#DesignInAction #CiD #Conference
#DesignInAction #CiD #Conference
Conference in Genoa 22-23 May 2025
"Circular Design in Action: practices, networks, education and research"
Exploring the role of community and education in driving action-oriented research and practical innovation
The Circular Design in Action: Practices and Research conference - organized by Department of Architecture and Design of University of Genova - invites scholars, researchers, designers, and practitioners to share their insights and innovative approaches in circular design. This event is part of the CiD Project – Circular Design for Bio-based Innovation towards Climate-Neutral Cities, an initiative fostering sustainable solutions in architecture, product design, and urban transformation.
In an era of pressing environmental challenges, design plays a fundamental role in shaping a sustainable future. The conference will explore circular economy principles, bio-based materials, and innovative design methodologies that drive the transition toward carbon-neutral cities. Participants will have the opportunity to showcase research, methodologies, and practical applications that redefine how materials, products, and built environments are designed, produced, and regenerated, within two tracks:
+ Track 1: Design for change
+ Track 2: Circular Cities
Keynote Speakers
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Dubravko Bačić is a registered architect and Associate Professor at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Architecture, where he teaches project management, building technology, and built heritage conservation across undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. His academic work focuses on the intersection of architectural education, professional practice, and heritage preservation.
Since 2008, he has worked as an independent practitioner, specializing in small-scale residential projects, conservation of heritage-listed buildings, adaptive reuse, and heritage consultancy. He has participated in numerous international design workshops, research projects, exhibitions, and conferences, contributing to discussions on architectural education, professional standards, and heritage protection. He has also served on steering and evaluation committees and as a jury member for architectural competitions in Croatia.
Bačić has been actively involved in professional organizations, including the Croatian Chamber of Architects, the Croatian Architects’ Association, and ICOMOS Croatia. Since 2011, he has contributed to the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE), focusing on education, accreditation, and professional mobility. Elected to the ACE Executive Board for four consecutive terms (2014–2022), he led initiatives related to architectural education, access to the profession, and continuing professional development. As of 2025, he remains engaged in ACE initiatives, particularly in strengthening architectural education and professional exchange across Europe.
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Laura Brun is passionate about the design field, with a background in event management and a love for the chaos and vitality that come with it. She has been working as a Project Manager at Isola Design Group for 3 years, where her desire to discover and explore new horizons came to life. Laura is actively involved in expanding Isola’s international presence, organizing exhibitions, and managing collaborations with designers, brands, and institutions.
Besides the events organized locally in Italy she has been a key part of Isola’s international presence as well, participating multiple times in the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. Further being involved in Isola’s expansion to new territories with Material Matters at the London Design Festival, Downtown Design during Dubai Design Week, and Tanween - Ithra’s Conference of Creativity, the largest creative platform in Saudi Arabia.
From Milan to Dubai, each of these projects had a common thread which is a commitment to sustainability, craftsmanship, and supporting emerging designers by helping them showcase their work at the highest level.
She has also closely followed the start of Isola’s recent venture, Isola Studio, a consultancy lab that offers services to brands and organizations in the design field. She oversaw their first international design residency, Nitaj, from June to December 2024. This intensive program, dedicated to lighting design, began in Milan and culminated in an exhibition in Jeddah, showcasing the works created by each participant
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Antonella Andriani, National Vice President of ADI (Italian Association for Industrial Design) and board member of the ADI Compasso d’Oro Collection Foundation, is an industrial designer and Full Professor (ABPR17 - Design) at the Verona Academy of Fine Arts, where she coordinates the Department of Design and Applied Arts and founded the Master’s Degree in Italian Strategic Design. She holds postgraduate degrees from Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, and the Alta Scuola Politecnica (ASP).
Since 2002, she has worked as a freelance designer, developing strategic, design-oriented programs across product design, visual communication, sportswear, furniture, and publishing, with a focus on promoting Italian design culture internationally. She has taught at the Design School of Politecnico di Milano since 2005 and, since 2009, at the Verona Academy of Fine Arts, where she also held roles as Vice Director (2018–2020), Department Director (2015–2018), and Director for International Cooperation with China (2013–2015).
A member of the ADI Permanent Design Observatory since 2015, she contributes to commissions such as “Design for Communication” and “Design for People,” and represents ADI in the governing bodies of Confcommercio Professioni and Poli.Design.
She is a frequent speaker at international conferences, serves on juries for design awards and competitions, and has led seminars and workshops in Italy and abroad — including FSC Italy and lectures at Sichuan Normal University (China). Since 2020, she has also been teaching at the School of Interior Architecture at the Arab American University.
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Emma van der Leest (1991) is an award-winning biodesigner, researcher, educator, and author based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. With over 10 years of experience in biodesign, she collaborates across disciplines with scientists, artists, and designers to create sustainable, bio-based materials. Her work focuses on biofabrication, integrating living organisms like bacteria and fungi into design processes to develop compostable materials that reduce environmental harm.
A product design graduate (cum laude) from the Willem de Kooning Academy, Emma blends design, scientific research, and new production techniques to foster interdisciplinary innovation. She has interned at Biocouture London and is a product associate for the Biofabricate conference in New York. Emma also teaches and leads the Ecology Futures Master program at St. Joost Academy and has lectured at institutions including Central Saint Martins and Design Academy Eindhoven.
