Patrizia Tassinari

LOCATION PLANNING: A METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS IN RURAL TERRITORY

The correct planning of rural buildings results from the analysis of several interconnected factors, some related to the function that the building will perform, others to the relationship between the building and the environment. The planning process should first find the best location for the development in order for it to fit into the environment, considering the availability both of suitable conditions and of facilities needed for the building and the activities that will be done inside it. This research suggests a methodological framework for the location of a dairy processing plant that is intended to improve the current standards of the pit-cheese industry of Sogliano al Rubicone (Emilia Romagna region, Italy) by centralizing the processing of milk into cheese at a single processing site, to be constructed within an area defined as the investigation coverage area. Location planning considered several parameters separately and then combined them according to methods found in the technical and scientific literature and using the authors’ personal expertise. Production sites and trends in raw material inflows were determined, and town planning constraints, morphological and land use criticalities, and infrastructure were analyzed. Suitable sites obtained with this method were listed according to the results of calculations regarding the transport of milk on the road network. The proposed framework, which is subject to be integrated, improved, and modified in its different parts, led to the results in an objective and transparent way by means of its modular structure, and its methodological approach proved to be satisfactory and of general validity.

Landscape Quality in Farmyard Design: An Approach for Italian Wine Farms

Abstract This study addresses the issue of landscape quality in farmyard design for farm wineries. Tourist and marketing strategies have been increasingly emphasising the relationships between landscape and typical products through the farmyard image. However, ordinary farms often lack accurate design research, due to economic constraints and cultural issues. The study aims at defining the main variables that should be considered in designing outdoor spaces of small and medium-sized wine farms, based on a contemporary interpretation of the hortus topos. It allows us to consider the farmyard as a transition space between architecture (farm buildings) and cultivated land, combining functional and aesthetic values. Landscape, composition and architectural characters of various design solutions, as well as the main requirements and critical issues related to farmyard design have been analysed on a representative sample of farms, with reference to an Italian study area. Moreover, useful design references were obtained from the analyses developed.

A methodology for the analysis of dimensional features of traditional rural buildings to implement the FarmBuiLD model.

The FarmBuiLD (Farm Building Landscape Design) research model aims at defining farm building design criteria that can combine improved architectural and landscape quality with functional efficiency. FarmBuiLD moves from the consideration that historic rural buildings are broadly associated with widespread semiologic and aesthetic values. This work focuses on the phase of quantitative physiognomic characterization of historic rural buildings. Such an approach calls for high-detail, systematic surveys of the main geometric features of buildings, thus often entailing considerable costs, which are also due to the high density of the rural built environment over wide regions in Europe. The general goal of this article is to define and test a repeatable, flexible, and efficient methodology that allows the results of the above-mentioned dimensional analyses to meet the precision standards of the model. With reference to an Italian study area, we define a stratified random sampling method for historic rural buildings. The stratification was based on the typological classification and location of the buildings. GIS implementation allowed us to calibrate the method and define a pilot sample suitable to carry out the analyses through photogrammetric surveys. The average values of length, width, and height of the sample buildings appeared to be differentiated among the classes identified, and certain significant volumetric arrangements were recognized. The analysis method proved suitable for the physiognomic investigations of historic rural buildings as defined within the FarmBuiLD research model.

Retrofit interventions in non-conditioned rooms: calibration of an assessment method on a farm winery

In the Mediterranean area, most wine farms make use of unconditioned above-ground buildings for wine conservation and ageing. Those buildings are usually constructed without a specific temperature control design, therefore indoor temperature distributions and trends can be suboptimal for wine storage. At the same time, various elements (commonly available in farms such as straw bales and climbing plants) could be used to create cheap constructive solutions capable of improving buildings thermal behaviour. This study aims to test the effectiveness of different retrofit interventions for thermal behaviour improvement in unconditioned above-ground farm buildings, referring to wine-ageing requirements. The alternative design solutions are evaluated through energy simulations, calibrated and validated on an Italian case study. The results show the importance of roof insulation, and the improved performance of the combination of more retrofit strategies. The proposed approach can be extended to other passive strategies and proves useful to provide information to optimize, or even avoid, conditioning systems.

