When design meets the community

In Reggio Emilia, W via Wybicki! takes shape, a project that weaves together memory, research, and contemporary vision, bringing back to the forefront the value of design as a tool for dialogue with the local area. The exhibition, inaugurated on April 30th, showcases the results of the community design workshop promoted by MADE – Rosario Gagliardi Academy of Fine Arts in Syracuse, curated by Cosimo Bizzarri with Francesco Bombardi, and carried out with the patronage of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia and the Franco Albini Foundation, with the support of Marazzi Group and ACER Reggio Emilia.

Within this context comes the contribution of the company, a partner in the project, confirming its commitment to supporting initiatives capable of activating cultural and social processes around design and architecture.

The project comes to life in via Wybicki, the heart of the INA Casa Rosta Nuova district, designed in 1956 by Franco Albini, Franca Helg, and Enea Manfredini. A symbolic place of post-war Italian architecture, conceived as a model of urban and social coexistence, today it is experiencing new dynamics: demographic changes, new lifestyles, and an urban fabric facing evolving needs.

It is precisely in this scenario that the workshop activated a process of listening and observation: seven students from the NOMAD Specialist Two-Year Program at MADE explored the district, collected stories, analyzed spaces and relationships, and produced a series of design proposals that interpret the present and imagine possible futures.

The exhibition thus becomes a widespread experience, extending from the Civic Hall to vacant shops, common areas, and the street, directly involving the residents. Different languages – from graphics to photography, from product design to urban planning – intertwine to give shape to a collective narrative.

The company’s role in this process is deeply connected to its own identity: a company operating in the world of architecture and ceramic surfaces, but that recognizes in dialogue with communities and support for design culture an essential element of its positioning. Supporting W via Wybicki! means contributing to the enhancement of an architectural and human heritage, fostering new connections between space, people, and design.

As the curators underline, the project does not aim to provide definitive solutions, but to spark something: an invitation to participation, shared creativity, and the building of new visions for the district. A direction that aligns with the company’s commitment to promoting conscious design, capable of evolving together with spaces and those who inhabit them.

The exhibition will be open for visits by appointment until June 2nd.