Architectural Technology responds to the environmental crisis: Participatory design in an emergency context [La Tecnologia dell’Architettura risponde alla crisi ambientale: La progettazione partecipata in ambito emergenziale]

Within the framework of the research an d in novation strategy RIS3 “Sustainable Living” (POR-FSE, funded by the Veneto Region), for the improvement of the resilience and adaptation capacity of the Vene to territory to environmental crises and emergencies, the subject of the contribution returns the results of the participatory experimentation of the project H.E.L.P. Veneto ‘ High-efficiency Emergency Living Prototypes Veneto-Sustainable adaptive residences for temporary stay in environmental emergencies. The research concerns the design of a minimum flexible emergency living module, replicable on a large scale, multifunctional, sustainable, powered by off-grid systems and integrated into the built environment. The housing unit uses timber, a material linked to the local building tradition, whose prefabricated modular reversibility follows principles of circular reuse. Moreover, the constructive adaptability of the interior spaces is reflected in a “liquid space” capable of transforming itself according to the needs of the occupants. The paper introduces a form of participatory design of the emergency housing module, based on the engagement of small and large companies, related to different segments of the construction market, a leading sector in the economy of Vene to. The participatory approach borrows from Arc hitectural Technology the too ls needed to understand the characteristics of the settlement system, the potential of the project and the value of scientific stakeholder engagement in the process. Using the Soft System Met hodology, direct investigation protocols have been constructed relating to the performance of the living unit. Using Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA), the results of the experimented survey (large-scale questionnaires) were decoded, interpreted and systematised. The processing of the answers allowed the stakeholders to validate the potential of the proposed module and, at the same time, to be informed about its characteristics. The innovation of the method lies precisely in the modelling phase, which makes it possible to integrate the results of the hard and soft data analyses and to make it clear how participation plays an essential role in the process of designing and validating the proposed module.