Dalla culla alla culla, il ciclo infinito dell'alluminio: sperimentazione progettuale di un nucleo residenziale

In the construction scenario there is a growing scarcity of resources, especially in terms of availability of raw materials, with their consequent increase in costs and problems related to the management of waste production processes. The use of recycling therefore makes it pos-sible to reduce the mass of waste materials by recovering part of their value. The paper, a syn-thesis of an ongoing research, analyzes and investigates the possibilities of application of the concepts related to environmental sustainability in terms of innovative construction so-lutions and technologies based on the healthiness of materials, the finding of resources and the management of waste. Through the key of the circular economy indeed, it is now possi-ble to rethink at the revitalization of the building sector, reducing its impact on the envi-ronment with a wide use of recycled materials. The interest to deepen this issue stems from the perspective, clearly described in the today's European Directives and demonstrated in building sites of public works in Italy and abroad. These experiences demonstrate the con-crete possibility of reducing the impact on ecosystems, pushing, at the same time, on the job creation and applied research. Moreover there is also the possibility of being able to respond positively to some recent international protectionist policies that condition the free ex-change of raw and processed materials. From the study of some cases such as Park 20|20 in Holland based on the application of the concept Cradle to Cradle we find the correspond-ence of building materials to the principles of the circular economy. The paper focus on the study of building techniques, in particular those based on the use of materials with a high recycling capacity such us aluminium. Through the design experimentation of a residential unit, made of aluminium profiles, used both on structural and finishing level, verifying the correspondence between constructive, functional, typological and formal requirements, the research try to bring solutions and variations into the current industrial production.