scientific committee

Università Iuav di Venezia

Massimiliano Condotta, Sergio Copiello, Fabio Peron, Piercarlo Romagnoni, Massimo Rossetti, Massimiliano Scarpa, Valeria Tatano

experts

Giovanni Borga, Antonio Carbonari

phd students

Letizia Artioli, Lisa Battagliarin, Elisa Bernard, Martina Bortolotti, Nicolò Maria Bressan, Federica Crosato, Edda Donati, Luca Fontanella, Erika Guolo, Francesco Incelli, Leonardo Madama, Agata Tonelli, Ofelia Giannina Vera Piazzini

The doctoral research in the field of Technological, environmental and building physics design concerns multiple aspects of Architecture Technology and Environmental Technical Physics in relation to architectural projects at different scales and the transformation, recovery and management of the natural and built environment.

Training courses can include the fields of materials and construction systems, techniques and technologies for analysis, environmental control and efficient energy production or from renewable sources, as well as sustainability understood as the preservation of ecological, social and cultural aspects. These areas of investigation are oriented to environmental design and sustainable design of buildings, energy efficiency of buildings and urban contexts, and protection of the natural and built environment.

The research activity references and is linked to the cultural field of the European Green Deal and the related New European Bauhaus, as well as related topics such as circular economy in architecture, inclusivity at the architectural and urban scale, citizen science and the challenges of renewable energies. Consequently, the research activities cover the areas of Digital, Industry, and Aerospace; Climate, Energy, and Sustainable Mobility; and Food Products, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment of the National Research Programme. Additionally, the National Smart Specialisation Strategy includes the thematic areas of Smart and Sustainable Industry, Energy, and Environment; Digital Agenda, Smart Communities, and Smart Mobility Systems; and Tourism, Cultural Heritage, and Creative Industry.

In addressing these issues, PhD students acquire skills in the use of tools for energy simulation, three-dimensional modelling oriented to the management of construction and maintenance processes, indoor and outdoor environmental measurements and the development of machine learning algorithms, as well as in the application of Life Cycle Assessment methods, sustainability assessment tools in architecture and sustainable design techniques.

The development of skills and knowledge occurs through participation in research activities. PhD students acquire analytical skills to critically identify interdisciplinary correlations in the processes of transformation and maintenance of the natural and built environment. These skills and knowledge contribute to defining a high-level professional profile suitable for inclusion both in academic contexts and within public and private realities, including professional or public administration, industry, and advanced tertiary sectors where innovation and research processes assume strategic importance.

Concerning the specific teaching and research activities that complement the transversal training provided within the Bembo Writing Workshop, the course of study of PhD students in the field is indicatively structured as follows.

First year: two cycles of seminars are offered. A first cycle of seminars on Life Cycle Assessment applied to architecture and, specifically, to technological design and environmental control. The topics covered therefore refer to (i) The concept of the life cycle in construction and meaning of system boundary and functional unit; (ii) Impact categories; (iii) Techniques and tools for inventory analysis and impact assessment. A second cycle of seminars titled “Programming in Python for Scientific Research” has been organised. The first part of the seminar will focus on the development of scientific software using Python language. The second part will be dedicated to the presentation of structured Python programs that are consistent with the research activities of individual PhD students. During the first year, there will be a day of discussion with the Scientific committee to present the general idea of the project and the hypotheses for the setting up of the research work. On the same day, a typical PhD thesis structure will be illustrated.

There are no seminars or collective training days during the second and third years. Each PhD student will be invited to attend seminars and conferences specific and related to the scope of his/her research. In addition, the production of scientific publications and participation in national and international conferences on topics related to the subject of individual research is expected.

The transition from one year to the next occurs during a seminar that involves PhD students from all years. On this day, each PhD student presents the research topic, the work carried out in the last year, the progress made, the results obtained, and the work programme for the following months. This day is preceded by the delivery of a report that will have different contents depending on the year of attendance of the PhD student. The Scientific committee will base its opinion on the joint evaluation of the report and oral presentation.