Thesis on Architectural Design – Prof. Arch Giuseppe Ridolfi PhD –
School of Architecture – Università degli Studi di Firenze
SELECTED MASTER THESIS
HYPERLOOP DESERT CAMPUS.
Mojave Desert, Nevada.
Edoardo Gorini
Master Thesis @ University of Florence. 2021 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi
Design of an advanced Hyperloop Pod study and testing center in response to a competition launched in June 2020 by the YAC (Young Architects Competitions) platform. The project area identified by YAC is located in the Nevada Mojave desert a few kilometers from Las Vegas, where there is already a pipeline with an extension of about 500 meters owned by the startup Virgin Hyperloop One. The proposal goes beyond the simple request for a prototyping center by hosting an area dedicated to the training of future Hyperloop employees, operators and crews and another space entirely dedicated to the public with information functions, support of culture and knowledge of the new transportation system.
SYMBIOTIC ARCHITECTURE
SELF-BUILT MYCELIUM AND TIMBER TEMPORARY STRUCTURES.
Luca Augusto Kaleva Ciccarese
Master Thesis @ University of Florence. 2021 | Thesis Advisor prof. G. Ridolfi | Co-Advisosr prof. Bove, arch. Giombattista Areddia
Experimental thesis aimed at designing a self-supporting roof made of biological materials for the construction of a temporary self-assembled pavilion.
The material chosen is mushroom mycelium for its structural, heat-insulating, sound-absorbing, water-repellent and fire-retardant characteristics as well as its intrinsic ability to colonize inconsistent vegetal substrates.
The thesis conducted experimental research at the level of materials which concerned: mycelium cultivation techniques on different plant supports with the aim of verifying times and resistance values for the paneling parts; wood-fibreglass and resin composite materials for the load-bearing ribs.
The morphological definition is aimed at the structural typologies of the shell and was obtained through form finding optimization processes with the use of scripts generated in visual coding which allowed the verification of multiple alternatives however bound to schemes, joint geometries, and dimensions of each elements suitable for a self-construction assembly.
Finally, the entire system and the junction nodes were verified using finite element analysis software.
STAZIONE ALTA VELOCITA’ XI’AN
Algorithmic Emergencies Design based on Particle-Spring System and topological optimization.
Valeria Di TIzio
Master Thesis @ University of Florence. 2020 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi.
Project based on the design competition promoted by Manni Group and YAc for the construction of a new high-speed station. Design objectives are the environmental integration based on a strong landscape continuity between building architecture and green artifacts, the realization of an identifiable urban landmark, and the creation of a place capable of holding together the functional complexity of an important exchange node and the typical activities of a city. The genesis of its shape comes from an algorithmical morphogentical form finding process based on the Particle Spring System using the reverse catenary technique. This approach offered the possibility for a full control of the process and for the realization of large spans and light and resistant structural envelope. The Kangaroo and Millipede plug-ins by Grasshopper, Were used for the morphogenetic generation and the structural topological optimization.
KAZE TACHINU.
Generative Designed Droneport in Tokyo.
Mattia Badiani
Master Thesis @ University of Florence. 2019 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi
Design of an advanced Hyperloop Pod study and testing center in response to a competition launched in June 2020 by the YAC (Young Architects Competitions) platform. The project area identified by YAC is located in the Nevada Mojave desert a few kilometers from Las Vegas, where there is already a pipeline with an extension of about 500 meters owned by the startup Virgin Hyperloop One. The proposal goes beyond the simple request for a prototyping center by hosting an area dedicated to the training of future Hyperloop employees, operators and crews and another space entirely dedicated to the public with information functions, support of culture and knowledge of the new transportation system.
WaSTOP.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch Energy Factory
Federico Nannini
Master Thesis @ iCAD University of Florence. 2019 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi
WaStop Floating Factory is a prototype for a floating platform that filters ocean water, recycles plastic and produces energy and hydrogen. It is configured as a project of industrial architecture, in which waste management and science coexist, with a research centre and all the functions necessary to sustain the community of workers and researchers living on the platform.
