DAD Insights. Visions for the Department of Architecture and Design

The Department of Architecture and Design of the Politecnico has launched a new series of seminars with the aim of bringing figures from the outside world, local and international, to discuss their priorities and visions with the school. On the occasion of the inauguration of the department's new term of management, the DAD Insights cycle opened on Wednesday, Oct. 4, hosting two prominent figures such as Gong Dong, founder of Beijing-based Vector Architects, and Rebecca Earley of the University of Arts London.

Gong Dong has been teaching at Tsinghua University since 2014. He studied at Tsinghua and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before starting his own firm, he worked for Richard Meier & Partners and Steven Holl Architects in New York. He is a member of the Academie Française d'Architecture, and has been a visiting professor at numerous universities, including the Polytechnic University of Turin itself.

Joining him at the opening event was Rebecca Earley, Professor of Circular Design Futures at the University of Arts London. Her extensive experience and dedication to sustainability in in textiles has made her a figure of reference in the field of circular and sustainable fashion. In 2020, she co-founded World Circular Textiles Day 2050 with the goal of creating a fully circular industry by 2050.

During the event, the new director Michele Bonino and vice-director Silvia Barbero presented the intersection between the university's missions and the three priorities outlined in the Department's program: "International Department", "Competitive Department" and "Authoritative Department".