O.Iuorio on Lightweight Steel Systems

Ornella Iuorio, PhD architect and Lecturer at the University of Leeds (UK), is giving a lecture on lightweight steel systems for buildings on Wednesday, March 14th, at the smart living lab, Fribourg.

In the wide range of solutions offered by the construction market, the choice of the best technology for new constructions is mostly affected by the capacity to provide high performances in terms of safety, durability and eco-efficiency. In this context, cold-formed steel (CFS) systems provide a great opportunity for the construction market thanks to their high structural performance and the possibility to realize energy efficient buildings making advantages of dry construction processes, reduced waste and the higher use of recyclable materials.

Through the discussion of the ECCS award winning BFS school, designed and realized in Naples and the latest research outcomes from the ELISSA European Project, this lecture will discuss the complex behavior of CFS systems under seismic actions and the wide range of possibilities offered by this high performance lightweight steel system.

Dr Ornella Iuorio is an Architect, P.hD. and Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Leeds. Educated at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy, she developed her research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in USA. Her work is at the edge between architecture and structural engineering, and focus on three areas: lightweight constructions, retrofit of existing buildings and digital design. In Italy, since receiving the ACAI master thesis award for the innovative studies about lightweight steel structures, Dr Iuorio worked on the possibility to adopt and diffuse lightweight steel constructions in seismic area, and developed together with industry ad hoc prefab solutions. At MIT with Professor John Ochsendorf, Dr Iuorio worked on embodied carbon of materials and developed retrofit strategies for resilient and sustainable neighborhoods. She is currently co-deputy leader for the Energy and Sustainable Buildings Research team in School of Civil Engineering in Leeds and School leader for Athena Swan. Dr Iuorio has published more than 60 scientific papers in international journals and conference proceeding.