Studies and Researches Vol. 34

Foreword

This 34th Volume of “Studies & Researches” is focused on several diversified aspects ofthe Construction World, as well as on the evolution of the Postgraduate School F.lli Pesenti,since its beginning in 1927 at the “Regio Politecnico di Milano”, to the present time, in fullagreement with the original tenet of the School, that high-level education is necessary tosolve technical-scientific problems in the best possible way, and to face the manychallenges our Society is posing, both at the local and global level.Having in mind the many interdisciplinary aspects of buildings and infrastructures, theEditors of this 34th volume have decided to encourage the perspective authors to sendcontributions on different innovative aspects related to constructions, something stressedalso in the last chapter traditionally devoted to the recent activities and proposals of theSchool. In fact, this last chapter emphasizes the openness of the School to new initiatives,concerning both professionally-oriented continuing education and high-level researchprojects.Keywords like disrupting education (i.e. education through ways other than those typicalof well-established institutions), labor-market crisis, reshaping the future of the jobs are asmany signals that new trends in education are coming out, especially in the disciplinesconcerning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (the so-called STEMdisciplines).Information and Communication Technology – ICT, together with e-tools and advancedsoftwares (like those requested by 3D-Printing), has a great role in meeting employers’needs and in multiplying job opportunities. Another keyword is built environment, which brings in two basic requirements: specificskills are needed in any human-related discipline, but at the same time a broad formation isa plus (in high demand in the labor market) to facilitate mutual understanding and to fostercollaboration. Any educational system should, therefore, create a new generation of highlevelpeople, whose formation be based on methodology and analytical capacity,specialization and utilitarian objectives.In this way, the balance between the output of the higher-education system and theinput needed by the job market would be redressed.Within this context, Civil Engineers and Architects are required to have a broader visionand understanding of the needs of the Construction World, something that may in somecases interfere with their increasingly-specialized technical formation, but is required by theincreasingly performance-oriented codes. As a matter of fact, structural safety andefficiency, as well as financial sustainability are best achieved with engineers, architectsand managers working together, to meet the many different code and protocolsrequirements.The sketch below illustrates the actual organization of the Italian higher-educationsystem (which is similar to that of many other European countries): the 1st- and 2nd-levelMS courses (the latter called also Advanced-Master courses) are aimed at preparing thenew generation of high-level people, something that the Master School F.lli Pesenti is tryingto do with its ever-evolving educational offer. The F.lli Pesenti School’s offer is illustrated in the last pages of the volume, together with other related activities, proposals, and the summaries of the thesis presented and discussed during the most recent final examinations.
The increasingly-diversified interests of the School clearly appear in the 12 papers published in this 34th volume, which fall into six closely-connected fields:
- structural behavior and interaction between different materials (concrete/masonry;
concrete/timber);
- interference problems arising from structural/shape-related/functional needs;
- new design methodologies, like those based on Building Information Modelling – BIM;
- integrated approaches for the rehabilitation of R.C. and/or masonry buildings;
- different safety levels for the structures located in seismic areas;
- sustainable development at different scales. The authors of the papers are thanked for their contributions to this volume, and – in
most cases - for taking active part in lecturing and organizing the new activities of the F.lli
Pesenti School.
Special thanks to Ing. Marco Zucca for his valuable work during the reviewing and editing phases.
 

Pietro Gambarova, Antonio Migliacci, Paola Ronca