The projects in this area have seen involvement from almost all the faculties of the Politecnico in the following areas: civil defence and regional safety; promotion of multifunctionality in agriculture; agro-energies and protecting the countryside; cultural heritage and development of cultural districts; regional planning; infrastructures; environmental engineering and control of pollutants; energy saving in the construction of industrial and residential buildings.
EXAMPLES OF SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS:
Criteria and methods for predicting demand for concrete in Italy
Research commissioned by AITEC - Associazione Italiana Tecnico Economica Cemento (Italian Technical/Economic Concrete Association) in association with the Dipartimento di Architettura e Pianificazione - DiAP (Faculty of Architecture and Planning) and of the Dipartimento Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Ambiente Costruito - BEST (Faculty of Built Environment Science and Technology). The research explored the demographic, economic and social prospects of Italy with the aim of forecasting the evolution of residential, non-residential and infrastructural construction. In addition to quantitative analyses there were also technical/qualitative analyses. The work was completed with interviews and seminars with sector stakeholders and study centres. The forecasts, assessed after the fact, confirmed the excellent quality of the developed models.
Monitoring the barrier coral reef
International project financed by the government of Queensland (Australia), with the participation of the Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Fondazione Torino Wireless, and Siemens. The project involved the construction of low-energy consumption buoys equipped with wireless sensors to monitor the ocean waters in the bay of Brisbane, to monitor environmental phenomena and so protect the coral barrier reef. The buoys, which are powered by solar energy, enable the authorities to monitor, in real time, the smallest variation in the water that could influence the life of the living organisms that make up the barrier reef, such as temperature, salinity, luminosity, and percentage levels of pollutants. The data are sent via wireless sensors to observation stations, which conduct a widespread assessment in real time. This allows the authorities to respond immediately in the event of an emergency (e.g. an oil spill from a tanker). The cost of the buoys is low: currently they run at around EUR 150 each, and in the future a price drop of up to EUR 30 is expected. This will allow the use of the buoys to be extended, for example to testing potability or swim-safety of the water.
The Milan Social Report
As part of the large number of activities carried out in association with the Camera di Commercio di Milano (Milan Chamber of Commerce), the Fondazione has promoted the production of the Milan Social Report (Rapporto Milano Sociale), now in its third edition. The project is conducted by the Dipartimento di Architettura e Pianificazione - Laboratorio di Politiche Sociali (Faculty of Architecture and Planning - Social Policies Laboratory) of the Politecnico di Milano. The report's objective is to take a critical 'snapshot' of the complex interweaving of social cohesion, development and competitiveness in the Lombardy capital, with a particular focus on analysing the social policies adopted. The first Report (2007) addressed the issue of the dialectic comparison between social cohesion and development & urban competitiveness. The second Report (2008) explored these issues by defining cohesion indicators to monitor these phenomena over time. The third Report, currently being produced, will compare the situation in Milan with those in other European cities.
Three-dimensional mapping systems of subservices
Project conducted in association with the Regione Lombardia (Lombardy Region), the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale del Politecnico di Milano (Faculty of Structural Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano) and the companies Tesco, Arvatec, Boviar and Omnigea. Small companies interacting with big operators: the electricity company a2a, which gave permission for experiments to be conducted at its work sites, and the City of Milan, which supervised the works. Increased traffic and inconvenience for businesses and public life: in recent years the amount of work being carried out on the roads has increased, resulting in holes and other roadworks being opened to improve subservices (networks, sewerage, and gas), but also resulting in unusable footpaths, blocked roads and difficulties for traffic. It is almost impossible to identify, with any certainty, the position of cables, pipes and conduits without opening up the ground. The sketchy knowledge of underground systems and the continual changes of route, plus solutions adopted on-site but not allowed for in the design phase, increase the time required for work on roadside sites. The project involved putting together a georadar system, a non-invasive solution that directly implemented a methodology developed in academia, to read the three-dimensional measurements needed to map the subsoil so that georadar can become a tool to be used on excavation sites.