An international research and design workshop: unprecedented dynamics of learning and research

The paper presents two innovative teaching and research experiences that, in pursuing common goals, involved Erasmus, thesis and doctoral students, researchers and professors. The first experience to be presented is the international research project "From waste to green finishes: recycling demolition wastes for new finishing products" proposed by Eng. Arch. G. Trinchese during his PhD at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación (ETSEM) of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM). The research was coordinated by Prof. M. Fumo, coordinator of Master Building Eng. for the Dept of Construction, Civil and Environmental Engineering (DICEA) of the University of Naples Federico II (UNINA), by Prof. M. del Rio Merino, head of the Grupo Tecnología Edificatoria y Medioambiente (TEMA), and by Prof. R. Castelluccio, head of the Erasmus agreement between DICEA and ETSEM. As for the laboratory activity coordinators, the research benefited from Eng. Trinchese, PhD candidate at UNINA, and Prof. P. Villoria from the UPM. The purpose of the implemented research is based on one of the current goals of the European Union: to connect the construction industry with sustainable development. This statement is supported by recent statistics indicating that the construction sector is the major contributor of waste production. Very often these wastes are challenging to dispose of. The same challenge applies to used tires, which pose a serious threat to the environment. Starting with the state of the art, the materials to be used were chosen and the experimental plan was defined. The innovative materials, both cement-based and geopolymer-based, were produced with the aim of promoting environmentally friendly development, reducing waste from the construction industry, and fostering sustainable development for the preservation and protection of the ecosystem. Specifically, reinforced concrete, bricks, rubber from discarded tires and industrial slate processing waste were the different wastes used. The produced samples were tested with the collaboration of two thesis students, A. Verniero and C. Borgo, and an intern G. Caputo, UNINA students on UPM Erasmus. This research, which began at the UPM laboratories, has yielded results for more than one hundred samples. This intertwining of the drafting of undergraduate and doctoral theses with extracurricular internship projects, work in integrative teaching activities, two workshops between Naples and Madrid, and Class Scientific papers, have contributed to de dissemination of results through the presentations at international conferences and industry events. Within the context of on-site missions, the second experience that will be presented is configured, with an innovative creative process proposed as a design activity for students, master thesis and PhD candidates in Cimitile. The workshop aim was the arrangement of the urn containing the relics of Saint Felix, presbyter and martyr, in the eighteenth-century parish church close to a valuable early Christian Basilica complex. This "design workshop", launched in Cimitile in December 2022, represents a significant new approach for the elaboration of the design idea in contexts strongly characterized by historical pre-existences, archaeological constraints, cultural substrates and stakeholders needs. This initiative provided students with the opportunity to closely engage in a practical challenge involving the interplay between design and administrative practices.