Journal

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1) A decade of experience
Events at Marmomacc intended to improve the awareness of architects, engineers and marble companies as regards the qualitative use of stone in architecture and innovation-research in the natural stone sector have tackled training and educational aspects for almost fifteen years. This has been assured through the organisation of shows, competitions and seminars specifically targeting the university world and Faculties of Architecture both in Italy and abroad. The numerous editions of USA Institute seminars have welcomed hundreds of young architects from Italy, America and the Far East to learn about and discover the quality of Veronese stone materials.
Simultaneously, VeronaFiere has promoted update courses for professionals with the aim to promote a specific culture of marble, involving in this activity some of the most important international architects’ institutions such as AIA, RIBA and RAIC, for which VeronaFiere has become a recognised training provider.
In 2006, VeronaFiere has started a direct and continuous relationship with Italian universities by organising, in synergy with Milan Polytechnic University – Mantua Regional Centre, the first High Specialisation Course titled “Contemporary design with stone” that ensured direct inclusion of topics focusing on natural stone in the teaching programmes of Faculties of Architecture.
This experience was even promoted outside the university through an exhaustive exhibition of training projects developed by students in the Marble Architecture Design section during the 41st Marmomacc.

2) Marmomacc Programme for education and training 2007
The excellent results obtained with this first initiative, supported by growing interest among architects, even in terms of training as well as the use of stone materials in their work, has encouraged VeronaFiere to focus on a strategy of consolidation and expansion of its involvement in various faculties of architecture and design, through forms of collaboration with universities in education and research.
For 2007, the Marble Architecture Design sector – scientific-cultural section of Marmomacc – will include a series of activities and events covering the creation of a culture of stone materials for students of architecture.

a) Milan Polytechnic University – Mantua Regional Centre
High Specialisation Course in contemporary design with stone.
This is the development of the collaboration experience between Marmomacc and Milan Polytechnic University launched in 2006 and intended to train professional figures in highly specialised architectural spheres and their skills in interpreting and transferring knowledge about the qualitative use of stone materials into contemporary design projects.
The course, included in the curriculum of the Faculty of Architecture in Mantua and directed by its professors, offers students to the involved contents and educational approaches intended to integrate technological aspects with design, including the construction and expressive latent aspects in stone materials.
The course – comprising lectures, design experience and visits to works of architecture, natural stone companies, quarries and workshops in the Veronese production area for a total of 60 hours – will final examination to test the acquisition of knowledge and the assignment of credits valid for study programmes.
The projects developed by students will be displayed during an exhibition set up inside Marmomacc 2007.

b) Seminars, Workshops and Specialisation Courses
An agreement will soon be finalised between Marmomacc and the Faculty of Architecture in Ferrara for the creation of an “educational experience” in design with stone materials for students and new graduates, to be held 2007-2008. This specialisation course aims to ensure specific awareness of the topic and will offer the opportunity to gain direct experience with companies working in the sector.
Collaboration agreements are also being defined with several Local Councils in the Lessinia quarrying area and a number of Italian Faculties of Architecture to organise Design Workshops and Seminars focusing on the topic of “remodelling” quarry landscapes. This is an important aspect of production activity in the province of Verona that urgently requires support at quarry design level involving new professional figures (landscape architects, engineers and geologists) able to depict new quarries and re-depict the yet active sites, the formal layout of the landscape of the vacant sites.

3) Professional training courses for architects
For some years, Marmomacc has organised international training and update courses for professionals titled “Designing with natural stone” focusing on the use of stone materials in architecture.
These courses are open exclusively to architects members of the main architecture associations and professional orders in English-speaking countries where VeronaFiere is a recognised provider of training courses:
AIA (American Institute of Architects); RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects); RAIC (Royal Architectural Institute of Canada).
This activity is linked with the compulsory attendance to update and training courses envisaged by these professional orders and has attracted hundreds of architects from these countries to attend lectures, visit natural stone companies and workshops in the Veronese area and learn more about the quality and opportunities offered.
For 2007, a new edition of the “Designing with natural stone” course is already being defined that, together with the parallel initiative “Continuing Education on line”, also approved by the AIA and again focused by Marmomacc on English-speaking architects, has created an important link between the professional world in these countries and the Veronese stone production field.