This text investigates a problematic issue peculiar to the contemporary, namely what role design can (and should) take on to direct more conscious choices capable of affecting the environmental, economic and social impact that built artifacts have on the context in which we live. The current cultural debate, in fact, demonstrates the urgency of addressing the issue of sustainability by articulating it in all its dimensions (social, productive, economic, environmental), including design, which must become - like the others - a strategic driver of innovation. The goal of the ebook, then, is at least twofold: on the one hand, to raise the awareness of a wide audience on a sensitive contemporary issue by describing the scientific context of reference, the political-institutional framework and the policies being defined; and, on the other hand, to provide practitioners with a body of reference case studies to introduce the most effective solutions adopted to date, often still by private initiative, to promote increasingly “sustainable” stagings. Pursuing these objectives, the volume is divided into six chapters that touch on complementary aspects of the topic of investigation, seeking to offer a broad overview of possible approaches to the subject, while also introducing technical, design and service innovation solutions. The attempt, in fact, is to place alongside a reading of the state of the art also a propositional interpretation, so that the historical-critical bearing of the text necessary to frame a topic that is still little debated is accompanied by a design vision capable of introducing systemic change. In conclusion, the volume thus stands as a first opportunity for theoretical-design exploration that opens up numerous possible research topics, which will need in the future (a not-too-distant future given the urgency of the topic) a subsequent and further investigation.

Davide Crippa

Architect, designer. From 2007 to 2021 he taught continuously at the Polytechnic of Milan and at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan. Head of the ADI designers commission until 2012, he is now a researcher at the IUAV University of Venice - Department of Design Cultures; he writes articles and publishes books on project theory and criticism, projecting his attention towards evolving scenarios. In 2004 he founded the Ghigos studio with Barbara Di Prete and since then has carried out wide-ranging research: he has created exhibitions, installations and projects that have been highlighted in international competitions and exhibited in prestigious museums (including Maxxi, Expo2015, MoMA, Triennale of Milan, Venice Biennale). He is currently investigating the impact of the ecological and digital transition on design disciplines.