The Department of Architecture and Design

The Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) is one of the eleven departments of the Politecnico di Torino. It is located in the Castello del Valentino – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

DAD engages in teaching, research and knowledge transfer activities in the fields of design, architecture, product-service system (PSS) and communication, crafting relationships between culture, technology, economy and society. Home of an interdisciplinary community of researchers in the field of architecture and design, DAD has pioneered new lines of investigation and innovative teaching methods.

DAD promotes the mobility of students and staff, actively collaborates with institutions and external partners (through institutional, applied and competitive research projects), attracting lecturers and scholars from prestigious international universities. 

DAD has a growing reputation on the international academic scene. It promotes a culture of experimentation and critical enquiry, preparing students for the challenges of the future in a forward-looking and inclusive way.

Background

DAD was established on 1 January 2012 following the reorganisation of the teaching and research structures envisaged by Law 240/2010. During 100 year of history notable faculty and alumni include Carlo Mollino and Achille Castiglioni, Paolo Soleri and Leonardo Mosso, Gabetti&Isola and Ettore Sottsass Jr., among others.

The notion of design has been at the heart of DAD’s mission since the beginning, regardless of scale and chronological delimitations. Key objects of investigation include the built environment, production systems and designed space tackled from different points of view, through historiographic perspective or speculation on futuristic scenarios, or through the analysis of their symbolic, material, typological, morphological, performance and construction.

The work of the department has been widely acknowledged by the national and international research community since its establishment, as witnessed in the excellent rankings (Architecture is n. 21 and Design is 50-100 in the QS ranking) and the growing number of students enrolled in the degree courses. 

Knowledge and Technology Transfer

Envisioning architecture and design project as a way to question societies and cultures, DAD's ambition is to train architects and designers as skilled professionals, capable of understanding contemporary challenges and anticipating those that may occur in the future. 

DAD engages in knowledge transfer activities with the aim of generating positive impacts on civil society and promoting its cultural, social and economic development, by means of reports, design consultancy and feasibility studies, in Italy and worldwide.

DAD capitalises on the results of research and teaching for the benefit of society, directly involving local, national and international stakeholders and supporting communication and dissemination activities. The results of the teaching activities are disseminated through exhibitions and publications.

 

Sites

DAD’s laboratories, archives, specialist libraries and classrooms are organised in four different locations - each bearing witness to events of importance for the city of Turin and representing a facet of its dynamic history.

  1. The Castello del Valentino, hosts teaching spaces, some of the research laboratories, the libraries and the documentation archives. The Castle is situated on the left bank of the River Po in the Parco del Valentino and is one of the Savoy Residences, registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997.
  2. The Istituto Galileo Ferraris is home to the specialised research support laboratories. Built in the 1930s, the Institute is also the historical headquarters of the National Metrological Research Institute.
  3. At Lingotto, the premises dedicated to the DAD occupy the north end of the early twentieth-century FIAT manufacturing plant, renovated by Renzo Piano. It hosts lecture spaces for the Specialised degree courses in Architecture and the Level I and II Master's courses.
  4. The Mirafiori premises are home to the teaching and laboratories of “Product and Communication Design”, which occupy a portion of the Fiat plant, which has played a leading role in the history of the automotive industry in Italy.

DAD has endorsed the transformation of the Torino Esposizioni complex since 2015, which will host new classrooms in a spectacular modern building by Pier Luigi Nervi. Situated on the bank of the River Po, close to the Castello del Valentino, the Torino Esposizioni’s development will allow most of DAD’s activities to be brought together in one place.