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The Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ferrara set up its first degree course in “Architecture” in the academic year 1991-92 and in the academic year 2009-10 the range of courses was enhanced with the establishment of the degree course in “Industrial Product Design”.
Despite covering only a brief twenty years, the history of the faculty is full of distinguished decisions and well-known achievements, and it has also earned a national and international reputation. For years the Ferrara institution has been high up on the CENSIS list, which evaluates the quality of Italian Universities, coming first out of all the architecture faculties in the country nine times in a row.
The positive results, which have stood the test of time, are maintained by a focus on education and by an organisational structure which aims to achieve their predetermined objectives (which are reassessed each year) in teaching, research, and in carrying out of cultural projects.
In 2011, at a critical moment for the Italian University system, the Faculty celebrates its 20th anniversary. It wants to mark this occasion by proving its vitality and securing a central and proactive role within the academic institutes of the country, by means of a cultural project of international scope, which will include conferences, conventions, workshops and exhibitions. The acronym chosen for this celebration is XfafX, a symmetrical evolution of “Xfaf” which was the name chosen to celebrate the lucky 10th anniversary of the Faculty in 2003.
There will be a festival format to the events, which will encompass a substantial series of organised cultural events each month, from May 2011 to June 2012.
To design today is the name of the festival which will take place in the historical parts of the Tassoni Estense Building, the headquarters of the Faculty. The exhibitions will be open to the public and will be the subject of a dedicated cross-media communicative project.
The underlying aim of the cultural project is to bring the academic institutions closer to the productive world and to the creative elements of architecture, design, art and communication, and encourage dialogue between the two.
Whilst improving on its strong points through the XfafX project, the Ferrara Faculty of Architecture intends to open itself up to the outside world, even more that it has done up until now, and wants to promote collaboration and projects with other cultural institutions, commissioned publicly or privately, and with associations in the field, and production organisations.
The programme for the XfafX – To Design Today festival will be introduced in an exhibition and two conferences for press and digital media representatives which will take place in Ferrara (02.05.11) in the Tassoni Estense Building and in Milan (04.05.11) in the Milan Design Museum Building, in the presence of the Institutions, Supporters and Sponsors.

XfafX EXHIBITION
Palazzo Tassoni Estense, Ferrara 2-11 May 2011
Inauguration 10 am

XfafX PRESS CONFERENCE
Palazzo Tassoni Estense, Ferrara
Salone d’Onore
2 May 2011, 10,30 am

Speeches by:
Pasquale Nappi, Rector of the University of Ferrara
Graziano Trippa, Head of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ferrara
Roberto DI Giulio, Director of the Department of Architecture
Alfonso Acocella, Scientific Responsible of the XfafX “Festival to design today”

PRESS CONFERENCE XfafX
La Triennale, Milan
4 May 2011, 11am

Speeches by:
Arturo Dell’Acqua Bellavitis President of the “Fondazione Museo del Design”, [Design Museum Foundation] La Triennale di Milano
Leopoldo Freyrie President of CNAPPC – National Council of Architects
Luisa Bocchietto, President of ADI Association for Industrial Design
Graziano Trippa, Head of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ferrara
Alfonso Acocella, Scientific Responsible of the XfafX “Festival to design today”

XfafX PROMOTERS
University of Ferrara
Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ferrara

XfafX CONCEPT
FAF External Relations and Communication
MD Material Design Workshop
Alfonso Acocella | Concept and Istitutional Fund-raising
Veronica Dal Buono
Gabriele Lelli
Davide Turrini
Theo Zaffagnini

XfafX EXHIBITION
Alfonso Acocella – Concept
Veronica Dal Buono – Exhibition design and graphic design
Gabriele Lelli – Setting
Chiara Testoni – Biographies
Elisa Poli – Translations
Luca Feletti – Graphic design collaborator
Silvia Imbesi – Graphic design collaborator
Giulia Pellegrini – Graphic design collaborator

PATRONAGES
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Emilia Romagna Regional Council
Ferrara Provincial Authority
Ferrara Town Council
CNA National Architect’s Council
Associations of Architects, Town Planners and Academies
Provincial authorities of Bologna, Ferrara, Forlì-Cesena, Modena, Piacenza, Ravenna, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Rovigo, and Verona
ADI Association for Industrial Design

SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATIONS
SITdA (Italian Society for the Technology of Architecture)

GENERAL SUPPORTERS

SOSTENITORI GENERALI XFAFX
AHEC American Hardwood Export Council
Casalgrande Padana
Il Casone
Lithos Design
Pibamarmi
Giuseppe Rivadossi
Viabizzuno

SINGLE XFAFX EVENT SUPPORTERS
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PARTNERS
Fassa Bortolo
International Prize for Sustainable Architecture
International Prize for Architectural Restoration
Libria
Nardi
Sannini

institutional communication channels:
www.unife.it/facolta/architecture
www.materialdesign.it