Conference June 18, 2024

“Made in Italy” sustainability is rooted in the millennial tradition of building in our country, and today, when measured with international reporting tools such as energy-environmental sustainability protocols, it demonstrates its excellence. The SustainabITALY conference is part of the “Inventors of the Future” project, whose purpose is to educate, explain, and disseminate knowledge and awareness at national and international levels through partner participation and the creation of a multidisciplinary team.

The conference was promoted on all project partner channels and various social media. All architecture and interior design students at the University of Arkansas Rome Center attended in person.

The program saw the opening of the work with greetings from Alessandro Panci, President of the Ordine degli Architetti di Roma e Provincia, and Angelo Piero Cappello, General Director of Contemporary Creativity, Ministry of Culture, followed by an intervention by Arch. Francesca Riccardo, architecture professor at the University of Arkansas Rome Center and coordinator of SustainabITALY.

There followed interventions on LEED certification, sustainability in architecture, and the internationalization of education by Marco Caffi, Director of Green Building Council Italy, Paolo Anzuini, Ordine degli Architetti di Roma counselor and training path reference “Innovation,” and Francesco Bedeschi, Director of the University of Arkansas Rome Center.

Official greetings from international academic partners followed in person and remotely, namely Peter MacKeith, Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture – University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas; Evan Douglis, Dean of the School of Architecture – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York; Barbara Klinkhammer, Dean of the College of Architecture and the Built Environment – Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia; and Anna Cornaro, Director of the Department of Architecture, American University of Dubai.

A round table followed, attended by esteemed architects: Cino Zucchi of Cino Zucchi Architetti, Damiano Comini of Mario Cucinella Architects, and Vasiliki Maltezaki of Alvisi Kirimoto Architects with Cristiano Gemma of Studio Gemma Progettazione. The architects illustrated their projects, respectively the Nuvola Lavazza in Turin, the Luigi Rovati Foundation Art Museum in Milan, and The Dome, a new building at LUISS University in Rome. Considering that through SustainabITALY, the aim has always been to bring the world of architecture as close as possible to academia through the direct involvement of students, their voice was also somehow represented. Architecture students at the University of Arkansas Rome Center gathered to decide what questions they would have liked to ask if they had had the opportunity to interview the round table architects. Questions such as “Can you describe the Italian DNA of your project?” and “How has sustainability influenced the design and realization of your project?” made the round table interesting and communicatively active in terms of content.

The conference continued with an intervention by Gianfranco Tata of Tagi2000, who recounted his company’s family history and experience in exhibitions gained over the years, and by Arch. Khadija Kouki Amri, project team leader, who described the exhibition process and results.

SustainabITALY concluded with an intervention by Stefano Pieretti, Secretary of Chapter Lazio, GBC Italia, and final thanks. After the conference, attendees went outside for the official exhibition inauguration, the customary photos, and an aperitif.