Multidisciplinarity

GIULIA MAURO

In today's society, people entering the world of work are required more and more qualifications, specializations and insights, which only concern certain fields: we can define it a "sectoral knowledge", detail on some aspects but neglecting many others.

So what do they expect from us, the professionals of the future, who should be able to face all the consequences and effects of a world in constant change, where the future matches the present and the present is already outdated and obsolete?

Every day, through the Internet, social networks and all other forms of communication, we get in touch with much different information, both professional and current, which we automatically rework and which, if not reused immediately, we tend to store in our mind until it is (maybe) useful again. The truth is that it will be forgotten because we remember what strikes us, interests us particularly or of which we are experts; for this reason, a specialist already well-trained and structured stock of knowledge increases, inevitably at the expense of other fields of information.

This often happens also at a working level, one specializes in a certain sector tending to neglect others, which will most likely be the subject of in-depth studies by other people.

In consequence, the collaboration of different figures is needed for the development of a single common project: Jacquard could be the first platform where different professionals have the opportunity to immediately know opinions and observations from a different professional point of view on the same matter.

Isn't this a definition of multidisciplinarity: a network of integration and interaction where different disciplines converge in a common principle?

In the field of building engineering and architecture, this interaction between different disciplines already takes place in different fields: architectural, structural, urban, economic, social, environmental are the most immediate and well-known but it is necessary to consider a reality that is increasingly taking shape and that today is essential to plan constructions and buildings that could be defined as "future generations": we talk about all energy saving studies, the use of innovative materials and the development of sustainable green architecture.

Personally, I consider the activity of the building engineer and architect very fascinating, because they have the opportunity to draw on a wide range of professional references that may or not belong properly to their own working environment and the greater the references and insights are taken into consideration the greater the level of complexity and totality that the project will be able to achieve. There are many valid examples of these collaborations between various professionals who have made their experiences and knowledge available to the community and it was precisely this interdisciplinarity that brought their work to a higher level, because knowledge, always and in any case, improves our skill and shows us alternative and innovative scenarios to which we could not have arrived alone.

Multidisciplinarity, however, is not only knowledge but also and above all interaction and integration that brings together and unifies the variety of fragments of knowledge in a relationship of complementarity between the multiple parts of a single large common project. The growing birth of associated studies puts this sharing network into practice where more experts are in direct and continuous contact but is limited to the components that are part of it.

In a utopian vision, the next step would be to increase the area of influence of these collaborations through a single virtual network addressed to connect professionals from all over the world. This would allow to extend all fields of knowledge, to have access to an infinite different points of view but not as a spectator but as an active participant, free both to express one's thoughts but also to increase one's knowledge, the possibility of confronting ideologies, cultures, and life experiences different from one's own, to question oneself and therefore to mature not only at the level of knowledge but especially at a human level.

Information makes us free, aware of what surrounds us, of the world in which we live; personal relationships, contacts with people make us more empathetic, allow us to look at the world with a different sight, to get to know what we are not able to see and the other way round, in a win-win cultural exchange.

GIULIA MAURO

GRADUATING STUDENT IN BUILDING ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY, ROME
16 JUNE 1993

I have always been a very enterprising and determined person in every decision of my life and I've always known what I liked and what I didn't like; when I entered the engineering faculty I was excited to start a new chapter of my life but with the passage of time, every certainty I had was constantly questioned. This has made me grow a lot and understand that every challenge that awaits us, if faced with passion and determination, can be an opportunity to learn and mature, to have a greater awareness of yourself and what you are able to do.

Architecture has always fascinated me, especially the connection between past, present and future; for this reason I decided to study in Rome, Sapienza University, because it has an invaluable heritage of works of art and culture and I think it is one of the cities with greater urban complexity and morphological variety. During my studies I deepened the theme of eco- sustainability through: technical course "Bioarchitecture, design and energy efficiency" organized by the Sustainable Project and Energy Efficiency Department of the Order of Architects P.P.C. of Rome and "The 3rd international workshop on Mediterranean Urban Morphology" organized by the AiEM research group and the SOS_UrbanLab research group. To date I am collaborating in the design and construction of eco-friendly single-family villas, as well as taking part in a course on "Safety coordinator during the planning and execution of works on temporary or mobile construction sites" organized by the Lazio Regional Center for Urban Studies.

I believe in the importance of knowing how to range from one theme to another, of always being curious, of delving into innovative and current themes for this reason the thesis I am making deals with special structures, in particular the redevelopment and expansion of the Lugano Civic Hospital.

I love to travel, see new places, new cultures but I think it is equally important to be able to act in own Country of origin, to put all own studies into practice to make the most of it.

e-mail: giulia.mauro3@hotmail.com
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