PAD. Pages on Arts and Design

4-12

Authors: Marinella Ferrara

After generating an interesting debate thanks to PAD 13 “Design for Territory” issue, edited by M. Parente & C. Sedini and awarded with the ADI index selection 2017, we are now glad to launch PAD 14 in partnership with AIAP, the Italian Association of Visual Communication Design, as our new publisher. This new release focuses entirely on the strategic Design Research tracks across the complex Mediterranean scenario, investigating reasons and perspectives. The choice of the topics to be tackled refers to our commitment to join the cause of activism due to the progressive decline of Western culture as well as the crisis of liberal democracy, in the framework of a continuous “metamorphosis of the world” destabilizing the certainties of modern society.

31-46

Authors: Chiara Catgiu

The article wants to be a contribution to the understanding of social and environmental issues that the area of the Mediterranean is facing after the global economic crisis and wants to propose the application of the circular economy model, with particular reference to the materials obtained from organic waste, to resolve the environmental and social problems of the region. The circular materials described in the article are produced starting from organic waste and transformed into a valuable resource, by promoting resource efficiency and jobs creation at the same time. The article presents three case studies focused on the reuse of waste materials in innovative applications, by applying the circular economy concept, within the framework of eco-design and resources reutilization. The materials are analyzed according to the circular economy principles and to other relevant parameters.

61-84

Authors: Marina Parente, Eleonora Lupo, Carla Sedini

Design approaches, competences, and methodologies have a significant impact and reputation on the process of analysis, construction and enhancement of places. Indeed, design is particularly able in driving interventions, focused on the valorization of tangible and intangible local peculiarities, which give shape to, highlight and connect specific territorial identities. In this paper, we are going to propose a model we want to use in order to synthesize the possible approaches design can activate for the valorization of places and in particular of the Mediterranean area. We are going to use the biological and artificial metaphors and express them according to tangible and intangible dimensions. As we are going to explain, this approach is particularly useful for the Mediterranean scenarios but can be extended to other territories with similar characteristics.

114-131

Authors: Anna Cecilia Russo

This paper, far from structuring a historical discourse, aims to analyze how the heterogeneity of the pieces by designer Eileen Gray, furnishing the E-1027 villa, perfectly fused with the spaces, generating interesting aesthetic outcomes. The E-1027 was Gray’s first architectural accomplishment, designed in a sort of life-long companionship with critic and journalist Jean Badovici, on the site of Roquebrune - Cap St. Martin, now Cap Moderne, in that strip of Mediterranean coast renowned as Côte d’Azur. The uniqueness of Gray’s style mirrored the shifting paradigms of the late Twenties, between Paris and this Mediterranean bay of the French Riviera, also hosting other relevant heritages, such as Le Corbusier’s Cabanon, his Camping Units and the beach kiosk l’Étoile de mer. According to Nelson Goodman’s theories, as expressed in Ways of Worldmaking, expanding the qualities of the communicative functioning and symbolizing also to what is not-just-art, we will also briefly explore, along a pragmatist perspective, how design pieces can produce an aesthetic experience. Eileen Gray’s approach to design, framed by the lights and the vibrant lifestyle of Cap Moderne, will add a historical aura to our questioning, showing how aesthetic judgments and social changes may widely impact on design insights and innovations.