Program Overview

EXHIBIT DESIGN

Course Details

• CODE: 95270
• ACADEMIC YEAR: 2025/2026
• CREDITS: 6 cfu anno 2 DESIGN PRODOTTO EVENTO 11440 (LM-12) - GENOVA
• SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR: ICAR/16
• LANGUAGE: Italian
• TEACHING LOCATION: GENOVA
• SEMESTER: 1° Semester
• TEACHING MATERIALS: AULAWEB

OVERVIEW

The course focuses on the theme of ephemeral and provisional architecture, providing students with in-depth information and knowledge related to exhibit design in its contemporary sense, considering both analog and digital components.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide the basic theoretical and technical tools preparatory to the conception and realization of a temporary exhibition in its different meanings, including both analog and digital dimensions. The objectives of the course are:

• A general introduction to the knowledge of the evolution of the language and technique of exhibit design
• Specific knowledge of the techniques of design and representation
• An in-depth study related to the concrete possibility of staging an ephemeral exhibition

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Participation in theoretical lectures, combined with the delivery of exercises cadenced throughout the semester, enables the student to:

• Acquire a method of research and analysis that allows them to gather the necessary information around the theme to be set up, and its physical consistency, making the relationship with the curatorial aspect fruitful for design purposes
• Acquire the analytical ability to read the context in which to place the exhibit, be it architectural space or urban space
• Acquire data and knowledge useful for the elaboration of a design concept that stages the object of the exhibition through the original interpretation of the overall theme
• Apply contemporary design tools such as concept maps and forms of storytelling that include modern digital technologies for the purpose of creating a comprehensive and multisensory visitor/spectator experience
• Return and communicate the project through a concise paper that also takes into account the importance of issues such as graphics and communication

PREREQUISITES

The following knowledge is necessary to effectively address the teaching content:

• Thorough knowledge of design history
• Thorough knowledge of two-dimensional, three-dimensional representation and rendering programs
• Thorough knowledge of graphic design programs and good sensitivity to communication issues
• Good design management skills of space, understood at the architectural scale, and ability to develop representative tables of the same (plans, sections, elevations)

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching will be structured in face-to-face lectures alternating with collective and individual reviews on the final exercise, which will be organized in various steps throughout the semester and which the student will conduct at home independently. Attendance at lectures is not compulsory, but is considered an essential formative moment for the student's maturation and application of knowledge in the exercise.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The teaching, titled "Toward a Mobile Architecture: the art of display as a form of contemporary expression," will investigate the theme of exhibition design as a multidisciplinary process, hence the need to cover the topic with lectures that will range, mainly through the analysis and reading of contemporary case studies, from the choice of theme, to curating, to the definition of a project concept, to its presentation and event communication. The final exercise will be a simulation of what it means in reality to set up an exhibition inside the Visconti Pavilion in the Tortona area during the week of the Salone del Mobile.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The texts below cover the theoretical aspects of the course. Specific references to authors, magazines, designers, movements will be given from time to time during the semester with regard to the topics covered.

• Albisinni, P., & Valenti, A. (1994). Immaginare l'architettura. Il Danteum in mostra al Foro Romano. Disegnare. Idee e immagini, 8, 61-69.
• Altarelli, L. (2005). Allestire: Attraversamenti, temi, territori, ibridazioni. Roma: Palombi.
• Altarelli, L. (2006). Light City: La città in allestimento. Roma: Meltemi Editore.
• Basso Peressut, L., et al. (2015). Mettere in scena mettere in mostra. Siracusa: LetteraVentidue.
• Donini, G. (Ed.). (2010). L'architettura degli allestimenti. Roma: Kappa.
• Feriani, B., & Pugliese, M. (2009). Monumenti effimeri: Storia e conservazione delle installazioni. Milano: Electa.
• Gigliotti, R. (Ed.). Displayed spaces: New means of architecture presentation through exhibitions.
• Kossmann, H., Mulder, M., & den Oudsten, F. (2012). Narrative spaces: On the art of exhibiting. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.
• Migliore, I. Time to exhibit: Directing spatial design and new narrative pathways.
• Pelkonen, E.-L. Exhibit A: Exhibitions that transformed architecture 1948–2000.
• Polano, S. (1988). Mostrare: L'allestimento in Italia dagli anni Venti agli anni Ottanta. Milano.
• Valenti, A. (2010). Protect me from where I live. Dall'abitazione all'abito. Forme e figure del rifugio contemporaneo ovvero breve storia dell'emergenza nel terzo millennio.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

• ALESSANDRO VALENTI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The timetable for this course is available on the Portale EasyAcademy.

EXAMS

Exam schedule

• Data appello: 21/01/2026
• Orario: 10:00
• Luogo: GENOVA
• Degree type: Scritto + Orale
• Note:
• Data appello: 18/02/2026
• Orario: 10:00
• Luogo: GENOVA
• Degree type: Scritto + Orale