Academy of Architecture at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI)

The Mendrisio Academy of Architecture is internationally regarded as an undisputed centre of cultural production, where it has proved possible over the years to identify and propose ever new lines of development in terms of the provision of education, so succeeding in interpreting the wide range of contemporary trends in the architectural disciplines. Continuous transformations induced by globalization, migration, virtual platforms, new urban terms of equilibrium stemming from new strategic development plans, alternative distributions of the resources and common goods: all these new demands force architects to face fundamental questions about their role in relation to their social and professional living context and working methods aimed at presenting possible design solutions within the existing landscapes.

If one of the primary objectives of architecture remains, however, to place people at the centre of design practice, today even more than in the past the training of the “new architect” has to deal with the question of the resources available and their most intelligent use. What distinguishes a good architectural project is its capacity to create a synergy out of the various aspects of human existence: the social, economic and ecological impulses. The concepts of sustainability and quality, which have always been related to architectural practice, have now become predominant in our awareness of the limited resources available.