BOOKS BY AGNESE REBAGLIO

This volume is part of an editorial project aimed at enhancing the history of design at Politecnico di Milano and, in particular, inaugurates the series The Masters, dedicated to the figures whose thought has fueled the cultural pluralism that is the hallmark of the entire institutional project. The remembrance of the Masters begins with Alberto Seassaro, the demiurge, a Dean capable of giving Design a home by conceiving and building the first Italian Faculty at Politecnico di Milano.

In October 1993, the first Bachelor’s Degree Program in Industrial Design in Italy was inaugurated at Politecnico di Milano. This volume – Issue Zero – launches a publishing initiative that, grounded in a reflection on the historical memory and cultural roots of Politecnico di Milano’s Design System, aims to sustain the distinctive forward-looking spirit of Polytechnic design culture. Its goal is to place design at the service of today’s cultural, social, technological, and environmental challenges.

The environmental emergency of the last century has led to an urgent need to reformulate the predominant role of human beings on the planet by undertaking a less anthropocentric design approach. Within this theoretical framework, the book explores the role of Design as a multifaceted discipline capable of exploring the complexity of a changing world, and reconsiders the human being’s position in a pervasive relationship with the contemporary environments through a More-than-Human approach.

Neighbourhoods of contemporary cities are ‘hypersensitive’ and ‘fragile’ areas where dismantling and transformation processes generate fragmentation and displacement. Reconstruction and re-occupation of urban spaces guided by residents are becoming increasingly frequent in these places. This book presents some reflections on the role of design discipline in this fertile and proactive context, proposing specific research methodologies and intervention strategies in close relation with the resident population, building new skills, creating original synergies, and new processes of inclusion and social innovation.