L'approccio Design Driven applicato all'edilizia residenziale a basso costo

Recent European housing policies have been focussing on the attractiveness of cities and their growth potential. In accordance with the European social model, homes are considered a primary asset and a fundamental right, as well as a basic component of human dignity. On the basis of this more general approach to the housing issue, new draft laws have been proposed within the European cohesion policy 2014-2020 with regards to: 1 – partnership contracts; 2 – place-based approach, which means allowing local groups to set their own investment priorities and to directly manage at least 5% of the total Cohesion policy budget by cities to carry out sustainable urban development; 3 – the possibility for local authorities to allow community-led local development and integrated territorial investments at sub-regional level, financed by a combination of funds. It is therefore likely that there might be cooperation in future years between cities and housing organizations for the construction of affordable houses, as well as new forms of cooperation with enterprises in terms of innovation (Cecodhas Housing Europe, 2011). Following an analysis of the aforementioned changes, the first part of this report will offer some observations on the practical aspect of the project (urban dimension of the architectural project, relevance of the relation with the manufacturing sector). The report will also provide the outcomes of a competition held by students and young professionals with the support of TEMA Laboratory of the Milan Polytechnic-Mantova centre, and the company Poliespanso Srl, aimed at promoting new potential uses of the Plastbau technology for the construction of low-cost residential buildings. The competition, which ended last year, is part of a wide range of research initiatives sponsored by Regione Lombardia and other local institutions within the Province of Mantova aimed at achieving the need for innovation of the small and medium enterprises of the area. A team directed by Professor Fabrizio Schiaffonati has conducted a research activity that encompassed 15 companies from various manufacturing sectors. Those companies cooperated with creative and inventive young professionals in order to put together, on the basis of a design-driven approach, the necessary knowledge-base required to develop new products and/or commercial solutions (Casoni, Fanzini, 2011). The method of the “competition of ideas” has been used in order to apply this kind of approach to the innovation requirements of Poliespanso srl.