‘When the war ends will you go back to Ukraine or do you plan to move permanently to another country? Will you take part in the reconstruction? What do you miss most? Where do you currently live? What do you want? Where do your children sleep? With how much luggage did you arrive in Poland?’. These are some questions in a housing questionnaire put to Ukrainian refugees in Poland by Project Safe Refuge, an international group of designers of transitional housing units designed for emergency contexts. The answers are used to create homes that are not impersonal but that welcome guests making them feel more at home in some way.
The idea arose in March 2022, as Nadja Strikovic, architecture Alumnatells us: ‘I found out about the initiative on the LinkedIn page of Kika Zdziarska, a Polish student who studies in Delft, the Netherlands, and whom I had met when she was also attending a three-year degree at the Politecnico di Milano. Together with Kasia Antoszyk, another Polish student, she had just started working on this idea and so I joined them.
one on a research level, by contacting organizations similar to ours in the international arena, with a focus on Poland and Ukraine. The other line of research focuses on the technical and construction field, we are looking for companies and organizations that are willing to build our project on site, so as to avoid large costs of transporting materials and housing units, and also to speed up processes’.
‘We are understanding if we can cover the costs in building the housing unit prototype: a basic module of about 33.5 metres by 67.5, corresponding to a minimum size that can then eventually be extended in length and height by adding other modules. This size allows us to accommodate a bathroom, kitchen and a space in front large enough for a sofa bed or two single beds or a double bed. We imagine it as a very flexible base with a structure made of OSB wood panels, insulated with local materials recovered from waste from local companies and businesses. The doors and windows will tend to be in PVC. We would like to achieve something that is not alien to the lives of refugees. Even if they will be temporary, we would like something in the furnishings and spaces to remind them of their original homes’.
Currently, the group is trying to complete the development of a complete unit to be built possibly in Ukraine. They have launched crowdfunding to finance its success.
‘IONE 1.0 was ranked 3rd in the Energy Boat Challenge. Love, hunger and a little madness are the ingredients that made what was just a dream come true, the same ingredients that keep us dreaming of embarking on ever bigger waves’.
On 10 July 2022, on Physis PEB 's social networks , we read this post published the day after the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, where in addition to third place for the energy class, the team and students of the Politecnico di Milano also won theEco Conception Prize for the sustainability of the idea. Making this milestone even more important is the fact that the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge is a unique event in the world, dedicated precisely to innovation and sustainability for boating; now in its ninth edition, it involved twenty-seven universities from all over the world, ‘a bridge between tomorrow's engineers and today's industry leaders’, declare the organizers.
Credits: Physis PEB
The starting point of this goal is told by Alumnus and teacher Paolo Schito from the Department of Mechanics: ‘Initially we were invited, as Politecnico di Milano, to participate in this competition by the Yacht Club de Monaco. In July 2021 we decided to involve students by selecting eight out of sixty candidates. We looked for people who had skills outside the purely academic field, also linked to their own passion. From late September to mid-November, the first eight participants developed the concept of the boat, then recruited other students. The team currently consists of about eighty people’.
Camilla Salvagno, in her third year of Mechanical Engineering, is among the first eight people recruited. Today she is Team Leader of the project and goes into the details:
‘We build a hybrid catamaran with an electric motor, with three energy sources: battery, solar panels and hydrogen. We work on the cockpit, on the propulsion system and on the energy system and we design all the structures and electronics. The propulsion system is based on an electric outboard from the sponsor company Gardasolar. Starting from the characterization of the engine, propellers optimized for the race working points were integrated to ensure maximum thrust and maximum efficiency. The carbon cockpit mould, i.e. the cockpit of the boat, is recycled from that of the SAE formula, another Poli team. The cockpit was then laminated in prototype basalt fibre, recycled PET sandwich and BioBased resin. The peculiarity of this resin is that, through an innovative process, it allows the fibres used for lamination to be re-extracted at room temperature without affecting their mechanical performance, so that they can be reused again. The structure of the solar panels, on the other hand, is made of bamboo with joints designed and moulded by us in the laboratory in recyclable PLA and reinforced with punctured bicycle inner tubes‘.
Preparing for a competition like this means leaving the classroom and literally embarking on a project to be navigated, arriving at new lands such as those of the search for sponsors, venturing and interfacing with a still unknown world which is that of work and that of theory applied to making a boat that must stay afloat.
Schito, on the other hand, explains what is the value for the University:
‘The Poli has expertise in the nautical sectors, hydrogen propulsion, electric motors and attention to CO2 emissions. With Physis PEB all the laboratories involved in the initiative have the opportunity to see their research applied’.
Open, green and transparent”.Renzo Piano has presented the Bovisa-Goccia Masterplan in a meeting at Politecnico di Milano. In attendance were the Rector of the Politecnico Ferruccio Resta, the Councillor for Metropolitan City Development, Youth and Communication of Regione Lombardia, Stefano Bolognini and the Mayor of the city of Milan Giuseppe Sala.
