Temporary exhibition design is a dynamic and resource-intensive sector of spatial production. Despite the growing attention to circular design strategies in the built environment, the sector remains under-investigated in terms of environmental assessment and design-oriented decision-making tools. Temporary spatial systems rely on short-lived structures, complex logistics and heterogeneous materials, generating significant impacts associated with production, transport, assembly and end-of-life management. This paper addresses the following research question: to what extent can Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), beyond its conventional role as an ex-post evaluation tool, operate as a methodological framework supporting circular design processes and mediating the flow of knowledge between research, profession and education in the temporary exhibition sector? The study adopts a case study analysis approach. An experimental LCA in compliance with ISO 14040/14044 was applied to a fair stand built by Fogarolo Allestimenti for Gianazza S.p.A. at Ecomondo (Rimini, Italy). The analysis tests the applicability of LCA to a heterogeneous exhibition artefact and explores how environmental data can inform design decisions from the early project stages. The findings show that the value of LCA lies less in the absolute quantification of impacts than in the shift of perspective it produces in the designer. The analysis brings to the foreground a shared set of data (weights, dimensions, materials, processes, energy, transport and reuse cycles) that conventional design practice examines only at execution stage. From this shift, modular, reversible and reuse-oriented strategies emerge as data- grounded design responses. In conclusion, LCA is positioned as a mediating framework that fosters new competencies among designers and students, supports more informed circular practices and contributes to the broader discussion on circular processes for urban transformation.
Circular Exhibitions. Life Cycle assessment as a Framework for circular processes in temporary exhibitions systems
Massimiliano Cason Villa
In corso di stampa
Abstract
Temporary exhibition design is a dynamic and resource-intensive sector of spatial production. Despite the growing attention to circular design strategies in the built environment, the sector remains under-investigated in terms of environmental assessment and design-oriented decision-making tools. Temporary spatial systems rely on short-lived structures, complex logistics and heterogeneous materials, generating significant impacts associated with production, transport, assembly and end-of-life management. This paper addresses the following research question: to what extent can Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), beyond its conventional role as an ex-post evaluation tool, operate as a methodological framework supporting circular design processes and mediating the flow of knowledge between research, profession and education in the temporary exhibition sector? The study adopts a case study analysis approach. An experimental LCA in compliance with ISO 14040/14044 was applied to a fair stand built by Fogarolo Allestimenti for Gianazza S.p.A. at Ecomondo (Rimini, Italy). The analysis tests the applicability of LCA to a heterogeneous exhibition artefact and explores how environmental data can inform design decisions from the early project stages. The findings show that the value of LCA lies less in the absolute quantification of impacts than in the shift of perspective it produces in the designer. The analysis brings to the foreground a shared set of data (weights, dimensions, materials, processes, energy, transport and reuse cycles) that conventional design practice examines only at execution stage. From this shift, modular, reversible and reuse-oriented strategies emerge as data- grounded design responses. In conclusion, LCA is positioned as a mediating framework that fosters new competencies among designers and students, supports more informed circular practices and contributes to the broader discussion on circular processes for urban transformation.
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