The Material Balance Manifesto. Scientific Approach and Methodologies

This introductory chapter examines the contents and processes of the Material Balance principle, according to the relations of equilibrium that account for streams by which energy is produced, exchanged, transformed and consumed (i.e. with the application of the “law of conservation of mass”): the analysis focuses on the relations established by the “closed systems”, the “unsteady state system” and the “mass balance system” until the mechanical and physiological observation. The examination investigates the elaboration as a practice of sensitive design based on the organic composition of the artificial apparatus (as systems, components and materials described as “programmable pro-active structures”) and how the production, consumption and distribution activities have a direct relation with nature (mainly considering the effects of pollution controls). The study of the Material Balance Model provides a framework for analyzing alternative methods of resource and residuals management, with the aim of providing measures of performance (as guides for the technological research and for the environmental design) and of developing the new approaches to calibrate productivity and eco-efficiency. On this basis, the scientific research is intended to “model” and to visualize the conditions posed by the environmental reality of reference, through devices able to assume the modalities of experimentation and simulation: the work on Material Balance implies the objectives to incorporate environmental issues both in production efficiency models and in pro-active eco-efficiency research methods, involving the incorporation into technical design and building processes. This approach considers the development of technical elaboration of the environmental reality and the anticipation of the environmental outcomes (limiting the conditions of consumption and accumulation caused to the productive and constructive operations). Moreover, it focuses on the functional, productive and material optimization with the support of new forms of calibration and material densities, morpho-typological sizes and structural performances (with less material and wasted energy), with the use of “digital/virtual design” procedures, “productive/constructive customization” technics and “executive design” methods.