News and Media

Published: Apr 9, 2009

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Five select furniture design graduate students from the Savannah College of Art and Design will participate in the first-ever study abroad program between Italy and the United States, sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission and the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, April 22-May 15.

The Italian Trade Commission has learning programs with institutions in more than 80 countries worldwide. The design workshop, "Design and Innovation: The Italian Experience," aims to introduce students to contemporary Italian furniture design by a practical and economical approach. SCAD is the first university from the United States to participate in the annual program, which comes at no additional cost to the students.

Ana Gomez, Chia Wei Sun, Jonathan Anderson, Lonnie Coulter, Timothy Luscher and furniture department chair Antonio Larosa will spend three weeks visiting prominent design firms, attending trade shows, and receiving classroom instruction at the prestigious Politecnico di Milano, where they will increase their world-view of product systems, sensitivity to innovation, and communication strategies.

"The experience in Italy is important for SCAD students because they can see with their eyes the newest and the best Italian furnishing products," said Fabrizio Giustarini, Italian Trade Commissioner. "This will further enable them to promote themselves effectively in the future, with the door open to visiting Italian companies and Italian designers."

The design workshop offered by POLI.design, a consortium of the Politecnico di Milano, is intended to be an educational experience in which theory and practice are blended together. The aim of the project is to give participants the basic knowledge of Italian design tools and theory, and allow them to experiment with the methodology taught in the Politecnico di Milano. Throughout the project, the participants will achieve a panoramic view of theory, and witness the theory in practice. The program began with a series of lectures at SCAD by visiting professors from the Politecnico di Milano, where the students began their design challenge.

SCAD students will then gain valuable exposure to systems of manufacturing and design with a visit to the Milan trade show Salon Internazionale del Mobile. Students will also tour renowned design museums such as the Kartell Museum and Collezione Permanente Del Design Italiano. SCAD will have unprecedented access to design firms Artemide Industry, Alias, Boffi, Cibic & Partners, and Antonio Citterio & Partners, in addition to their Master of the First Level course study with Politecnico di Milano, designed by POLI.design, the Politecnico di Milano consortium. The course is managed in collaboration with MIP, the Politecnico di Milano School of Management.