60
Architecture Technology
REGGIO DI CALABRIA
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
To achieve the expected outcomes of the course program and the proposed experimentation, the educational activities—articulated across different components—pursue the following:
• Qualifying Educational Objectives:
- Critical understanding of Nature Based Solutions as technological and environmental devices for climate adaptation within the framework of contemporary ecological and urban challenges.
- Interdisciplinary integration between theory and design, with particular attention to the interaction between urban and architectural scales in the development of ecosystem-based solutions.
- Ability to guide design processes in coherence with European and national adaptation strategies, through the use of protocols, guidelines, and environmental performance assessment tools.
- Development of a trans-scalar and systemic design approach capable of integrating ecological, technical, social, and spatial dimensions into the process of defining and evaluating solutions.
• Specific Educational Objectives (related to the theme of the course/laboratory):
- Analyze and interpret international case studies of Nature Based Solutions in urban and architectural contexts, understanding their logic, impacts, and replicability.
- Understand and apply technical protocols and tools such as IUCN guidelines, SUDS systems, and environmental sustainability indicators, with reference to the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC).
- Design NBS solutions at the urban scale (green and blue infrastructures, ecological networks, adaptive public spaces) with attention to hydraulic resilience, climate mitigation, and biodiversity enhancement strategies.
- Apply NBS strategies across multiple scales, integrating technologies such as green roofs, vegetated façades, water management systems, and passive cooling techniques.
- Assess the environmental and performance coherence of design proposals through simulation methods and multilevel verification aligned with sustainability objectives.
- Develop operational skills for design synthesis, combining analytical, environmental, and technological competencies within a laboratory-based and interdisciplinary educational environment.
Course Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of architectural and urban design, with particular attention to the environmental and technological aspects of the project. Familiarity with tools for graphic and conceptual representation, as well as an aptitude for interdisciplinary work, is also desirable.
Teaching Methods
1. TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Distributed according to hours of face-to-face teaching (10 hours = 1 ECTS) (as recorded in the register)
- Lectures (hours/year in class): 30
- Workshops / Exercises (hours/year in class): 20
- Practical activities (hours/year in class): 10
- Other: —
2. STUDENT’S INDEPENDENT WORK
Specify the methods, contents, and time related to the work the student must complete independently outside the face-to-face teaching hours (to complete the total hours/ECTS).
1 ECTS = 25 hours (10 hours of classroom teaching / 15 hours of independent study)
- In-depth study / bibliography review (theoretical component): 8
- Preparation for assessments (experimentation): 8
- Exam preparation: 9
Assessment Methods
1. TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Distributed according to hours of face-to-face teaching (10 hours = 1 ECTS) (as recorded in the register)
- Lectures (hours/year in class): 30
- Exercises (hours/year in class): 20
- Practical activities (hours/year in class): 10
- Other: —
2. STUDENT’S INDEPENDENT WORK
Specify the methods, contents, and time related to the work that the student must complete independently outside the face-to-face teaching hours (to complete the total hours/ECTS).
1 ECTS = 25 hours (10 hours in class / 15 hours of independent work)
- In-depth study / bibliography review (theoretical component): 8
- Preparation for assessments (experimentation): 8
- Exam preparation: 9
Texts
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), 2020. Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions. First edition. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, ISBN: 978-2-8317-2076-3
Woods Ballard, B., Wilson, S., Udale-Clarke, H., Illman, S., Scott, T., Ashley, R., Kellagher, R., 2015. The SuDS Manual (C753). London: CIRIA (Construction Industry Research and Information Association).
[ISBN: 978-0-86017-760-9]
Testi per la sperimentazione
Mangano G., Laganà D., Hanida A. (2025). Adaptive technologies in flooding scenarios through NBS/SUDS. The experimentation of an innovative protocol for the resilience and biodiversity protection on the coast of Reggio Calabria, In AA.VV., Med Green Forum 2024 Proceedings, Springer Nature, 10 pagine, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-82323-7_27
Nava C., Mangano G. (2024). NBS, SUDS e tecnologie adattive per la salvaguardia delle coste per effetto del flooding da cambiamenti climatici. In Urbanistica Informazioni n.312, Rivista bimestrale, INU Edizioni, Roma, ISSN n. 0392-5005, pp. 64-70
Testi sui temi di anno
Leuzzo A., Mangano G. (2023). Advanced sustainable design and experimental assessment to address climate neutrality in Mediterranean areas, Renew. Energy Environ. Sustain. 8 10 (2023), DOI: 10.1051/rees/2023005, 9 pagine, presentato alla 6th edizione Med Green Forum (2022) a Firenze, sessione “CITIES | Enabling technologies and Innovative Urban regeneration process”
Contents
Nature Based Solutions Design is a teaching module integrated into the interdisciplinary laboratory Atelier 1 – Design and Nature, which is part of the research trajectories on advanced sustainable design in scenarios of climate change. The course explores Nature Based Solutions (NBS) as technological and environmental devices for climate adaptation, developing a theoretical and applied pathway focused on urban and architectural scale design.
