The contest was reserved for students of the University of San Marino
From October to December, a workshop on interior design, then the selection of the best students and their involvement in a competition from which the concept of the Titan pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka emerged. This is a path which included, among others, Elena Scarpellini, a 22-year-old from Rimini enrolled at the University of the Republic of San Marino: the General Commissariat which coordinates the white and blue presence at the Universal Exhibition had chosen precisely the degree course in Design at the University of San Marino, in which she is involved, for the definition of the spaces that will be set up in Japan next year.
In this context, the student was part of one of the groups that participated in the contest: her team, in particular, developed a project in which the pavilion would be characterized by a rigid ribbon approximately one and a half meters wide which , running from the ceiling to the floor, from the entrance to the opposite end, would have acted as a desk in some places and would have become a decorative element in others, guiding visitors on a journey in which different experiences would have been proposed: “The idea – explains Scarpellini – it was born from the coat of arms of the republic, which has a ribbon at the base, on which the word 'Libertas' is written. By visiting the Titano area at the Expo – continues the student – people would have found, among other things, an area in which they could appreciate the aromas of San Marino wines, an immersive space in which to listen to the sounds of the forest and appreciate its smells while also observing the appearance, the possibility of touching moss and interacting with a model in which the morphology of the territory was proposed. The objective was to convey something very clear, balancing functionality and creativity, without giving the impression of having visited a simple staged theatre”.
Developed over several weeks, the competition activities involved Scarpellini in a group of four students together with colleagues Giada Cianca, Andrea Monticelli and Mattia Pompili: “What struck me positively was, among other things, the relationship with teachers and tutors. During the laboratory they played the role of professors and assistants, while during the contest phases they positioned themselves as our peers. We interacted with them as happens between colleagues, always feeling at ease."
The necessary skills involved the creation of videos, graphics and 3D prints: “Finally having to present the project to a commission presented us with a challenge that we had never faced before, at least for such complex and complete works. It was a further enrichment."
The project, entitled “Relational Tape”, was awarded second prize in the competition. At 12pm on Wednesday 3 July, in the university headquarters of the Ancient Monastery of Santa Chiara, the free entry awards ceremony will allow the public to observe the three finalist ideas and learn about their details, authors, teachers and other personalities involved. The participation of Filippo Francini, General Commissioner of the San Marino government for the Expo, and Laura Gobbi, general director of the University of San Marino, is expected.