Low-cost micro-thermal response test system for characterizing very shallow geothermal energy

Shallow Geothermal Systems (SGS) are widely used to provide low-cost heating and cooling of residential and commercial buildings. SGS can be an economically-viable solution even for commercial buildings, where controlled temperature is fundamental for the production processes. To assess the thermal resistance of the soil and the performance of a SGS, Thermal Response Tests (TRT) must be performed. TRT machines are today designed mainly for short term monitoring, for relatively deep SGS (up to 200 m) and for being used by expert operators. Lightweight, low-cost machines for both fast and long term, reliable and unattended TRT for very Shallow Geothermal Systems (vSGS) are not available today. This paper describes the design of a micro-TRT machine (mTRT) for vSGS, which is gaining interest in the civil engineering, environmental, energy and food chain sectors. The paper describes the features of the wireless monitoring system, the design choices to achieve the required accuracy and the software developed for adding remote control capability. Experimental validation in a real test field demonstrates the quality of measurements collected for analysing the TRT data.

Landscape and Infrastructures: Design Issues for the Integration of Parking Areas in Non-urban Contexts

Abstract This work represents a critical review of a selection of significant parking area projects chosen within the contemporary international context, aimed at discussing the role of parking architecture conceived as an opportunity to reinvent non-urban landscapes. Such an issue is part of the very topical broader theme of relationships between infrastructure and landscape, and of the various space and time scales on which landscape is perceived. Nowadays designers have to deal with several parking design opportunities related to the construction of intermodal stations, airports, shopping malls, industrial areas, as well as natural, cultural and leisure parks. Even if these places and design themes have now become usual, they still require an appropriate and original design research. Parking areas, besides their specific original function, can represent gardens and public spaces lying between the city and the countryside, capable of producing new hybrid landscapes blending art, nature and architecture.

Numerical study of wind-driven natural ventilation in a greenhouse with screens

Abstract This paper is devoted to the CFD study of wind-driven ventilation in a greenhouse, with particular focus to the effect of screens on the inner airflow distribution. Although the use of shading screens to cover agricultural crops has been constantly increased to reduce high radiation loads, their effect on airflow distribution within the greenhouse is still not fully understood. In this paper, CFD simulations of the ventilation in a greenhouse with and without screens are performed, by means of a finite volume CFD code (Ansys-Fluent 17.2), with a standard k- e turbulence model, together with proper user defined functions (UDF) for the inlet velocity and turbulent profiles. The screens have been modeled as porous surfaces and the porosity and the permeability have been obtained experimentally and set into the model. The code has been validated by a comparison with velocity measurements performed in a greenhouse owned by the University of Bologna. Comparisons between the airflow velocity patterns obtained within the greenhouse with screens and without screens have been obtained for different external airflow velocities. The cases with screens show a more uniform distribution of velocity field inside the greenhouse than the cases without screens, especially near the crops. All the cases show that screens strongly affect the airflow velocity distribution inside the greenhouse and the distribution of volume flow rates through the vents. This work shows how the characteristics of the screens and their positioning near the vents are critical for the ventilation within a greenhouse.

Efficient statistical sample designs in a GIS for monitoring the landscape changes

The process of land planning, addressed to operate the synthesis between development aims and appropriate policies of preservation and management of territorial resources, requires a detailed analysis of the territory carried out by making use of data stored in Geographic Information Systems (GISs). A detailed analysis of changes in the landscape is time consuming, thus it can be carried out only on a sample of the whole territory and an efficient procedure is needed for selecting a sample of area units. In this paper we apply two recently proposed sample selection procedures to a study area for comparing them in terms of efficiency as well as of operational advantages, in order to set up a methodology which enables an efficient estimate of the change in the main landscape features on wide areas.

Il ruolo dei pattern agricoli nella creazione di paesaggi rurali identitari

In various historical, geographic and cultural contexts, inhabitants have drawn forms and structures on the landscape fruit of their social, economic and production systems. These signs represent material evidence of a unique geographic and cultural identity. The paper aims at discussing the relationship between uniqueness and universality and related aspects which deal with the mark left by man on the landscape at a large and small scale, thus focusing on base concepts of quality landscape patterns to be adopted in metadesign perspective. The design approach refers to the well-known concept of imageability, which the authors extend to the countryside where it has the potential of being fertile ground for new planning and design of rural settlements.

Le trasformazioni del paesaggio nel territorio rurale: analisi integrata dei sistemi socio-demografici e insediativi

Le trasformazioni del paesaggio nel territorio rurale: analisi integrata dei sistemi socio-demografici e insediativi