Seventy five years of history and experience have made it one of the most prestigious faculties of architecture and planning and today it continues to be a hotbed for new ideas. This is the message that IUAV – Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia – puts across in celebrating its anniversary underlining its role as an international laboratory without neglecting the opportunity to look at what the future holds for the Italian university. Founded in 1926 as a school of architecture, IUAV has evolved over the years, first breaking away from the Accademia di Belle Arti, and then – with the university reforms – being transformed into part of the university and today consisting of three faculties – architecture, land planning, design and art offering a number of different degree courses.

Demonstrating versatility and a strong capacity for renewal are a number of initiatives – many and varied – running from July to December this year and organised around four themes “Origins”, “Tradition and renewal”, “The premises and the city”, “New image”. In a marathon which runs for almost a year we find exhibitions, conferences, design courses, workshops as well as a new corporate identity for the Institute. The present identity, created by Massimo Vignelli is to be redesigned, and is the subject of an international competition limited to seven internationally famous visual designers. The name of the winner will be announced at the end of November whilst all the designs will be on show in the aula magna Tolentini from 26 November to 19 December.

The origins of the institution can be seen in an exhibition at the Cotonificio veneziano (until 15 November), told through the designs, words and teaching of one of its protagonists, Giuseppe Samonà, dean of the institute from 1943 to 1972, and his son Alberto. A legacy which today can be given critical attention thanks to the now completed cataloguing and organisation of the material. To conclude the exhibition are two study days (14 and 15 November, aula magna Tolentini, Santa Croce 191) on “Giuseppe Samonà and the Venice School of Architecture”.

In the name of tradition and renewal, a series of exhibitions and conferences look into a range of themes: from the infrastructures and contemporary landscapes of Europe, told through around thirty projects in the exhibition coordinated by Serena Maffioletti and Stefano Rocchetto (aula magna, Tolentini, until 8 October) to the new landscapes of the contemporary city, examined in a series of conferences coordinated by Cecchetto, Bruttomasso, Boeri (Aula magna, 4, 14, 28 October; 11, 25 November; 9 December; 20 January). The work of 8 architects who teach in the Venetian faculty and who represent the trends of the Venice School of Architecture can be seen in an exhibition coordinated by Luciano Semerani (“Next School – New Entrances” Cotonificio veneziano, until 3 November) whilst a discussion of major changes in terms of politics, institutions, society and government, which have always been the necessary elements for architects and designers to take into account will take place in a conference organised by Francesco Indovina (Cà Tron, 18 and 19 November).

With July seeing the end of the exhibition dedicated to the studio Miralles-Tagliabue, creators of the new IUAV building San Basilio, it is now the turn of the student proposals for reorganising the areas of Santa Marta (on show at the Cotonificio veneziano, from 21 October to 20 November), subject of a competition set by IUAV with the aim of collecting ideas from its direct users – the students who come to study, design, work in groups or see an exhibition.

A chance to find out what happens on leaving the university is offered in another initiative in the form of an exhibition (also at the Cotonificio veneziano, from 4 to 17 October) entitled “zeroUno, award-winning student projects in architecture competition” and in the archivioZero, a continual update in digital format of competition work by under graduates or recently qualified designers.

Finally, as for every autumn, the much awaited opening ceremony for the new academic year (planned for 30 November) with the awarding of 'lauree honoris causa'.

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