science

Integrated modification methodology

Integrated modification methodology is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Integrated modification methodology rather than just read about it. In short: Integrated modification methodology (IMM) is a procedure encompassing an open set of scientific techniques for morphologically analyzing the built environment in a multiscale manner and evaluating its performance in actual states or under specific design scenarios. The methodology is structured around a nonlinear phasing process aiming for delivering a systemic understanding of any given urban settlement, formulatin…

Key takeaways

Integrated modification methodology belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Integrated modification methodology to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Integrated modification methodology from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Integrated modification methodology (IMM) is a procedure encompassing an open set of scientific techniques for morphologically analyzing the built environment in a multiscale manner and evaluating its performance in actual states or under specific design scenarios. The methodology is structured around a nonlinear phasing process aiming for delivering a systemic understanding of any given urban settlement, formulating the modification set-ups for improving its performance, and examining the modification strategies to transform that system. The basic assumption in IMM is the recognition of the built environment as a Complex Adaptive System. IMM has been developed by IMMdesignlab, a research lab based at Politecnico di Milano at the Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (DABC).

History IMM began in 2010 as an academic research at Politecnico di Milano. That research criticized the analytical approach frequently used to study and evaluate the built environment by most of the sustainable development methods. By Recognizing the built environment as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS), IMM is urged towards a holistic simulation rather than simplifying the complex mechanisms within the cities with reductionism. In 2013, Massimo Tadi established the IMMdesignlab at the Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (DABC) of the Politecnico di Milano. The purpose of the mentioned laboratory is to develop IMM through research and education. IN 2015, Integrated Modification Methodology for the Sustainable Built Environment has been approved as an academic course in the curriculum of the Architectural Engineering, an International Master Program in Politecnico di Milano.

Background At its theoretical background, Integrated Modification Methodology refers to the contemporary urban development as a highly paradoxical context arisen from the social and economic significance of the cities on the one hand and their arguably negative environmental impacts on the other. Asserting the inevitably of urbanization, IMM declares that the only way to overcome that paradox for the cities is to develop in a profound integration with the ecology. According to IMM, the fundamental prerequisite of ecologically sustainable development is to have a comprehensive systemic understanding of the built environment. IMM suggests that the advancement in construction techniques, building materials quality and transportation technologies alone have not solved the complex problems of the urban life simply because such improvements are not necessarily dealing with the systemic integration. The core argument of IMM is that the performance of the city is being chiefly driven by the complex relationships subsystems rather than the independent qualities of the urban elements. Thus, it aims at portraying the systemic structure of the built environment by introducing a logical framework for modeling the linkage between the city's static and dynamic elements.

Methodology Integrated Modification Methodology is based on an iterative process involving the following four major phases:

Investigation Formulation Modification Retrofitting and Optimization The first phase, Investigation, is a synthesis-based inquiry into the systemic structure of the urban form. It begins with Horizontal Investigation in which the area under study is being dismantled into its morphology-generator elements, namely Urban Built-ups, Urban Voids, Types of Uses, and Links. It follows with Vertical Investigation that is a study of integral relationships between the mentioned elements. The output of Vertical Investigation is a set of quantitative descriptions and qualitative illustrations of certain attributes named Key Categories. In a nutshell they are types of emergence that show how elements come to self-organize or to synchronize their states into forming a new level of organization. Hence in IMM, Key Categories are the result of an emergence process of interaction between elementary parts (Urban Built-ups, Urban Voids, Types of Uses, and Links) to form a synergy able to add value to the combined organization. Key categories are the products of the synergy between elementary parts, a new organization that emerge not (simply as) an additive result of the proprieties of the elementary parts. IMM declares that the city's functioning manner is chiefly driven from the Key Categories, hence, they have the most fundamental role in understanding the architecture of the city as a Complex Adaptive System. The Investigation phase concludes with the Evaluation step which is basically an examination of the system's performance by referring to a list of verified indicators associated with ecological sustainability. The same indicators are later used in the CAS retrofitting process necessary for the final evaluation of the system performance, after the transformation design process occurred. The Formulation phase is a technical assumption of the most critical Key Category and the urban element within the area deduced from the Investigation phase. These critical attributes are being interpreted as the Catalysts of transformation and are to come to the designer's use to set a contextual priority list of Design Ordering Principals. The third phase is the introduction of the modification/design scenarios to the project and advances with examining them by the exact procedure of the Investigation phase in a repetitive manner until the transformed context is predicted to be acceptable in arrangement and evaluation. The fourth phase, Retrofitting and Optimization, is a testing process of the outcomes of the modification phase, then a local optimization by technical strategies (e.g. installing photovoltaic panels, designing green roofs, studying building orientations etc.) is initiated.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Integrated modification methodology

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Integrated modification methodology claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Integrated modification methodology before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Integrated modification methodology ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Integrated modification methodology

In research: Integrated modification methodology appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Integrated modification methodology in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Integrated modification methodology is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Academic disciplines, Environmental social science, Sustainable architecture, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Integrated modification methodology outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Integrated modification methodology in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Integrated modification methodology means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Integrated modification methodology out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Integrated modification methodology in simple terms?

Why does Integrated modification methodology matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Integrated modification methodology?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Integrated modification methodology.