NBS are addressed as design tools capable of integrating ecological, infrastructural, and social functions, with particular attention to urban regeneration practices, hydraulic resilience, mitigation of urban heat islands, enhancement of biodiversity, and improvement of the environmental quality of public spaces.
The course adopts operational references to international protocols and frameworks—among which the IUCN guidelines and SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems)—and aligns with European adaptation strategies as well as national regulatory tools such as the Piano Nazionale di Adattamento ai Cambiamenti Climatici (PNACC).
The program is structured into theoretical and operational thematic units: lectures, analysis of case studies from applied research and literature, and design exercises with multilevel assessment and critical reflection on coherence with environmental sustainability goals.
The objective is to provide training capable of integrating ecological, technical, and socio-spatial dimensions into design, adopting an ecosystemic and trans-scalar approach.
More information
COURSE PROGRAM (maximum 3,000 characters)
Specify the topics covered in the Course by relating them to the expected learning outcomes.
Proposed program divided into four Thematic Units for the 12 available teaching weeks (theory + application):
UTP – Introductory Thematic Unit (Weeks 1–2)
Introduction to Nature Based Solutions as technologies for climate adaptation
Contents:
• Theoretical framework of climate change challenges and the evolution of environmental design in architecture.
• Definition and classification of NBS: green, blue, and hybrid infrastructures.
• SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems): principles and applications.
• Regulations and strategic frameworks: European Green Deal, EU Adaptation Strategy, PNACC (National Climate Change Adaptation Plan).
• Introduction to evaluation frameworks and international protocols (IUCN, Urban Greening Plans).
UT1 – Thematic Unit 1 (Weeks 3–5)
NBS and urban design: mitigation and environmental resilience strategies
Contents:
• Green and blue infrastructures as technological–environmental devices in urban design.
• Solutions for sustainable stormwater management (rain gardens, swales, bioretention).
• Mitigation of urban heat islands and passive cooling at the territorial scale.
• Analysis of international case studies and environmental simulation tools.
UT2 – Thematic Unit 2 (Weeks 6–8)
NBS and building design: integrated technologies for climate adaptation
Contents:
• Green technological solutions in architecture: green roofs and façades, bioactive walls, bioclimatic greenhouses.
• Integration of NBS with rainwater harvesting and reuse systems.
• Passive design strategies and environmental comfort in inhabited spaces.
• Multiscalar approach: continuity between building, open space, and environmental infrastructures.
UTF – Final Thematic Unit (Weeks 9–12)
Design assessment and coherence with climate adaptation strategies
Contents:
• Tools for technical–environmental evaluation: ecological performance indicators, water efficiency, urban comfort.
• Verification of coherence with PNACC indicators and European strategies.
• Systemic interpretation of NBS across ecological, social, and economic performance.
• Design synthesis and presentation of developed case studies (intermediate reviews and workshop).
Possible integrations/correlations with other disciplines (laboratories/courses of the current academic year):
Within the interdisciplinary Laboratory Design and Nature, the Nature Based Solutions Design module (ICAR/12) is integrated with the disciplines of Eco Design (ICAR/13) and Structural Morphology and Mechanical Modelling for Design (ICAR/08), through a shared design approach oriented toward sustainability, technical innovation, and the interaction between natural and built systems. Nature Based Solutions are addressed as adaptive devices with high ecological and technological intensity, capable of dialoguing with eco-efficiency and life-cycle assessment criteria typical of Eco Design, and with the principles of form, structure, and mechanical behaviour of materials and constructive organisms explored in Structural Morphology. This integrated vision positions NBS as opportunities to experiment with innovative morphological and constructive configurations, assessed in terms of performance, environmental quality, and adaptive capacity through multidisciplinary methods and advanced modelling and simulation tools.