ItaliaDesign 2006: An SFU field school

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Overview

Time: ~7 months
Team: 13 students

This is a School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) field school study (Simon Fraser University). It started in 2004 and has been running every year since then. Within that time, this field school program has visited and interviewed over 50 design firms and companies across italy from young firms to established prominate designers such as Alessandro Mendini, Massimiliano Fuksas, to industrial giants Segis and Alessi, and studios like Artemide.

It is a research field study that includes interviews and in-field projects focused on learning about Italian design and innovation. This research does not end with the trip, because we take what we learned back to Vancouver and compile our findings into a project website, as well as research papers.
It has been running since 2004.

Process

I was 1 of 13 students that was a part of the 2006 group. Structure:

1. Pre-trip class (4 weeks) To learn about Italian history and culture.

2. In-field study: 7 weeks through Italy (Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Milan). Conducted interviews, did a Tuscan hill town pattern language project as well as a project in Rome with the American Institute for Roman Culture (AIRC). I also lead the interview for the architecture/design studio of Antonio Citterio in Milan.

3. Post-Italy Trip (4 months): Compiled all our knowledge, interviews, and information into a website. Also research papers were written.

Result

Website with all our interviews, transcripts and videos. Three research papers were written in the group. I created some of the information models for the research paper, "Towards the Liquid Network: China and Italy in the new economy".

ItaliaDesign Website