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The paper describes both the method and the preliminary outcomes of the "Blind-assistive autonomous Droid Device: BUDD-e" research experience, funded by Polisocial Award 2021 of Politecnico di Milano, and designed to exploit a multidisciplinary approach to bridge the gap of inclusive design, making spaces and services accessible, functional, and usable by Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) people. The research purpose is to develop accessible public places and indoor environments where the autonomous robot BUDD-e will act as guide for the BVI people. User-centred design principles will be applied to support accessibility to - both outdoor and indoor - public places, where the robot guide BUDD-e will be a primary feature in allowing access to services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the development of Living Hub: a laboratory for research, experimentation and training based on the Living Lab model, integrated with the use of the Simulation technique, to optimise the study of the interaction between people, environments, and technology. The lab aims to support the design of capacitating technologies and responsive environments that can adapt to the needs of their users, with reference to the home context. Located in Liguria, a region with the highest rate of ageing in the world, Living Hub focuses experimentation on innovative models for the care of the frail through different levels of scalar/modular integration of enabling technologies in the built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate scenarios require the implementation of climate proof actions. The effectiveness of such projects directly depends on the knowledge of local contexts and on the built environment's characteristics in relation to climate risk conditions. Innovative methods of knowledge can be implemented through the use of enabling technologies. Based on these considerations, the paper proposes the Coast-RiskBySea model as support for climate proof decision-making in relation to coastal flood risk, with the aim of developing new synergies between environmental design and enabling technologies. The proposed model was tested on an application case in the city of Naples by simulating a climate proof measure to assess the effectiveness of this solution in terms of damage reduction, and to define the potential and criticality of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidisciplinary skills and knowledges were common in historical constructions. The necessity to rethink the way we design and realize our built environment in response to the climate change is requiring the re-convergence of knowledge. The development of multidisciplinary practices and digital communication platforms are enabling the new transition. The design and fabrication of shell is one the field, where the cross-over of knowledge is most evident. Digital technologies are facilitating experimentations of complex shell geometries, a wise use of materials, and the development of new construction processes. This paper explores the transformation of shell designs, and the importance of multiple actors, through the analysis of a shell prototype developed for an international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circumstances that produce architecture have profoundly changed and, among these, pracisely those which perceive and use space-time in a different way in comparison with the past. This paper defines a conceptual reference framework by positioning the time factor in relation to the role of the project as an innovative and operational procedural tool in terms of sustainable conversion of cities. The essay aims to investigate the "addition strategy" as a paradigm of architectural grafting to achieve a balanced relationship between temporariness and permanence. It outlines scenarios in which a new design culture is capable of guiding the processes of transformation of the built environment by placing the idea of impermanence in a perspective that is closer to the current socio-technical condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the concept of resilience has been strategically and inextricably linked to the main aims of the Green Economy and 'process circularity' as applied to the field of the built environment and buildings, starting with the international policy documents published by UNEP in 2008 and by the OECD in 2010. This debate has only just been outlined and there is still plenty of research to be done, but the potential contribution of Technological Design in Architecture seems key. This paper critically analyses the principles, the method- and design-based approaches and the structural strategic measures that can improve the resilience of the built environment, as requested by the European Commission, and considers the prospects for its development in this country, both at a national institutional level and at a local level, primarily gravitating around the strategic working axes that have been outlined - and continue to be pursued - by the States General of the Green Economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]