Designing the city with children and young people

Rome, 28 January 2021

The morning of the second day of the Architect's Festival (Rome, 27-29 February 2021) was all dedicated to the presentations of the different forms of the project “Abitare il Paese. La cultura della domanda" (Living the Country. The culture of questions). A project whose third edition was presented today and which sees the school world involved in particular, with an important role entrusted to the collaboration between the National Council of Architects, Designers, Landscape Architects and Conservators (CNAPPC), the Territorial Orders of Architects and Fondazione Reggio Children – Centro Loris Malaguzzi. In the two previous editions, the project involved over 2000 students, 77 schools and 102 classes.

Opening the works of the second day, Giuseppe Cappochin - President of the National Council - recalled how Ursula Von Der Leyen - President of the European Commission- presenting the project of the New European Bauhaus during her message sent to the Festival, emphasized that education plays a crucial role when we want to shape our future. “When our country is going to start again, it will have to do it starting from the school itself. The experience of the "Abitare il Paese" Project - said Cappochin - is arousing great interest at an international level. We will also circulate the experiences of the first two editions abroad through the international organizations of architects. And the works will be visible to everyone by visiting the virtual museum that we have set up to overcome the constraints of an exhibition in the presence that have been imposed on us by the pandemic."

"A new school, more necessary than ever today, is built together with the children and young people".

This was stated by Carla Rinaldi, president of Fondazione Reggio Children. "The project has become more relevant than ever in this pandemic period, because it was born with the students. Never before the school - if it wants to prepare its future - needs the essential participation of children, young people, students. "Abitare il Paese" (Living the Country) is equivalent to "Abitare il Futuro" (Living the Future), with young people as co-designers and architects. This is the great cultural value that this project expresses".

During the works, the new CNAPPC Virtual Museum was presented, born from the need to publish and exhibit the projects relating to the "Italian Architect", "Young Talent of Italian Architecture" and "(Re) designing the school with the new generations awards post Covid-19” Prizes this year entirely dedicated to the theme of the school, together with two other exhibitions dedicated to the "Competition for 51 innovative schools” and the exhibition “Abitare il Paese. The culture of questions".

The impossibility of realizing the exhibition "physically", in fact, suggested the idea of providing the National Council with a virtual exhibition space, where to show the three exhibitions, which over time becomes a complementary and not alternative space for exhibitions produced, promoted or supported by the National Council itself, but which also becomes an archive of the exhibitions held, a permanent tool, therefore, which opens up future possibilities for use and expanded participation. There is also the possibility of downloading and reading the volumes in the virtual library of the museum, which is in turn developed on a multi-platform system: a website where it is possible to explore the contents also in analytical and detailed form and two more suggestive and emotional through an App for mobile devices (tablets and smartphones), both available from February, and one through the fully immersive virtual reality viewer (Oculus).

At the end of the second day of the Architect's Festival - which also saw the succession of numerous round tables with the intervention of Italian and foreign speakers – it was signed an important protocol between Indire, the National Institute of Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research and the National Council, for a renewed alliance between architecture and pedagogy to respond to the need to diversify teaching and transform teaching from "passive" into "active" which, as is well known, can only be achieved in environments functional to these objectives and designed for learning and the centrality of the student.

The protocol provides, among other things, the promotion and coordination of research projects and training events focused on the synergies between pedagogy and architecture to deepen and share knowledge of innovative design and organizational models. Particular attention will be paid to the documentation and dissemination of experiences and good practices, to the implementation of analysis of innovative approaches and solutions, to the development of actions that involve stakeholders in a vast process of renewal and modernization of the building heritage.

The Museum will be visible on the App and on the website starting on February 8: architettiperilfuturo.it

The exhibitions in the virtual museum: 

Abitare Il Paese

https://vimeo.com/user36835287/download/505426541/064bed1fee

51 Innovative schools

https://vimeo.com/user36835287/download/505420878/3cea8b6dbd

Prizes 

https://vimeo.com/user36835287/download/505439985/16e849fc73