80
Industrial Design
REGGIO DI CALABRIA
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
In order to achieve the expected outcomes of the course program and the proposed experimentation, the educational offering, structured into various activities, pursues the following educational objectives.
Qualifying educational objectives:
- Developing the ability to understand the main challenges of the ongoing environmental/social crises and the solutions currently being researched and debated, while continuously staying up-to-date on current proposals and possible future developments.
- Developing skills to contribute to the ecological transition for climate change mitigation and adaptation through innovative design solutions for public spaces, nature-based solutions, and ecosystem services.
The specific learning objectives include the acquisition of skills and the achievement of outcomes that can be assessed during the learning assessment:
- Design skills for small structures and public spaces for communities, from project concept development to construction details described with technical drawings. These skills enable students to gain autonomy in the design of small industrially produced structures such as outdoor patios, shelters, and trade show stands.
- Design skills for nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation, applying knowledge of ecosystem services and their classification.
- Lifecycle design skills for managing the various phases of a product's life cycle during the design phase: materials used, production processes, use, maintenance, and end-of-life treatment.
- Application of the knowledge acquired in the design of spaces and products for outdoor environments; students will analyze a series of real-world case studies as design references to develop their own design proposals in real-world contexts, working in small groups.
These skills will be assessed through a project exercise, led by the teacher, carried out by the students in small groups.
Course Prerequisites
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Teaching Methods
1. TYPE OF TRAINING ACTIVITIES:
The course combines theoretical lectures and practical activities.
The theoretical lectures include lectures and opportunities for discussion and interaction with students to continuously assess learning.
Practical activities cover the successive phases of a project development exercise, to be carried out individually or in small groups, from the development of the project concept to its general configuration, up to the definition of construction details. Structural calculations and calculations related to the GWP indicator of the project's Life Cycle Assessment will also be developed.
The hours of classroom teaching (10 hours for 1 credit; 1 credit = 25 hours) are scheduled as follows:
Lectures: (hours/year in classroom): 32
Practical activities: (hours/year in classroom): 40
Other: (hours/year in classroom): 8 (visits, workshops, seminars)
2. STUDENT INDEPENDENT WORK
Hours of work that the student will be required to complete independently outside of classroom teaching hours, to complete the required hours/credits (15 hours for 1 credit; 1 credit = 25 hours):
- In-depth study of the bibliography (theoretical part): 40
- Test preparation (experimental): 40
- Exam preparation: 40
Assessment Methods
The final assessment consists of a final review: a review of the joint design exercise for the three modules of the workshop, developed during the course under the guidance of the instructors, developed by students individually or in small groups. The evaluation is based on the following criteria: i) consistency of the project with the objectives established by the instructors during the course; ii) representation of the proposal through technical documents, including overall and detailed technical drawings, representation of the construction components, materials, and assembly methods, and contextualized representation; iii) reporting of the quantitative data developed during the course (structural calculations, LCA analysis); iv) presentation of the proposal and its innovative features during the exam.
Exam format: Theory and Practice: Presentation and presentation of the completed project exercise.
Assessment criteria:
30 - 30 cum laude: awareness and full understanding of the topics covered, presented with excellent critical thinking and more than appropriate language;
26 - 29: good knowledge of the topics covered and ability to analyze and synthesize, correct but not entirely appropriate language;
22-25: fair knowledge of the topics covered, with limited ability to analyze and synthesize, not entirely appropriate language;
18-21: barely adequate knowledge of the topics, with gaps in knowledge and inappropriate language;
Insufficient: significant gaps in knowledge; inability to present concepts in a detailed manner; inappropriate language.
Restrictions for admission to the final exam:
Attendance is not mandatory but recommended. Attendance at least 70% of the course lessons is recommended.
Texts
Vezzoli C (2020). Design per la Sostenibilità Ambientale, Bologna, Zanichelli. (riferimento teorico e per la sperimentazione)
Pulselli R M, Paolinelli G, Bastianoni S (2014). Il Giardino Rampante. Diamo vita ai muri degli edifici. Soluzioni per la città sostenibile. Edifir, Firenze. (riferimento per la sperimentazione)
Pulselli RM. Lifecycle thinking per il co-Design circolare. In Narrare i Gruppi, 20 (2025), pp. 55-71- website: https://www.narrareigruppi.it/index.php?journal=narrareigruppi&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=04.03.2025
Contents
1_DESCRIPTION
The course provides competences for design projects aimed at the ecological transition in the Mediterranean context. The focus will be on outdoor spaces for social activities and inclusiveness and include industrially produced devices/installations integrated with Nature-Based Solutions for climate change adaptation. For example, the concept of climate shelters will be explored as public spaces equipped with basic services for living in climate-controlled outdoor environments, such as places conceived to mitigate the heat island effect.
The course develops disciplines for controlling the design phases of construction aspects (assembled and disassembled components, nodes, ground connections) and life cycle phases (production, transport, use, maintenance, and end-of-life), integrating these aspects with structural analysis (Structural Morphology and Mechanical Modeling for Design module) and with the identification of natural elements that provide various ecosystem services (Nature-Based Solutions Design module). Environmental, social, and economic aspects and implications specific to the Mediterranean context will also be discussed and evaluated to guide design.
In particular, the knowledge imparted to students includes a life-cycle thinking approach and an understanding of production processes, raw materials used, material durability and maintenance requirements, and product assembly and disassembly techniques.
Furthermore, students will address the topic of ecological transition and adaptation to climate change, addressing environmental and social issues typical of contemporary urban systems, and gaining an understanding of the needs and new directions the market is moving toward today.
2_COURSE PROGRAM
The course is structured into a series of lectures alternating with practical exercises.
The lectures include general scientific concepts and more specific technical knowledge. The following is a brief overview of the topics covered:
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions for the ecological transition: the example of climate shelters as new typologies of public spaces
- Construction elements and technological solutions for assembly and disassembly, nodes and ground connections for steel and wood devices/installations
- Teacher-led development of an in-depth design project with details on construction components, nodes, assembly and transport criteria, in addition to the aspects covered in the other modules of the Workshop: structural dimensions, static criteria, and NBS integration;
- Implementation of a Life Cycle Thinking approach applied to design: definition of the production chain of the product system developed during the course, and analysis of qualitative and quantitative aspects (calculating Global Warming Potential) for informed value chain management;
- Communication of information and data to present functional, social, cultural, and environmental and social sustainability characteristics.
Practical exercises include analysis of existing case studies and development of design projects (products or services) individually or in small groups.
3_EXPECTED OUTCOMES
The course objectives are to develop theoretical knowledge and technical skills that students will be able to independently test through individual study and group exercises.
Knowledge and understanding:
- Students will learn and discuss theoretical and scientific concepts useful for developing knowledge and critical thinking skills to understand and evaluate the environmental and social sustainability characteristics of a design project and the circularity of processes.
Applying knowledge and understanding:
- Students will develop the ability to implement a product design project in space, focusing on the production chain and life cycle, with the aim of optimizing processes and measuring the results.
Making judgments:
- Students will experiment individually or collectively (in groups) and develop critical thinking skills capable of evaluating the level of environmental and social sustainability of a design project.
Communication skills;
- Students must present their content and personal interpretations, including quantitative data, clearly and comprehensively, presenting the environmental and social characteristics of the design project throughout all phases of its life cycle.
Learning skills.
- Students must develop learning skills to undertake their educational journey and develop coherent and innovative sustainability projects.