- Docente responsabile
- CAROL MONTICELLI
- CCS proponenti
- Progettazione dell'Architettura - L Architettura-Architettura delle Costruzioni - LM|Architettura e Disegno Urbano - Architecture and Urban Design|Ingegneria Edile-Architettura - Lecco|Design degli interni - Interior design e Interior and Spatial Design|Architettura|Building Engineering for Sustainability
- CFU
- 4
- Ore in presenza
- 32
- Prerequisiti
- Knowledge of modeling software, from Rhino to Grasshopper.
Ability to work with hands and perform practical tasks.
Willingness to engage and take an active role within the group. - N° max studenti
- 20
- Criteri di selezione
- Students’ grade average and short cv.
- Parole chiave:
- - Design for Disassembly, - Life Cycle Assessment and Circularity, - Parametric & Material Experimentation, - Ultra-Lightweight Architecture
- Tag
- Interior design, Artificial intelligence, Environmental and social sustainability, Software, Structures
Descrizione dell'iniziativa
TAARP means Tempor-Active Architecture & Reversibility Principles and is a participatory learning experience on dismantling and reassembly methods, and on modular, cyclical design principles based on the residual performance of materials.
Substrate - The course focuses on lightweight, temporary, and minimal construction systems, often absent from architectural history textbooks but increasingly relevant to today’s more transient ways of living. Lightweight structures address essential needs: they are simple, functional, and made from easily accessible materials—textiles, thin membranes, flexible components—allowing the creation of adaptable spaces that can be assembled, dismantled, and transported with ease. In this sense, they embody the Vitruvian principles of firmness, utility, and beauty, standing in contrast to monumental and permanent architecture.
The association between lightness and architecture emerged with the structural revolution, thanks to materials capable of working in tension (cables, nets, technical fabrics). The course builds on an expanded notion of “ultra-lightweight”: coated fabrics, fluoropolymer films, woven and non-woven membranes, or FRP profiles are treated as full-fledged construction materials. Over the past fifty years, textile architecture has undergone significant technological and material developments.
Workshop Focus - The course, developed in collaboration with ETH (sustainability) and UPV (structural analysis), revolves around the case study TemporActive, an ultra-lightweight pavilion designed at Politecnico di Milano for the 2019 TensiNet Symposium. Assembled in a few days, used for one week, and later dismantled, it was conceived for reuse. The pavilion subsequently had a second life of three years, hosting activities, events, and workshops. TemporActive is therefore an example of temporary architecture designed for repeated cycles of assembly, use, and reuse.
Objectives -The course approaches dismantling as a reverse-engineering exercise: students catalogue all components, study deconstruction sequences, and learn to plan a future reassembly following Design for Disassembling principles. The analysis includes modular reconfiguration, subdivision into structural submodules, and the exploration of new envelope systems and potential uses for the pavilion’s “third life,” supported by structural assessments and environmental evaluations.
The course integrates: PBL – Re-design with problem solving, also on multiuser platforms. Focus on material efficiency, structural behavior, and sustainability. DBL – Form-finding for shells and membranes using physical models and computational tools (Grasshopper, Kangaroo, RhinoVault). Iteration and learning from errors. Experiential Learning – Workshops at TextilesHUB and on the TA: testing membranes, films, FRPs, recycled fabrics, and natural/synthetic fibers. Learning-by-doing path: initial trials, prototypes, translation into optimized physical structures.Parametric Design & Computational Analysis – Parametric modeling, structural simulations (Sofistik), and thermal, lighting, and LCA analyses. Interdisciplinarity – Teams of 4–5, guest lectures from ETH and UPV, interactions with membrane experts.
Assessment Criteria - Deconstruction: dismantling strategies, risk analysis, and correct operational sequencing. Reassembly & Reconfiguration: coherent plan aligned with Design for Disassembling; valid submodules and new uses. Experimentation: informed use of materials, prototypes, and digital/analytical tools. Collaboration: contribution to team work and integration of diverse skills.
Periodo di svolgimento
dal March 2026 a May 2026
Calendario
Ore di didattica in aula/aula virtuale
- 4+4 ore nella settimana 09-13 marzo
- 4+4 ore nella settimana 16-20 marzo
- 4+4 ore nella settimana 7-10 aprile
- 4+4 ore nella settimana 20 - 24 aprile (in parallelo alla Design Week)
La formula 4+4 potrà svolgersi un una sola giornata o in due mezze giornate in base alla disponibilità delle aule dipartimentali.
Vi saranno 5 momenti in situ presso la Tempor-Active della durata di 8 ore (da definirsi in relazioen alle disponibilità degli operatori esperti nello smontaggio)
Nella settimana 18 - 22 maggio vi sarà un pomeriggio di presentazione collegiale dei lavori condotti con i risultati ottenuti.