New Generations Festival 2015, 3rd. edition

The aim of the event is to create a community of architects and experts from different disciplines to redefine the role of architecture in contemporary society. Previous editions of the New Generations festival have gathered more than 3.000 participants and 40 architectural offices from all over the world (Milan, 2013; Florence, 2014).

This year’s programme includes cultural activities with more than 80 international guests and is structured according to three main topics:
• (city) urgencies:
Cities are constantly changing. Architects, citizens, public administrators, private stakeholders and private companies are all directly involved in the redefinition of the urban space. Urban governance, reactivation of public and private spaces, and new technologies will be at the core of the debate.

• architect ground zero:
In order to better understand the evolution of the architectural profession, some of the most influential European firms will congregate to explore the complex network between architecture and other disciplines—the participating offices include: Aparicioeeraerts (Belgium), Salon Architects (Turkey), Teratoma Atelier (Spain), studioWOK, Orizzontale, Matteo Ferroni (Italy), Maciej Siuda (Poland).

• funding models:
Economic sustainability is one of the most critical aspects of modern design according to the new generation of architects. Here they will discuss the feasibility of new economic models through the presentation of crowd-funding experiments and collaborative projects.

New Generations Festival 2015 includes 4 different formats:
• workshop
During the heart of the Festival two workshops will be open to students and recent graduates. The first workshop, curated by Edouard Cabay (Appareil, Barcelona – EPFL, Lausanne) and Margherita Del Grosso (MaDGStudio – EPFL, Lausanne), consists of a self-building intervention in the historic setting of Piazza Negri; the second workshop, led by Openfabric (Rotterdam), will focus on the reactivation of neglected spaces in the centre of Genoa with the aim of changing the perception of public space and integrating ephemeral architecture.

• face-to-face presentations
During the Festival, there will be 30 lectures of 20 minutes each dedicated to different issues identified by appropriate hashtags conceived by Itinerant Office for the Festival, such as: #architectsandstakeholders, #newtechnologies, #internationalization, #tools, #creatingnetworks, #learningbydoing, #physicalVSdigital, #smallness, #citysaturation.

• round tables
The three main topics will be discussed during 12 round table sessions, each divided into 4 debates held simultaneously at the Museo di Sant’Agostino. The sessions will host over 40 guest speakers, including architects and local as well as international public administrators.

• satellite events
Numerous side activities will be scattered throughout the city to enrich the program of the Ligurian kermess. These range from the Festival Opening at the Palazzo della Borsa and the Pecha Kucha night at the Teatro Della Tosse, to architectural itineraries as studied by the Genoa Chamber of Architects, which encourage awareness of the city architectural heritage.

The final program including the timetable, venues and guests will be launched on November 9, 2015.

To remain up to date on New Generations activities, follow @newgens on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For further information, please contact mint LIST, official New Generations Festival Press Office: press@mintlist.info (Giulia Milza, Maria Azzurra Rossi).