Liling World Ceramic Art City in Hunan, China – a project by Marco Casamonti. Photo archea.it

HÀ NỘI   Italian architect Marco Casamonti will share his viewpoints on how to harmonise development and sustainability while preserving aesthetics with Vietnamese academics and architecture practitioners during a seminar on Thursday.

Part of Italian Design Day 2020 with the theme 'Drawing the future. Development, Innovation, Sustainability, Beauty', Casamonti, who will be connected from his Studio Archea in Florence, Italy, the video conference will take place in Hà Nội, Tuy Hòa City and HCM City.

Presentations by representatives of architecture faculties of the Miền Trung University of Civil Engineering in Tuy Hòa, the National University of Civil Engineering in Hà Nội, the Hoa Sen University, and RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Vietnam) in HCM City, will be presented during the seminar.

In addition, the event will include talks by designers, architects, landscape and urban developers in Việt Nam, who will discuss design-based solutions for sustainable development in contemporary architecture.

Other universities in Việt Nam and Italy, including the Huế, Đà Nẵng, the HCM City University of Architecture, Văn Lang University, and Genoa and Florence universities, will also be connected with the seminar.

The Ambassador of Italy in Việt Nam, Antonio Alessandro, and the Consul General of Italy in HCM City, Dante Brandi, will take part in the event, which will be in streamed on YouTube (in English and Vietnamese).

Ealier, in October, a travelling exhibition featuring sketches and drawings by Vico Magistretti – one of the founders of contemporary Italian design, was opened at the Miền Trung University of Civil Engineering in Tuy Hòa.

Aiming to offer visitors a glimpse into the fascinating world of Magistretti and his design philosophy, the exhibition will be held at other universities, the National University of Civil Engineering in Hà Nội, the Văn Lang and Hoa Sen universities in HCM City throughout November.

The Ambassador of Italy in Việt Nam, Antonio Alessandro (centre), and architect Marco Casamonti (on the above screen) seen at a press conference about the Italian Design Day in Hà Nội on Monday. VNS Photo Thúy Hằng

Launched by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Fondazione Compassod’Oro and the Triennale di Milano since 2017, the annual celebration of Italian Design has been welcomed in many countries around the world.

Hosted by 100 Italian ambassadors in 100 cities, the programme includes exhibitions, talks and other events creating a platform for art lovers, designers, architects, as well as landscape and urban developers to explore the idea of sustainable development and preservation of beauty on a global scale.

“Although this year’s theme ‘Drawing the future. Development, Innovation, Sustainability, Beauty' was decided by the organising committee at the beginning of 2020, but I think it hits a core issue of the current debate for the post-COVID-19 world. We know that we have the necessity and the opportunity to re-imagine our world, and there is no better starting point than the minds of architects, designers and urban planners,” Italian Ambassador Alessandro said at a press conference in Hà Nội on Monday.

“This is especially true in Việt Nam, that is experiencing an exponential growth. The real estate sector is a great part of this economic success. Such a fast development must be carefully planned in order to be sustainable and not to harm the beauty of the country. And is even more true in Hà Nội, that recently became part of the UNESCO network of creative cities, under the design criteria,” he added. VNS