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The [ARC] Department of Architecture of the University of Nicosia and the Italian Embassy in Cyprus cordially invite you to a double lecture to celebrate Italian Design Day on Wednesday 20 March 2019 @ 18:00 with the participation of special guests: renowned artist, architect and author Massimo Catalani and Italian professor and practicing architect Cristiano Luchetti.

Program:

• 18:00 – Welcome by the UNIC Rector, Philippos Pouyioutas, and by the Ambassador of Italy, Andrea Cavallari
• 18:15 – Lecture by Massimo Catalani: Art & Fish: Good Practices of Marine Regeneration
• 18:45 – Lecture by Cristiano Luchetti: Robabecciah: The Informal City
• 19:15 – Discussion and closing comments
• 20:00 – Italian Aperitivo

“ART & ARCHITECTURE AT THE SERVICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY”
The two distinguished Italian lecturers present different but related issues of environmental sustainability: the degradation of marine and urban environments. They show how art and architecture can offer solutions in the form of creative ideas, technical models and societal outreach.

1. Art & Fish. Good Practices of Marine Regeneration, by Massimo Catalani
“We used to have a stable planet and with our vanity and thirst for success and power, we destroyed it. Today we consume twice the amount of the resources the world can give us. It is crucial we collectively halve the exploitation of the planet. And therefore, it is the architect’s duty to not only preserve the environment but improve it”. This is the premise for Catalani’s lecture, which seeks to show the strong impact that an artist can have in stirring the hearts and minds of citizens in order to successfuly conduct environmental campaigns. The talk discusses, inter alia, how the artist used a 10-ton block of Carrara marble to fight illegal trawling.

2. “Robabecciah: The Informal City”. Rethinking Freespace. The National Pavilion of Egypt at the Venice Biennale 2018, by Cristiano Lucetti
The Egyptian pavilion ‘Roba Becciah’ for the Venice architecture biennale 2018 edition proposed the theme of the strategic redevelopment of spontaneous commercial spaces across the entire country. In many urban and suburban areas, the phenomenon of ‘free’, unstructured, illegal trading reaches such high levels that it is the predominant element to drive the use of public space. The traditional souk confined to the narrow streets and interstitial spaces of historical areas has conquered new territories. In Egyptian and many other global cities, the space of commerce extends its tentacles seamlessly along the lines of urban streams without any rule. The presentation will address the theoretical approach and the “making” process of the pavilion.

Massimo Catalani is a renowned Italian artist, working out of Rome. An architect by training, his style is characterized by experimentation with mixtures of painting, modelling, architectural masonry and various other components (including fruits and vegetables). His work, which also includes essays and short films, usually focuses on key social topics such as environmental sustainability, protection of the marine environment and denuclearization, also in collaboration with NGOs such as Greenpeace. His exhibition “L.I.F.E” presented Italy through paintings of its food. Catalani’s latest works focus on sea life and marine wildlife conservation, and against illegal fishing. He has exhibited and lectured in many European cities and in the USA, Korea, Russia and Japan. His works are part of important private collections worldwide.

Cristiano Luchetti has taught architectural and urban design for more than 15 years for European and North American Universities. He regularly writes about the architecture and urban development of the Middle East. His research refers to contemporary urban contexts, new sustainable strategies of development and re-adaptation, as well as vernacular and traditional architecture. As a registered architect he was the designer of a variety of large-scale projects in the residential, commercial and hospitality sectors in Europe, China, India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Cristiano co-curated the Egyptian Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale which was shortlisted in the display built projects category at the World Architecture Festival 2018. Since 2012 he is an Assistant Professor at the American University of Sharjah in the UAE.

This event marks the return of the collaboration between the Embassy of Italy and the University of Nicosia, who jointly organized in 2017 the 1st edition of the IDD in Cyprus, with a lecture on the furniture district in the Milan region. On that occasion, a publication highlighting the connections between Italy and Cyprus in the fields of architecture and design was presented.

3rd ITALIAN DESIGN DAY: “Design and the City of the Future”
The third edition of the Italian Design Day builds on the success of the two previous editions, which have seen over 300 events in 230 cities in the world, creating a dense network of connections between Italian and foreign architects, designers, entrepreneurs, academics and specialized journalists. On the same day, in 100 cities around the world, 100 lectures and discussions will take place simultaneously.

This year’s topic is “Design and the City of the Future”, focusing on innovative and sustainable solutions to protect and enhance the environmental, cultural and human resources. It is also linked with the 22nd Triennale International Exhibition (Milan, March-September 2019) “Broken Nature – Design Takes on Human Survival”, which explores the at times fraught relationship between humans and nature, and the role that design, architecture and art can play to rebuild it.

The event is part of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affair’s strategy “Vivere all’Italiana”, which seeks to promote Italy’s cultural and economic system through an integrated action combining culture, trade, language and scientific research.

As part of the event the following workshops will also be held:

• Wednesday 20th March 2019
9 – 12 @ ARC
Workshop with Massimo Catalani
For Architecture/Design students: ‘Art & Design: Similarities and Differences’

• Thursday 21st March 2019
9 – 12 @ ARC
Workshop with Massimo Catalani
For Art students: ‘Does the Art have to be committed today?’

9 – 12 @ ARC
Workshop with Cristiano Luchetti
For Architecture students: ‘Design & Research explorations’

For more information:
Tel: 22842600/601 | Email: [email protected] | Website: www.arc.unic.ac.cy

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