Dr Francesco Aletta

Research Associate

Bartlett School Env, Energy & Resources

Faculty of the Built Environment

Joined UCL: 1st Jun 2018

Research summary

2018-current: Research Associate at the Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, The Bartlett, University College London. I joined the Institute in 2018 as part of the research group led by Prof Jian Kang to work on the ERC Advanced Grant funded project “Soundscape Indices (SSID)”.

2018: Visiting Professor at the Acoustics Group, Department of Engineering, University of Roma Tre. In November I collaborated with the research unit led by Prof Francesco Asdrubali to introduce the soundscape topic to the group and to teach PhD and Master seminars.

2017: Visiting Professor at the TEBE Group, Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino. I joined the Department in 2017 as part of the research unit led by Prof Arianna Astolfi to develop the soundscape research strand of the group and teach a PhD course.

2016-2018: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the WAVES Group, Department of Information Technology, Ghent University. I joined the Department in 2016 as part of the WAVES Group. I was part of two projects: (1) AcustiCare - the focus of the project is developing an integrated noise control and soundscape approach to the management of nursing homes for people with dementia and multiple disabilities; (2) C3Places – the project aims at developing strategies and tools to increase the quality of public open spaces through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by influencing positively co-creation and social cohesion effects.

2013-2016: Marie Curie Research Associate at the Acoustics Group, School of Architecture, University of Sheffield. I joined the School in 2013 as part of the Acoustics Group within the SONORUS Project. My research is focused on defining a set of indicators for the description and design of soundscapes. The research work included working with local authorities at a test site, Brighton & Hove City Council, with on field surveys and measurements for the validation of the tool.

Teaching summary

2019: Lecture within the “Health and Well-being in Cities” module (ref: Dr Gemma Moore): “What should a city sound like?” – Master of Science in Health, Wellbeing and Sustainable Buildings, Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering, University College London, UK.

2017: Lecture within the “Architecture, Construction and City” programme (ref: Marta Bottero): “What should a city sound like? A quick overview of soundscape assessment and design” – Master of Architecture, Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

2017: PhD course “A sound perception-driven approach to environmental design for the cultural heritage experience” – PhD in Architectural and Cultural Heritage, Department of Architecture and Design, Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

2015-2017: Specialist Lectures within the ARC6012 “Technical Investigation” module (ref: Dr Jieling Xiao): “Acoustic Environments and Soundscapes” – Bachelor of Science in Architecture, School of Architecture, Birmingham City University, UK.

2015: Invited lecture at the PhD Summer School Outdoor microclimate in urban environments (Torino, ITALY): “Noise control in urban environments” organised by the International Association of Building Physics (IABP).

2013-2016: Lectures and Workshops within the ARC6843 “Principles of Building Physics for Sustainable Design” module (ref: Aidan Hoggard): “Acoustic Environments” – Master of Science in Sustainable Architecture Studies, School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, UK.

2012: Lectures and Workshops within the A8611 “Energetic and environmental control design” module (ref: Prof Massimiliano Masullo): “Software for the noise propagation modelling” - Master in Architecture and Interior Design, Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Second University of Naples, Italy.

2011: Lectures and Workshops within the A0650 “Energy - Noise Control” module (ref: Prof Massimiliano Masullo): “Noise Barriers” - Master in Architecture and Civil Engineering, Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Second University of Naples, Italy.

Biography

I was born and raised in Naples (Italy), where I also got my Master’s degree in Architecture (2010) and PhD in Environmental Design (2014) at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” (formerly known as Second University of Naples). I worked as a chartered architect in Italy for several years, but during my PhD I became more and more interested in the relationships between people and everyday sounds, which prompted me to pursue an academic career in the field of environmental acoustics. In 2013, I joined the Acoustics Group of the School of Architecture at the University of Sheffield as a Research Associate to work on the development of soundscape methods within the EU-funded network “SONORUS”. I moved to Belgium in 2016 to work as a post-doctoral researcher at the WAVES Group, in the Department of Information Technology of Ghent University. There, I collaborated in several projects, including AcustiCare and C3Places, relating to both soundscapes and public spaces. During these years, I was a visiting lecturer at Birmingham City University and the Polytechnic Institute of Turin in Italy, teaching about environmental acoustics and soundscapes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. In 2018 I joined UCL IEDE as Research Associate to work with Prof Jian Kang on the Soundscape Indices project, funded by the ERC Advanced Grant scheme.

Publications