The specific title of the Design Unit is “Design Architectural Envelopes and Complex Forms”. The D.U. results from the close cooperation between Academia and Permasteelisa, a private Company which is a worldwide leading player in design, manufacturing and construction of architectural façades. The Design unit is aimed at providing the students with the technical knowledge and the practical skills to manage a complex design process, mainly focused on building envelope design. In contemporary architecture the building envelopes are one the most relevant common grounds between the engineering and architectural expertise, gathering morphological, technological and structural issues. Since they are meant to be the outer skin of the building, they must combine a good energy efficiency performance with the structural stability, and they are, at the same time, one of the most influencing elements in the construction of the architectural language of the building. During the ex cathedra lessons and the design experience three main aspects will be took into consideration. • The conception of the overall shape of the envelope and the relationships between the morphology of the outer shell and the main typological aspects of the building (massing, distribution etc.). • The structural systems of the façades and their connections with the building. • The technological details of the façade and their influence on the architectural result. Through the experience of the Design Unit, the student will acquire not only the general design skills, but also the specific knowledge and skills in Science and Technology of Structures, which are mandatory in the Master’s degree, as an alternative to the 2nd Year Course in “Theory and Design of Structures”.

The Design Unit "Design Architectural Envelopes and Complex Forms" provides the advanced knowledge and the design skills needed to complete the education of an Architect: such a knowledge is acquired within the Design Unit and through a series of mono-disciplinary or multi-disciplinary lectures, and through studies and in-depth modules on theories, relevant to the design themes and issues. The advanced progresses in knowledge and understanding will be assessed through mid-term and final evaluations during the Design Unit, especially aimed at assessing the students’ capability to synthesize and to integrate the different disciplines contributing to the Unit. In the experience of the Design Unit “Architecture and Structural Forms”, the understanding of the complex phenomena influencing the building production, both in its constructive and urban components, occurs through the knowledge and the in-depth analysis of the specific design theme. The teachers will provide multi-disciplinary knowledge of all the aspects of the complex context within which the design has to be developed. The ability to understand and interpret the complex contexts, in which the practice of architecture takes place today, also occurs in the ability to interact with different specialisms, in the ability to carry out individual research, aimed to connect design, history and the knowledge of the structural elements in architecture. In the design experience during the Design Unit, the capability to apply knowledge and skills is primarily defined by the ability to independently manage a complex architectural project in a given time, through the mastery of techniques, methods and skills specific to the job of the Architect. The capability to independently manage an architectural project is expressed in the ability to analyze complex and non-univocal information, to interpret them into a shared decision-making process, but also in the ability to exert leadership in a necessarily multi-disciplinary design team, even toward languages and social and public practices. The experience of the Design Unit, characterized by an intense experimentation, is configured as a partial simulation of effective design practices in the real-world. As such, it ensures the acquisition of the ability of applying knowledge and understanding. This ability is assessed through intermediate and final evaluations within the Design Unit, with the contributions of guest experts from practice, with especial attention to the capability to integrate and synthesize the various disciplines involved in the Unit, as well as to meet the timetable of the activities, which requires the students to complete the project at the end of the semester. The ability to process a complex architectural project in a given time represents a specific ability of the work of the architect: this will be verified at the exam that will take place during the first week of exams, in the first examination session consecutive to the Design Unit.

The basic critical and design skills, along with the concepts and introductory tools in Structural Analysis and Design are assumed to have been acquired during the Disciplinary Courses and the Design Ateliers of the Bachelor Degree in “Sciences of Architecture”.

