Living Archives : Merging Design History and the Design Studio in an Educational Experience

In 1987, Università Iuav di Venezia instituted the Archivio Progetti to conserve materials regarding Italian architects and designers. Since 2001 it has offered undergraduate and graduate programmes in product and visual communication design which, like other Italian universities, separates the teaching of design history from the studios that teach design. Between 2014 and 2016, the editorial design studio experimented with a different approach, using a project to design magazines dedicated to contemporary design culture to encourage research into Italian design, relying on the materials from the Archivio Progetti. The students were given a double role as designers and “producers” of historical research. This paper illustrates the core methodology, which was effective in raising the students’ awareness of the indivisibility between content and editorial appearance, of the questions involved in using materials from the past and the value of a document that bears witness to a specific cultural context. The experience has also served as a stimulus, leading students to consider the possibility of studying design history though Italy has no specific university programmes in this field. It also involved the Archivio Progetti in an effort to cultivate its heritage with a more contemporary perspective, by integrating teaching and research.