The project in question covers a total surface area of 32 hectares , part owned by the Municipality of Milan (23.4 hectares) and part by Politecnico di Milano (9.1 hectares). The idea is to expand the campus, creating a science park/innovation hub and areas set aside for services to students, businesses and citizens. Works will get under way in late 2023 , and be completed in 2026.
The project by RPBW studio with Renzo Piano was made possible by a major donation from the ION Foundation to the Politecnico di Milano. The project follows on from and completes that planned by the Politecnico for the gasometer area, aiming to connect Goccia to the city and the surrounding region through mobility initiatives. This project, the subject of the recent memorandum of understanding signed by the Ministry for Sustainable Infrastructure and mobility, Ministry for Universitiy and Research, Lombardy Region, Municipality of Milan, Politecnico di Milano, FNM and Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, is about to enter the building phase.
Works include the construction of twenty new 4-storey buildings , rising to a height of 16 metres, covering an area of about 105,000 sq.m, plus the Scuole Civiche, connected by tree-lined pedestrian pathways and offering a variety of facilities that will make it a lively place to be. A large cycle-pedestrian path to the south, winding through the gasometers and the Lambruschini campus, will link up the 2 stations Bovisa and Villapizzone, which will be refurbished and interconnected to the whole Campus.
In addition to the Politecnico’s classrooms and labs, there will be student residence halls, and an area dedicated to startup, conforming to the highest international standards regarding links between the university and the business world: 35,000 sq.m of space set aside for deep tech innovation and the challenges of digital evolution and sustainability. The aim is to create a campus that is accessible, open to the city and primed for the exchange of ideas and functions.
Buildings will be erected on land located between the gasometers and the large power station, structures that are an example of industrial archaeology as well as an unmovable boundary, on the other side of which 24 hectares of woodland will be preserved, developed and opened up to citizens. Buildings will cover the same surface area as that previously occupied by the factories. In their place will be “white factories”, places of knowledge and know-how that respect local traditions and history.
The project, that also seeks to attain energy independence and eliminate CO2 emissions, involves the construction of 3 buildings for classrooms, 5 buildings for startups, one underground hall for conferences, 2 residence halls for about 500 students and the revamping of an old industrial building offering catering services to Campus guests.
Large trees will be planted and grow around the new buildings to create a connective tissue. The ground floors of campus buildings will be completely transparent, so that users can be able to enjoy an immersive experience in nature.
Credits: Urban File
Renzo Piano explains:
The essence of the project was already etched into the place.
The idea was already there; it was just a question of time before it hatched.
There is the woodland and its majestic trees.
Then there are traces of the factory on the ground, the old buildings that preserve the memory of these places and their DNA.
"Today is a special day for Politecnico di Milano. It is an important step in the history of our University”. – commented the Rector, Ferruccio Resta – - Working alongside Renzo Piano, we have shared an idea that is now taking shape within a broader urban design. It is the fruit of an understanding between the public and the private sectors. This flagship project represents a new way of interpreting university life and the city of Milan in the future, meeting major urban, technological and social challenges. It will be a laboratory, a place for exchanging ideas and for innovation, for the city and for youngsters, working to attain the critical mass that is vital for competing internationally.”
"Regione Lombardia - says Stefano Bolognini, Councillor for Metropolitan City Development, Youth and Communication of Regione Lombardia – fully and strongly supports the Politecnico di Milano in this innovative and cutting-edge development and regeneration project. I am certain that, also thanks to the 55 million € of total investment by the Region, the whole area of the Bovisa district involved in the renovation works will be able to become a model throughout Italy, combining research, innovation, sustainability and new living spaces for the students who, in increasing numbers, want and will want to come to study at the Politecnico. Lastly, I would like to emphasize the institutional collaboration that has made it possible to achieve a result of extraordinary importance not only for Milan and Lombardy, but for the entire country, succeeding in synthesizing to realize an exceptional project for the University, for businesses and for the city."
“The plan to develop the Bovisa-Goccia area presented today perfectly represents the policies being pursued by our administration: development of the local district based on the 15-minute city concept, focus on the environment, collaboration with the university in the sphere of research and innovation and new residence halls for students, in their role as protagonists of change. These are all priority goals and actions in our agenda – commented Giuseppe Sala, Sindaco di Milano –. I wish to thank Renzo Piano and the Politecnico for giving, through this urban project, concrete form to the vision and idea of the city we want to create for the future".
The project of the Politecnico di Milano OFF CAMPUS will be among the recipients of the Ambrogino d'Oro 2022, the civic honour awarded each year by Municipality of Milan on 7 December, St. Ambrose's Day.
OFF CAMPUS | Il Cantiere per le Periferie is an initiative promoted by Polisocial, the social engagement and responsibility programme of the Politecnico di Milano, with the aim of strengthening the presence of Politecnico in the city of Milan. The first Off Campus space was opened in the San Siro neighbourhood in April 2019, followed by new spaces in the NoLo district (September 2020) and in the San Vittore detention centre (October 2022). A fourth Off Campus space will soon settle at Cascina Nosedo, a former farmhouse.
