“At the base, the idea of realizing a true territorial research process”
Leader of a project that involved young people engaged in their educational path, institutions and citizens, the University of the Republic of San Marino recently presented the prototype of "Bartolo: chairs on the road" at the headquarters of the Municipality of Pesaro, a of seats that can be configured in multiple arrangements, with different shapes and functions, transforming the space in which they are placed. Enhanced by the sharing and in-depth process that led to its creation, it was designed to be used in temporary events, indoors and outdoors, organized as part of the activities of "Pesaro 2024 - Italian capital of culture". It takes its name from the San Bartolo Natural Park, an integral part of the Pesaro territory and identity.
Modular, foldable and transportable, the system can adapt to different types of terrain and accommodate three to more people as needed. The use of local materials such as beech and chestnut wood is expected, as well as natural fabrics.
Beyond the technical characteristics, what emerged were the processes included in the design and production of the system, within which the sensitivities and knowledge of the territory were analyzed and developed in the name of sharing and in-depth analysis.
In this framework, some academics from the Community Design Research Unit of the University of San Marino, coordinated by the scientific director Riccardo Varini, organized workshops aimed at two classes of the Bramante Genga Technical Economic Technological Institute of Pesaro, working on creation of foldable and transportable objects.
“The session opens, transforms and creates relationships just as the capital of the Marche region is doing as the Italian capital of culture,” explains Giorgio Dall'Osso, one of the researchers involved. “Environment, culture and society are at the center of a project characterized by dialogue, with the underlying idea of realizing a real territorial research process. The background – he reiterates when describing the system presented last 10 July – is to do together and share, connecting different realities in the same area in a process of design and customisation”.
Stimulated by this initiative, the Community Design Research Unit has simultaneously focused on a second project focused on play and dedicated to children. Involved are figures such as artisans, nature guides and scholars from the Pesaro area, with the participation of 38 students enrolled in the degree course in Design at the University of San Marino. “From analyzes and interviews the concept of an object was born that allows children to play by collaborating creatively in the management and configuration of a common space”, specifies Dall'Osso. “A first opportunity to test the product, making it available to very young people and their families, will be represented by the 'Children's White Midnight', scheduled in Pesaro on 2 and 3 September. As regards the session for adults, an exhibition has been announced in which all the processes involved will be illustrated, currently being defined".