LA FONTE DEGLI OSSIMORI.
Il nuovo birrificio Flea nel parco della Sorgente Rocchetta.
Giulia Bisciaio
Master Thesis @ University of Florence. 2019 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi
The beauty of a place is often intimately connected to its fragility, that suspends any possible action, suggesting a reverential detachment which preserves an unchanged, static, defenseless image, even in front of its own decay. In contrast to a similar attitude, which requires to look at fragile places with respectful fear, the aim of this thesis is to actively bring value to the beautiful and delicate area of the Rocchetta Spring park in Gualdo Tadino, through a project that, by its own nature, becomes oxymoronic in the given context: an industrial brewery on behalf of Flea, a local company that is growing in the Italian and global beer scene, suggested by the concrete brand’s desire to expand itself also through the construction of new production facilities.
LOST CONNECTION.
An Observatory on the Maranjab Desert.
Annahita Savadjan
Master Thesis @ iCAD University of Florence. 2018 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi
The thesis begins with exploring the lost feelings and relations between human and nature and ends with a design proposal on which revives the human connection to nature through a place capable of opening and interconnecting a multitude of physical, emotional and intellectual spaces. A heterotopia that reflects the human being, a fragment abandoned in the immensity of space, but also capable of rediscovering oneself through the immensity of feeling experiences.
A LANDSCAPE OF CONTRADICTION.
Connecting nature and industry with a refuge in the Apuan Alps.
Robert Kane
Master Thesis @ iCAD University of Florence. 2017 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi
The landscape of the Apuan Alps tends to disorient first-time visitors, its graceful mountain peaks sharing space with open-pit marble quarries, from which white blocks flow in a steady stream to the cutting and shipping facilities on the coast. Only a schizophrenic culture could permit both of these opposing conditions to exist simultaneously, with hundreds of quarries operating within meters of environments that are protected from any form of human use.
GREEN BRIDGE/WALKING MALL.
A generative interpretation of a blueprint competition at the Genoa waterfront.
Golrokh Niki
Master Thesis @ iCAD University of Florence. 2017 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi | Ass. M. Carratelli, L. Lunghi.
This project is an interpretation of Blueprint competition based on Renzo Piano MasterPlan to recover the area of the former Genoa International Trade Fair. The project seeks to be an instrument to deal with the issue of the urban void between town and waterfront realizing an infrastructure able to offer opportunities for people to celebrate the rituals of “urbanity”. The project is defined through a generative form-finding process, based on inverse catenary concept in order to realize a long span and lightweight structures able to support a large amount of load per structural weight or area. To explore and to create this structure a digital simulation based on particle-spring system was used. Specifically, the engine called Kangaroo Physics, a component of Grasshopper™ that supports particle-spring systems, was adopted in order to bend, stretch and tweak the model while watching the effects instantaneously in the early-stage design process. In addition the structural analysis and optimization was realized using Millipede, another Grasshopper™ component.
CANTINA OTTOMANI.
Una Cantina per colture biologiche. Ricerca e progetto.
Tommaso Greco.
Master Thesis @ University of Florence. 2016 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi | tutor: prof. L.Giorgi
Architectural design of a medium-sized organic winery in the Tuscan hills that integrates the functional requirements of production and wine tourism through an approach aimed at environmental preservation, energy saving and experiential marketing. The thesis contains a design propedeutic research based on literature surveys and case study analyzes. The study systematically combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies aimed at defining the building program and the layout optimization. Due to its systematic nature, this research section can be taken as a general reference for other similar projects.
A SCHOOL AS A SUSTAINABLE
3D TEXTBOOOK.
Progetto di un Plesso scolastico a Montespertoli.
Luca Bragagni
Master Thesis @ University of Florence. 2011 | Supervisor prof. G. Ridolfi
The thesis deals with the project of a school complex in which Elementary and Middle school are integrated. The project was developed on the basis of pedagogical, social and environmental sustainability principles. The main criteria include: – the school as a community center – the school building as an educational learning resource – clusters organisation – the school as an urban structure – adoption of passive architecture devices – use of natural materials
