Italian Design Day 2025 Panel and Reception
Keynote presentation by Maite García Sanchis, adjunct professor of Architectural Design at Politecnico di Milano, on how design can foster belonging and participation.
Keynote presentation by Maite García Sanchis, adjunct professor of Architectural Design at Politecnico di Milano and a panel of guests discuss how design, declined in its various scales, from Urban Design to Product Design, can give form to the system of accords expressed in a social contract, typical of society, and work for the community interpreting the relationships experienced subjectively through the feelings of belonging and participation. By reading these two models as parts of a single scheme comprehensive of society as a whole, Design becomes a valuable tool that can identify critical aspects and intervene in favor of a better life by addressing the challenge of sustainable development.
Looking at a series of projects which tackle the various spheres of Design, from masterplans that shape our urban landscape to artisanal contemporary production, the presentation will point out ways in which Design can assume a relevant role in redefining the contemporary scenario of inequalities.
Maite García Sanchis is an architect PhD, adjunct professor of Architectural Design at Politecnico di Milano and member of the editorial board of Lotus international. She holds a doctorate in Architecture from the Iuav University of Venice and a master's degree in Advanced Architectural Design with a specialization in Theory and Criticism from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
She has curated exhibitions, publications and seminars on Architecture and Design in Italy, Spain and China, focusing on the relationship between Design and Architecture, on the role of residential architecture in city transformation processes and on architecture publishing, collaborating with institutions such as ADI Design Museum, Triennale Milano, MAXXI, the Ministry of Infrastructure in Spain or the Embassy of the Netherlands in Spain.
The panel consists of MDes student Jefferson Alade, ECU instructor Robin Mitchell Cranfield, NSDA architect Brian Dust, and Oberti Resort Group president Tommaso Oberti.
Reception to follow.