Emma also curates exhibitions, including projects for the Dutch Innovation Pavilion and Boijmans van Beuningen Depot. She is the founder and ambassador of BlueCity Lab in Rotterdam, a biocircular playground for bioneers in Rotterdam. They support the transition towards a biocircular economy by facilitating a platform & labspace for a growing community of bioneers that establish examples for a regenerative economy within the planetary boundaries by doing and experimenting.
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Anna Pellizzari is the Head of Advisory at Materially, a consultancy specializing in material innovation. With over 25 years of experience in material design and innovation, she focuses on aspects such as aesthetics, performance, and circularity. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with various Italian and international brands, providing lectures and training courses on design, materials, and sustainability for multiple institutions and academies. She is also the co-author of the book Neomaterials in the Circular Economy, published by Edizioni Ambiente between 2017 and 2021.
In addition to her role at Materially, Anna Pellizzari has been involved in evaluating innovative materials, serving as a jury member for the Avant-Garde initiative at Packaging Première & PCD Milan, where she assessed projects in the "Innovative Materials" category.
Her educational background includes studies at institutions such as Domus Academy in Milan, Central Saint Martins in London, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
Anna Pellizzari's extensive experience and expertise make her a prominent figure in the field of sustainable material innovation.
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Davide Crippa is an architect by training and a designer by choice. He founded Ghigos Studio in 2004, graduated in 2005, and earned a PhD in exhibition design in 2007. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to engage directly with prominent figures in Italian design, further enriching his education with diverse design disciplines. In 2019, he established the university spin-off Social Factory srl, the first fablab dedicated to the circular economy.
He has taught at several prestigious Italian universities and, since 2007, has been a permanent lecturer at the Polytechnic University of Milan and the New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. Since 2021, he has been an Associate Professor at IUAV University of Venice, where, starting in 2022, he also serves as the Director of the Master's program in Innovation Design and Management. In 2023, he joined the CTRL-Junk research group, which focuses on the circular economy, and in 2024, he founded the National Cluster 'NSBNV - Sustainable Exhibit,' aimed at promoting the ecological transition in the exhibition sector.
A member of ADI and the head of the Designers Commission until 2012, Crippa has authored several articles and published books on design theory and history.
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Diego Zoppi, architect (graduated with honors in 1987 from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Genoa), works in the fields of urban planning, urban and landscape regeneration, restoration, and architecture. He has developed city frameworks and designed major public space projects, including squares, waterfronts, and landscapes located in Italy, the Middle East, and the Far East. His project for the National Rowing Center was selected for the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale.
He is co-founder of AR&P Architecture, through which he has taken part in several international design competitions and commissions. Among his most relevant works are the urban waterfront redevelopment in Genoa-Voltri on a former industrial site (now built), the development of a parking system and urban connections for the Historic City of the Republic of San Marino, the design of several new towns around Shanghai, the restoration of the citadel in Nanjing, and the creation of a tourist center in the historic city of Jiu Ji Jiao in China. His portfolio also includes the Swimming Stadium in Hanoi, the Ho Chi Minh City waterfront in Vietnam, the regeneration of Riyadh’s central district in Saudi Arabia, and the Innovation Center for the Solar Park in Dubai.
Many of his works have been published in major architecture journals such as Casabella and Domus. He was a member, and later President (from 2015), of the Governing Board of the Genoa Chamber of Architects. Since 2016, he has served on the National Council of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects and Conservators of Italy, where he coordinates the Department for Urban Research and Development. In 2019, he joined the Executive Board of the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE), where he serves as Coordinator of Area 2 – Professional Practice.
Program
Thursday 22rd May
Morning Location: Aula Benvenuto, Stradone di Sant‘Agostino, 37 @DAD Department, University of Genova
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introduction to conference topics and profiles of new circular designers (UNIGE)
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10-10:45 / Emma van der Leest, Biodesigner, founder of BluecityLab, Rotterdam
10:45-11:30 / Davide Crippa, IUAV University, Venice
11:30-12:15 / Laura Brun, Isola Design roundtable and Q&A
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Afternoon Location: GenovaBeDesignWeek @LuzzatiLab, Vico Amandorla 3C
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Introduction by Antonella Andriani, Designer, Vice President of ADI, Milan
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Poster session (PechaKucha presentations)
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visit to the exhibition opening curated by UniGe at Genova BeDesign Week, presentations by designers
Friday 23rd May
Location: @via San Bernardo 19, Genova, in collab with OA.GE
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Introduction to CiD Circular Design Innovation Alliance
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Circular Design challenges: CiD Erasmus+ session. Presentations by LUH, UNIGE, IAAC, ERSILIA Foundation, ALDA - European Association for Local Democracy, CNR - National Research Council of Italy, ARCES, Architektūros Fondas, TEI - Tallinn Business Incubators, ACE - Architects’ Council of Europe
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11:30-12 / Diego Zoppi, Architect, Member of CNAPPC
12-12:45 / Dubravko Bačić, University of Zagreb, Executive Member of ACE
12:45-13:30 / Anna Pellizzari, Materially, Milan
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