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| Scuola Politecnica di Design | |
|---|---|
| Name | Scuola Politecnica di Design |
| Established | 1954 |
| Type | Private |
| City | Milan |
| Country | Italy |
Scuola Politecnica di Design is a Milan-based private institute founded in 1954, known for postgraduate training in industrial design, transport design, visual communication, and interior design. Located in Milan, the school has contributed to projects and collaborations with companies and institutions across Italy, Europe, and global design networks such as Associazione per il Disegno Industriale, Triennale Milano, and Salone del Mobile.Milano. Alumni and faculty have participated in exhibitions at venues like Venice Biennale, Centro Pompidou, and Victoria and Albert Museum.
Founded in 1954, the school emerged during the postwar reconstruction era alongside institutions such as Politecnico di Milano, Domus Academy, and Istituto Europeo di Design. Early decades intersected with figures associated with Artemide (company), Olivetti, and designers linked to Cini Boeri, Gio Ponti, and Gae Aulenti. During the 1970s and 1980s the school expanded its curriculum amid dialogues with La Triennale di Milano, Milan Furniture Fair, and international programs involving Royal College of Art, École des Beaux-Arts, and Bauhaus Archive. In later years collaborations extended toward BMW Group, FIAT, and cultural partners such as MAXXI and Fondazione Prada.
Situated in central Milan, facilities include studios, workshops, and exhibition spaces comparable to those at Politecnico di Torino satellite labs and linked to local fabrication centers like FabLab Milano and makerspaces connected to Fondazione Adriano Olivetti initiatives. The campus houses prototype workshops equipped with equipment reflective of suppliers such as 3D Systems, Stratasys, and partner factories associated with Cassina, B&B Italia, and Kartell. Exhibition and lecture halls have hosted speakers from Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica, Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, and visiting critics from Design Museum (London). Student-managed galleries have staged shows in coordination with SaloneSatellite, Fuorisalone, and municipal venues run by Comune di Milano.
Programs offer postgraduate diplomas and master's-equivalent curricula in fields paralleling offerings at Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, RCA, and ECAL. Main tracks include industrial design programs with modules referencing practices at Philips, Pininfarina, and Alessi; transport and automotive design linked to studios akin to Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari concept development; interior and exhibition design comparable to Herzog & de Meuron-led projects; and visual communication courses that engage with methodologies from Pentagram (design firm), Sagmeister & Walsh, and Wolff Olins. Short courses and workshops are periodically run with professionals from IDEO, Frog Design, and Zaha Hadid Architects.
Admission typically requires a prior degree similar to entry expectations at Politecnico di Milano, IED Milano, and international conservatoires such as Bauhaus University Weimar. Selection processes include portfolio review and interviews, with international applicants coordinated through channels like Erasmus+ and agreements reflecting models used by Erasmus Mundus. Tuition varies by program and is comparable to private institutions such as Domus Academy and IED, with scholarship and grant options aligned to foundations like Fondazione Cariplo and mobility funds from European Commission programs.
Faculty have included practitioners and visiting lecturers drawn from studios and firms including Pininfarina, Alessi, Citterio Viel, and Design Group Italia. Visiting critics and guest professors have come from Royal Academy of Arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard Graduate School of Design. Alumni have moved into roles at companies such as Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Prada, Armani, Samsung Design America, Whirlpool, Bang & Olufsen, Sony Corporation, and agencies like Pentagram. Graduates have been exhibited at institutions like MOCA (Los Angeles), Tate Modern, and have collaborated with brands including Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Hermès.
The school conducts applied research projects in product innovation, materials, and human-centered processes, partnering with industrial and cultural entities such as FIAT Chrysler Automobiles, Pirelli, Smeg, and research centers affiliated with Politecnico di Milano and Università degli Studi di Milano. Collaborative initiatives have included cross-disciplinary labs with Fondazione Bruno Kessler, sustainability programs connected to Ellen MacArthur Foundation principles, and urban design experiments aligned with Municipality of Milan planning offices. International exchange and joint research have engaged institutions like Tongji University, Tsinghua University, KAIST, and Delft University of Technology.
Students and faculty have received honors in competitions and awards comparable to Compasso d'Oro, Red Dot Design Award, iF Design Award, Good Design Award, and accolades from institutions such as ADI and IFDA. Works and exhibitions have been recognized at events including Salone del Mobile.Milano, Milano Design Week, and international showcases at Cooper Hewitt and Centre Pompidou. The school's projects have been featured in publications like Domus (magazine), Wallpaper*, Dezeen, Designboom, and Architectural Digest.
Category:Design schools in Italy