Hashem Alsibai · Architetto e Ricercatore Urbano

Research · PhD · 2022–2026

Research

Stacked urban energy precincts for low-carbon pathways

Post Carbon Cities and Renewable Energy Communities · Politecnico di Torino · DIST

Institution: Politecnico di Torino · DIST
Programme: Architecture & Urban Regional Development
Period: 2022–2026
Defence: March 2026
Case studies: UniTo · UN Geneva · Pinerolo

Energy systems in cities are designed top-down (grid) or bottom-up (single building). Neither layer captures what cities actually need to coordinate at: the precinct: a campus, a quarter, a UN-style district. The thesis develops a methodological frame for "stacked" energy precincts where the same physical site supports multiple operational and governance layers.

The argument has two parts: that bureaucratic complexity, not technical limitation, is the dominant obstacle to inter-actor energy sharing inside city boundaries; and that practical coordination frameworks already exist and only need to be re-stacked, not reinvented.

Tipologie di Urban Energy Precinct

Tipologia	Descrizione	Proprietà e Governance	Forma Urbana	Esempi
UEP Istituzionale	Precinti organizzati all'interno di un unico confine istituzionale. L'energia è gestita internamente con minima frammentazione legale.	Proprietà singola o governance ombrello. Decisioni centralizzate.	Isolati chiusi o siti di tipo campus con confini netti.	UniTo SEC-R
UEP Ibrido	Precinto energetico condiviso ancorato a un'istituzione ma che coinvolge altri edifici pubblici o semi-pubblici. Complessità di coordinamento intermedia.	Multi-proprietario con un coordinatore principale. Spesso è necessario un community manager.	Isolati civici o quartieri raggruppati.	FIPOI e 2050Today
UEP Collettivo	Precinti aperti costruiti attorno a un'associazione volontaria di attori diversi (residenziale, commerciale, piccoli uffici) senza un'ancora centrale. Elevate esigenze di governance.	Governance completamente decentralizzata o cooperativa. Richiede una piattaforma di comunità energetica o un aggregatore.	Tessuto urbano misto. Spesso retrofit.	Geneva SEC U

Research · Municipality of Turin · 2023–2024

Research

Energy communities in public buildings, Municipality of Turin

Mapping and policy framework for renewable energy communities in Turin's public building stock

Partner: Municipality of Turin
Period: 2023–2024
Role: Urban Planner, Climate & Environment
Methods: GIS mapping · Policy analysis · Stakeholder engagement

Working within Turin's climate and environment department, the project developed a systematic mapping of the city's public building stock and assessed its potential for hosting or participating in renewable energy communities (RECs). The work combined GIS-based energy analysis with regulatory mapping to identify which buildings could legally and technically participate in RECs under Italian law (D.Lgs. 199/2021).

The output provided the municipality with a prioritised portfolio of public buildings and a governance template for establishing community energy agreements between the city and private actors, informing both the city's climate action plan and contributing empirically to the doctoral research.

Figures

Turin potential — Per-pixel solar potential, Turin metropolitan area

Building potential — Building-level solar potential, central Turin

Research · HEPIA Geneva · 2024–2026

Research

UN zone energy transition, Geneva

Governance and infrastructure framework for the energy transition of the United Nations district · HEPIA

Institution: HEPIA, Geneva
Period: 2024–2026
Role: Research Lead
Scope: Multi-actor energy district · International zone

The United Nations district in Geneva represents one of the most complex multi-actor energy coordination challenges in Europe: a cluster of international organisations, each with its own legal status, procurement rules, and energy contracts, occupying a dense urban zone with significant renewable energy potential.

The research designs a governance and infrastructure framework that would allow the UN district to function as a coherent energy precinct, sharing production, storage, and demand flexibility across organisational boundaries. The framework builds directly on the doctoral methodology for stacked energy precincts, applying it to a specific international regulatory context where national law applies imperfectly and inter-institutional agreements must substitute.

