65921 - Rural buildings and Spatial Planning

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student acquires the basic elements for the design of rural buildings as well as information on the main tools of regional and urban planning for the design of construction actions in rural areas, with particular attention to those of municipal level and the main procedural aspects. The student is able to define the design process of a rural building, until the completion of the preliminary project, and to apply the tools of protection and regulation of land use in the management and planning of building actions in rural areas.

Course contents

Prerequisites: The student who accesses this teaching has a good preparation in the fundamentals of mathematics, statistics and physics.

Planning and design of rural areas are considered synergistic actions linked by a two-way relationship that over time created the present landscape and will determine its future changes. This idea permeates the course contents that are developed through a program divided into interconnected teaching units.

Module 1 - Teaching unit 1 (12 hours – Stefano Benni): Rural buildings and their construction technologies

Introduction: traditional rural building typologies in relation with landscape (2h)

The building structure, its organization, the system components and their mutual relationships. (2h)

The structural system: foundations, vertical structures (walls and columns), horizontal structures, slabs, floors, trilith system, arch system, arches, vaults. (2h)

The building envelope: vertical closures, horizontal closures, vertical and horizontal links. (2h)

The building materials of rural buildings: brickwork, mortar, concrete. (2h)

The building materials of rural buildings: wood and steel. (2h)

Expected results: the student knows the technical features of the main building systems and the main construction materials of traditional rural buildings.

Module 1 - Teaching unit 2 (12 hours – Stefano Benni): Analysis of loads and forces

Actions on structures: self-weight of structural materials, permanent loads, variable actions, wind action, snow load. (2h)

Seismic actions and the response of rural buildings. (2h)

Notes on kinematics of the rigid body and definition of degrees of freedom, the constraints and relating constraint reactions: hinges, trolleys, joints. Definition of isostatic structures. (2h)

Analysis of areas of influence and computation of loads on slabs, beams, columns and bearing walls. (2h)

The internal action and its components (normal force, shear force, bending moment): definitions. (2h)

Analytical relationships between external loads and internal action components and between shear stress and bending moment: main equations. (2h)

Expected results: the student knows the actions on rural buildings and the analytical procedures necessary for their quantification.

Module 1 - Teaching unit 3 (8 hours – Stefano Benni): Forces calculation exercises

Calculation of support reactions and internal action in isostatic beams. (2h)

Calculation of thrust of arches and compressive forces between the blocks. (3h)

Calculation of forces in members of trusses using the node balance method. (3h)

Expected results: the student is able to calculate the support reactions and internal actions of simple rural buildings with isostatic structure.

Module 1 - Teaching unit 4 (8 hours – Stefano Benni): Complementary Activities

Teaching visits, specialized seminars and analysis of literary documents, iconographic and audiovisual documents about traditional rural architecture.

Module 2 - Teaching unit 5 (20 hours – Patrizia Tassinari): Rural landscape planning

Module 2 consists of a theoretical teaching unit and a practical teaching unit, directly linked to the theoretical one.

In teaching unit 5 we introduce a cultural reference framework within which lies the discipline of spatial planning. From the first theories and conceptions of the landscape to the European Landscape Convention (2000), and its transposition into national legislation, the course analyzes the fundamental laws of the discipline of spatial and urban planning and the tools that regulate the complex transformation of rural areas with a significant reference to the legislative experience of the Emilia Romagna region, at different scales of land government. The teaching unit includes also seminars on specific topics of spatial planning at the local scale.

Expected results: at the end of the teaching unit the student knows the institutional tools in force, at the regional, provincial, and local level.

Module 2 - Teaching unit 6 (20 hours – Patrizia Tassinari): state of places and current provisions

Teaching unit 6 consists in a practical application part strictly related to the theoretical part of teaching unit 5. A first phase of the teaching unit focuses on the critical analysis of current provisions (at wide-area and local scale) in a geographical area chosen within the Emilia-Romagna region, and a second phase on the analysis of the state of the site. Students (in small groups) will be guided in the interpretation and presentation of the indications deriving from both the first stage of planning tools analysis and those resulting from the survey in the chosen study area.

Expected results: at the end of the teaching unit the student is able to read and interpret the main planning tools and the state of places.

Readings/Bibliography

Lecture notes prepared by teachers in relation to all teaching units (the material is made available on the Campus AMS progressively during the course, functionally for the lectures). Lecture notes given by the professors represent a useful base if integrated by notes taken by students during the lessons.

Books:

- Cannarozzo R., Cucchiarini L., Meschieri W., 2016. “Genio rurale – Volume 2. Costruzioni ed edifici rurali”. Zanichelli. Sezioni I, L, M, O, P1, P2 (solo par. 1 e 2).

For further information, refer to specific chapters of the following books:

- F. Oliva, P. Galuzzi, P. Vitillo, “Progettazione urbanistica”, Maggioli
- Emilio Sereni, “Storia del paesaggio agrario italiano”, Laterza,
- Zaffagnini M. (a cura di), 1997. “Le case della grande pianura”. Alinea, Firenze.

Teaching methods

The course is subdivided into teaching units which provide theoretical lessons (teaching units 1, 2, and 5), seminars and study visits (teaching unit 4), and practical and application parts (teaching units 3 and 6).

In particular, for module 1, theoretical parts and seminars are integrated with practical activities dealing with forces calculation exercises (teaching unit 3).

For module 2, theoretical parts are integrated with practical activities and surveys on a case study chosen for laboratory application activity (teaching unit 6). In this case the theoretical lessons are the basis for the carrying out of the laboratory activity and for this reason they will be integrated during of the module, providing for the preparation of graphical works by the students. The content of these works will be the subject of presentation and discussion with the professor.

Assessment methods

For the teaching units of module 1 the student’s knowledge will be assessed through a written test and a potential oral interview. The written test may contain exercises of load analysis and forces computation in structures and questions on rural construction technologies. Passing the written test with a rating at least sufficient is a necessary condition to pass the exam. Once the written test has passed, the student can take an oral test about the knowledge and skills acquired.

For the teaching units of module 2 graphic elaborations that were produced in team under the guidance of the professor during teaching unit 6 are evaluated, and their collegial discussion. The evaluation will also take into account the assessment of the knowledge and the preparation achieved on the theoretical part of teaching unit 5, through specific questions posed individually to each student.

The overall assessment is made by the Commission taking into account the level of knowledge and skills acquired by the student in relation to the contents of all the teaching units. The assessment is expressed out of thirty. All dates, times and locations of the examinations are published on the website of the degree course. To subscribe use the web application AlmaEsami.

Teaching tools

Overhead projector and PC for lectures, technic and thematic cartography, planning documents.

Office hours

See the website of Patrizia Tassinari

See the website of Stefano Benni