Fortunately, through Tom and Giancarlo at the Frog office I was able to meet with Ezio Manzini. Manzini is someone who I have long admired. I have an original hardback copy of ‘The Material of Invention’ authored by him in 1986 that I purchased from a second hand bookstore in Seattle.

Manzini is now also acknowledged as an expert in the area of sustainable product design. Manzini has the distinction of being one of the more interesting designers and thinkers of his generation (a level above anything featured in the Italian design museum).

The Politecnico di Milano is one easy stop on the train from either Cardona or Garibaldi to Bovisa. The Poli is the largest technical university in Italy with over 40,000 students at a range of different campuses. The design component is based in Milan. The buildings are a solid block of old housing behind the station, the Poli itself from the roadside is a red brick and white trim building that dates to a previous period. It appears to extend well back from this fascia walking past the various entrances. The Indaco or industrial design and communications facility is further down Via Privata Durando on the far corner. Manzini’s office is on the second floor of the building and is open with several meeting areas and a couple of research staff dotted around.

Manzini arrives in a bustle having just got back from the Turino World Design Capital, a politically oriented meeting discussing designs role in society.

We start just generally talking about what he and the faculty are doing and what their approach was to integrating sustainable design practice into their curriculum and what their research institute.

They have a strong belief that design is an important catalyst for social change. He also makes a nice point that ‘every designer should have a strategy about where they fit within design’ and where they can make a contribution.

We discussed sustainability and how it is taught within the faculty of Milan. The INDACO (industrial design and communication) faculty or department has 5000 students so is a large institution. Sustainability is a consideration in the undergraduate degree or bachelor’s component, but is not taught separately. He felt there is a lot to learn at an undergraduate level and that it possibly was better taught later in the programme. They have a focus on social innovation at Milan as they feel that this is the designer’s role and it is more likely to succeed.

Like in most European universities seems to be a 3 year bachelors with an optional 2 year masters degree with more specialisation. They have students from around the world (a South American PHD student sits behind me). The qualification is a bachelor of science. The Master of Science extends into the sustainability area through the ‘Product Service System Design’ directly, although I got the impression that students are undertaking research into the area under the general master in industrial design and design engineering.

Manzini also stated that they had a ‘Life Cycle Design’ programme which is being driven by Carlo Vezolli. Carlo is the director of the ‘Design and Innovation for the environmental sustainability’ (DIS). The DIS research programmes are listed below and look relatively diverse covering products, services, systems, consumption for both private and public companies http://www.dis.polimi.it/english/research.htm (most links have fallen out of date so this is only relevant as a list of past projects).

There were some interesting projects which are occurring right now. The ‘Sustainability everyday project’ (SEP) http://www.sustainable-everyday.net/SEPhome/home.html#scenarios. You can download a hi or lo res copy of the book here http://www.sustainable-everyday.net/main/?page_id=19 (its 46 mb so get a coffee). Manzini has been extensively involved with this project, and although I am yet to read the document it looks interesting.

The other key project or thing which has developed recently is the ‘Learning Network for Sustainability’ (LeNS project). This network is important in that it is joining schools and create a push toward ‘System Innovation’. http://lens.test.polimi.it/index.php?M=0 Provides a light introduction to the project. The video introduction by Carlo Vezolli and also Ezio Manzini http://progetti.metid.polimi.it/video/lens/lens.html is worth listening to as it introduces the programmes more fully. Interestingly they are also working toward creating an open source resource that people can download and contribute. This programme would seem to be critical for New Zealand to join and take part in. It is a truly international network that is constructively building a contributory body of information that educational institutes worldwide can use.

Manzini states in this video that his engagement started with the UNEP a long time ago when the conversation was purely about Cleaner production and moved to cleaner products then onto cleaner product service systems and has finally moved to a sustainable way of living. In effect Manzini feels that the LeNS project is doing something about knowledge. The Programme produces knowledge. The resource is a product of the knowledge economy. Transformation to sustainability ‘asks for design’. Interestingly, he also requests a review of what people think of Italian design stating that it has been so strongly linked to an object oriented approach people have forgotten people like himself and Carlo Vezolli have been working on sustainable design thinking which is a more fundamental contribution to design.

Another of the projects that the Poli is involved with is SIX the ‘Social Innovation Exchange’ http://www.socialinnovationexchange.org/ this project recognises the essential role that social change and innovation has within the wider context of sustainability.

On research within the faculty Manzini expressed concern that a lot of designers were addressing methodological issues and not necessarily producing results, something he believes is vital these days.

He talked about the emergence of ‘Service Design’ as a discipline that will become a course in its own right. There was not the commercial demand for it yet, but it was coming, and the key universities were looking at it seriously.

Manzini believes that Design Research should propose a vision; it should be a tool to create a vision for a sustainable future. Well said.

Below is not overly relevant, but as I love the spray can, I thought the piece below was sweet, straight onto the rust - coming together nicely.