A New Paradigm for Holistic Design: Active House Prototypes at Politecnico di Milano

Active House principles represents an affordable element that could drive the design process in different stages. At Politecnico di Milano, several experimental activities have been conducted on its prototypes buildings, in order to mind the gap between the predicted, simulated, observed, and recorded building behavior. Therefore, the AH vision—with its Specifications and Guidelines—has been applied to the validation of these two innovative small buildings: VELUXlab and C-ASA. The final aim is multiple: at first, the analysis of the building features in relation to a specific climate context (the Mediterranean area); then, the information of the users, in order to educate them to the correct use of this smart objects.