A lightweight textile device for urban microclimate control and thermal comfort improvement: concept project and design parameters

The proposed contribution presents the design process of a lightweight device for the mitigation in summer conditions in the public spaces of residential urban areas. In particular, the project is part of a wider and ongoing process of regeneration in the west urban periphery of Milan, Italy: throughout its implementation, several public areas with considerable social fragility and environmental discomfort are emerging. These areas are being studied for monitoring of the microclimatic and comfort conditions, in order to evaluate the installation potential of a lightweight device for mitigating thermal discomfort. Due to the specific context, the innovative aspect of the technological design and construction process of a lightweight structure is to respond to the twofold requirement of seasonal use of the device, namely its transportability and deployability, and of its applicability in public areas in terms of security, usability and comfort performances of the materials.