Figure

Cantone di Ginevra e cluster 2050 — Cantone di Ginevra con il cluster 2050Today evidenziato; comuni raggruppati per tipologia di precinto

Performance finanziaria ed energetica per scenario — Performance finanziaria ed energetica nei tre scenari di precinto a Ginevra (R, RF, U): investimento netto, guadagno netto e autosufficienza

Research · University of Turin · 2022–2024

Research

Climate mitigation plan, University of Turin

GIS-based assessment of renewable energy potential and mitigation pathways across the UniTO campus estate

Partner: University of Turin, Green Office
Period: 2022–2024
Role: Researcher, Environment & Energy
Output: UniTO BIM solar assessment · Campus mitigation strategy

Working with the University of Turin's Green Office, the project built a GIS-based model of energy consumption and renewable energy production potential across the entire UniTO building estate. Each building was assessed for its solar PV potential, thermal energy demand, and retrofit feasibility, and the results were integrated into the university's Building Information Modelling (BIM) system.

The project produced a ranked portfolio of campus buildings by mitigation potential and cost-effectiveness, directly informing UniTO's institutional climate action commitments. It also contributed a published methodology for integrating per-building solar data into BIM pipelines for asset management, the first such framework at an Italian university campus scale.

Figure

Griglia di potenziale solare — Campionamento puntuale del potenziale solare sull'edificato UniTO

Potenziale puntuale Torino — Potenziale solare per pixel, area metropolitana di Torino (kWh/m²)

Potenziale edifici Torino — Potenziale solare per edificio, Torino centrale (kWh/m²)

Pendenza ed esposizione — Analisi di pendenza ed esposizione, area piemontese

Thesis · 2026

Publications

Post Carbon Cities and Renewable Energy Communities

Stacked Urban Energy Precincts for low-carbon pathways · Doctoral thesis · Politecnico di Torino · pp. 1–213

A methodological frame for coordinating energy across multiple actors, governance layers and operational scales inside city boundaries. Bureaucratic complexity, not technical limitation, is the dominant barrier; coordination frameworks already exist and need only be re-stacked, not reinvented.

Published · 2024

Publications

A geospatial assessment for the solar potential of Turin

Urbanistica Informazioni №317 · INU Edizioni · pp. 101–106

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Per-pixel solar potential mapping of Turin at 1 m × 1 m resolution. With 40% of rooftop area used, Turin can produce ~20.6 GWh/year, about 25% of its annual electricity demand.

Figures

Buildings — Building-level potential, central Turin

Published · 2024

Publications

Solar potential and RES evaluation in UniTO's digital asset management system

Alsibai, Gasbarri, Boscariol, Meschini, Tagliabue, Dansero & Tartaglino · pp. 136–145

Leggi l'articolo completo (PDF) ↗

Campus-scale extension of the Turin solar work integrated into UniTO's BIM pipeline. Each building's solar potential becomes a queryable asset property, ranking retrofit priorities by yield-per-euro.

Published · 2022

Publications

La Comunità energetica rinnovabile del pinerolese

Mutani, Santantonio, Usta, Beltramino, Alsibai · NU Edizioni · pp. 117–119

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Case study of an Italian renewable energy community in Pinerolo, documenting its governance structure, financing model, and technical configuration.

Published · 2021

Publications

Design optimization via CFD modeling to promote natural ventilation strategies in a prototype house

A preliminary CFD study adapting the morphology of a residential prototype to harness wind-driven ventilation strategies.

Published · 2020

Publications

Shaping the microclimate, CFD-assisted design optimization

Procedia Manufacturing 44 (2020) 84–91 · OPTARCH 2019

Leggi l'articolo completo (PDF) ↗

First peer-reviewed publication. CFD used iteratively to extend the usable season from ~40% to 58% of the year. Air velocity at body height rose from 4 m/s to 6–8 m/s; ventilation efficiency from 52% to 78%.

Figures

CFD — Wind through curved roof, section view

Final velocity field, optimised configuration

Ricerca

Pubblicazioni

Didattica

Progetti in corso