Ex cathedra lessons (24 hrs) Teaching module: Architectural and Urban Design (24 hrs) • The façade as a theme of architectural design (overall composition; distribution of openings; opacity/transparency, connections with the ground and the roof etc.). • The outer envelope in contemporary architecture (tectonics, iconography etc.). • The outer shell of the building, the inner casing of the public space. The façade as the boundary of the public space. • Body and skin. Interactions and mutual influences between the envelope and the internal parts of the building. • Building fixtures and façades (vertical and horizontal distributions; plants etc.). • Joints and parts in architectural composition. • The rules of the game. A general overview of the norms and regulations about the buildings' façades (alignments, maximum height, openings and overlooks etc.). Teaching module: Structural Engineering (30 hrs) • Morphology and typology of façades (with supporting frame, structural, double skin) • Actions on façades (environmental action, user action, accidental actions) • Façade components - Panel element (glass, stone, terracotta, metal sheet, sandwich) - Frame elements (aluminium alloys, steel alloys) - Anchoring systems (Influence of construction tolerances, Connecting elements, Anchoring brackets, Anchor bolts, Cast-in channels) • Adjustment of building displacements and deformations • A few principles about façade thermodynamics • A few principles about façade acoustics • International norms about facades • Design technical criteria - Design for strength and durability - Design for installation - Design against air and water leakage • Tests for Design - Air-Water-Wind tests - Shock tests Multidisciplinary common activities Design experience (46 hrs) Hands-on application of above-mentioned knowledge and skills to a specific design theme. The capability to apply knowledge and skills is primarily defined by the ability to independently manage a complex architectural project in a given time. The design experience is configured as a partial, in vitro simulation of effective design practices in the real-world. Trips for learning (10 hrs, in compresence) During the course some site visits will be organized in the Permasteelisa headquarters, and in some relevant buildings recently built by Permasteelisa group. A tentative list of the sites is as follows: • Permasteelisa Group headquarter (Vittorio Veneto): design centre, testing labs and factory • Intesa S. Paolo Tower (Turin) – arch. R. Piano • Unicredit Tower (Milan) – arch. C. Pelli; City Life area (Milan) – arch. A. Isozaki, Z. Hadid, D. Libeskind

The Course is organized in ex cathedra lessons and design practice . The design work will be developed partially in groups of up to three people and partially autonomously by every student.

The following references are just the main bibliographic sources; detailed bibliographies will be provided during the lessons - For the teaching module "Architectural and Urban Design": • Boschi, A., 2010, Fenomenologia della facciata. Percorsi interpretativi, letture evolutive, itinerari compositivi, Milano: Franco Angeli. • Greco, A., Quagliarini, E., (Eds.), 2007, L’involucro edilizio: una progettazione complessa, Firenze: Alinea (2 Volumes). • Herzog, T., 2004, Façade construction manual, Munich: Birkhäuser. • Koolhaas, R., et al., 2014, Elements of Architecture, "Façade", Venezia: Marsilio. - For the teaching module "Structural Engineering": • Martin, P., Façades Légères en détail, 2a ed., Ed. Editions Le Moniteur. • Haldimann, M., Luible, A., Overend, M., Structural use of glass, Ed. IABSE. • Paganin, G., Facciate leggere, Ed. Sistemi Editoriali • Rigone, P., La posa in opera delle facciate continue, Ed. Maggioli • Cook, N.J., The Designer's Guide to Wind Loading of Building Structures, Part 1, Ed. Butterworths • Mazzolani, F. M., La progettazione delle strutture in leghe d'alluminio, Ed. Liguori • Eurocodes 0, 1, 3, 9 (EN 1990. EN 1991-1-4, EN 1993-1-1, EN 1999-1-1)

Modalità di esame: Prova orale facoltativa; Prova scritta tramite PC con l'utilizzo della piattaforma di ateneo; Elaborato progettuale individuale; Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

Fully attendance and engagement in lectures, seminars, and further activities of the Design Unit is a required precondition for the positive participation in the planned activities. The final exam will take place in the first week of the examination session consecutive to the Design Unit. In case the final design work is not completed on time or is judged inadequate or incomplete, the student may submit the final project in the second examination session consecutive to the Design Unit. In this case the final grade will consider the student inability to develop a complex architectural design in a given time. The final evaluation will be individual and it will encompass the whole range of the available grades. It will be carried out through group discussion of D.U. professors, taking into account the weight of each discipline (in terms of credits). The evaluation will take into account: the overall quality of the design deliverables, the appropriateness of the technical solutions, the acquired competence in structural design and the student's capability to match the technical and critical considerations within the final result. The final assessment will result from the weighted grades obtained by the student in every discipline.

Modalità di esame: Prova scritta (in aula); Prova orale obbligatoria; Elaborato progettuale individuale; Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

Fully attendance and engagement in lectures, seminars, and further activities of the Design Unit is a required precondition for the positive participation in the planned activities. The final exam will take place in the first week of the examination session consecutive to the Design Unit. In case the final design work is not completed on time or is judged inadequate or incomplete, the student may submit the final project in the second examination session consecutive to the Design Unit. In this case the final grade will consider the student inability to develop a complex architectural design in a given time. The final evaluation will be individual and it will encompass the whole range of the available grades. It will be carried out through group discussion of D.U. professors, taking into account the weight of each discipline (in terms of credits). The evaluation will take into account: the overall quality of the design deliverables, the appropriateness of the technical solutions, the acquired competence in structural design and the student's capability to match the technical and critical considerations within the final result. The final assessment will result from the weighted grades obtained by the student in every discipline.