along the prevailing direction of panel and totally hidden into the plastic profiles positioned among the innovative glass blocks. The study conducted both at component and at subcomponent level, takes into account different possible materials for the realization of the plastic subcomponents of the panels
Towards a holistic methodology in sustainable retrofitting: Theory, Implementation and Applicatio... more Towards a holistic methodology in sustainable retrofitting: Theory, Implementation and Application 'the science of method' By late 1990s Oxford dictionaries of current English: 'a body of methods used in a particular activity'' By 1996 Oxford dictionaries of current English: Never imagine that any methodology can itself lead to 'improvement'. It may, though, help you to achieve better 'improvement' than you would without its guidelines. But different users tackling the same situation would achieve different outcomes. Thank you Double degree Ph.D student, M.Sc.ENG, B.
International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 2017
An overview of recent research related to building renovation has revealed that efforts to date d... more An overview of recent research related to building renovation has revealed that efforts to date do not address sustainability issues comprehensively. The question then arises in regard to the holistic sustainability objectives within building renovation context. In order to deal with this question, the research adopts a multi-dimensional approach involving literature review, exploration of existing assessment methods and methodologies, individual and focus group interviews, and application of Soft Systems Methodologies (SSM) with Value Focused Thinking (VFT). In doing so, appropriate data about sustainability objectives have been collected and structured, and subsequently verified using a Delphi study. A sustainability framework was developed in cooperation with University of Palermo and Aarhus University to audit, develop and assess building renovation performance, and support decision-making during the project's lifecycle. The paper represents the results of research aiming at addressing sustainability of the entire renovation effort including new categories, criteria, and indicators. The developed framework can be applied during different project stages and to assist in the consideration of the sustainability issues through support of decision-making and communication with relevant stakeholders. Early in a project, it can be used to identify key performance criteria, and later to evaluate/compare the pros and cons of alternative retrofitting solutions either during the design stage or upon the project completion. According to the procedure of the consensus-based process for the development of an effective sustainability decision-making framework which was employed in this study, the outcome can also be considered as an outset step intended for the establishment of a Decision Support Systems (DSS) and assessment tool suited to building renovation context.
... le avversità. Rossella Corrao Marzo 2007 4 Page 6. FFORMEORME ... Detail. The Purpose of De... more ... le avversità. Rossella Corrao Marzo 2007 4 Page 6. FFORMEORME ... Detail. The Purpose of Details, n°8, Dicembre 2000. Cfr. il caso della Maison Hermès, progettata da Renzo Piano e dalla Seves, di cui a pag. 61. industrie -e ...
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Papers by Rossella Corrao