In the Off Campus spaces, teachers, researchers and students of the Politecnico can develop innovative teaching ideas, responsible research and co-design activities capable of generating a positive impact on the community. The underlying concept is that of a more engaged University, targeting social challenges and closer to neighbourhoods and communities.
First in Italy among academic initiatives of this kind, the Polisocial Award aims to support and initiate responsible research projects with high social impact, while also supporting them with a view to sustainability over time. The initiative also aims to provide space for young researchers and cultivate an ethical approach to academic work that enhances the social impact of polytechnic expertise.
Among the initiatives promoted by Polisocial is the Polisocial Award, an annual competition funded by donations from the 5 per mille, which has been supporting and initiating responsible, high social impact research projects since 2012, also supporting them with a view to sustainability over time. The initiative also aims to provide space for young researchers and cultivate an ethical approach to academic work that enhances the social impact of polytechnic expertise.
“‘The last editorial for MAP as rector ... a farewell that, I confess, brings with it many memories. I think back to the emotion I felt on election day, in that cold November of 2016. The same that accompanied me two months later when this ‘adventure’ officially began. One of the most fantastic of my life!’
Thus begins prof. Ferruccio Resta, outgoing rector of the Politecnico di Milano, recounting his journey at the helm of the Politecnico: from ‘Breakfasts in the Laboratory’ (because, he writes, ‘our soul lies in research’) to responsibility towards the many boys and girls of our University, ‘even greater during the pandemic’.
‘In the emergency, I faced the appointment as President of the CRUI: reading, after a few hours by train on the Rome-Milan line, the tragic news arriving from Wuhan. A real baptism of fire for me. Today, after three years of living on the edge, I admit that I am proud of how the university system has reacted to the pandemic. It has proven to be the backbone of the country’.
In the editorial, Resta traces some of the challenges that marked his mandate. ‘Keeping on a straight course was not easy, but possible thanks to a clear and shared vision of where we wanted to go. The mission outlined in the Strategic Plan has indicated the course, that of a ‘European Leading University’, with an eye open to international comparison, capable of interpreting change’.
He concludes by quoting Henry Ford: ‘Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is success. And you, dear Alumni, have always been there for me and for the polytechnic community.
Studying architecture is like studying all the sciences, commerce and the arts at the same time, we read on theknowledgereview.com. This is the approach of Rajendra Kumar, Alumnus Architecture 2008, selected from among the “Most Admired Education Influencers in India, 2022”.
"I firmly believe in the robust role of industry and academia, which complement each other," comments Kumar. "I always believe in the need for continued efforts to bridge the gap in the practicalities of the Indian education curriculum."
Courtesy of Rajendra Kumar
Rajendra Kumar is an architect based in New Delhi, India. He is also an academic, urban planner, researcher and writer. Returning to India after graduating from the Poli, he opened an architecture studio and worked in Europe and Asia. He held the position of Head of the School of Architecture, Noida International University (2018-2021), focusing on the issues of environmental and urban sustainability. He received the ‘Indian Young Achievers Award’ in 2009, and was recognized as ‘Global Educational Influencer 2020’. He is a member of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), Netherlands, and of the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, USA.
A new important achievement for PoliMOVE Autonomous Racing Teamon Friday 11 November the team of the Politecnico di Milano got the first place in theIndy Autonomous Challengeat Texas Motor Speedway. The IAC is the competition in which university teams from around the world compete to advance technology of fully autonomous vehicles.
9 teams competed with their Dallara AV-21 autonomous racecars, guided by an artificial intelligence software developed by each team. MinerVa, the Politecnico car, was the fastest.
PoliMOVE is part of the Politecnico research group mOve, led by Professor Sergio Savaresi, which studies automatic controls in all types of land vehicles: from electric bicycles to cars and even tractors.
Alumna Elena Bottinelliwho graduated from the Politecnico di Milano in 1991 with a degree in electronic engineering and a specialisation in bioengineering, is the Head of Innovation and Digitalization at Gruppo San Donatoand has been included in the list of the 50 Most Powerful Women by Fortune Italia magazine, which tells the 50 stories of success, commitment and perseverance of the 50 women that are inspiring, across the world, cultural debate not only about the value of diversity in business in general but, more broadly, the fundamental role of women in contemporary society.
According to the magazine, the Alumna distinguished herself
“during the pandemic years, guiding some of the most important Italian hospitals involved in the fight against the virus. She is known for her interest in the development and application of technologies to improve the quality of patient care, like that of telemedicine.”
Before joining Gruppo San Donato, Bottinelli worked for ten years in leading multinationals in the field of medical and orthopaedic devices.
In 2017, she took part in the 6th edition of the Alumni Politecnico di Milano Convention (see the video here), emphasising the importance of the healthcare system. “A city’s first objective is to keep its citizens healthy,” she remarked, speaking about a future in which technology, from wearables to machine learning, will play an increasingly significant role in prevention and health monitoring, facilitating personalised, remote medicine and a system of clinics distributed locally.
“The future is at our fingertips. We should not be afraid of technology, rather we should understand it and use it ethically: it will teach us to make more conscientious decisions.”
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