Centenary of the School of Architecture of the Politecnico di Torino
Date of the event:
On 30 October 2026 the Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) of the Politecnico di Torino celebrated, in the Salone d'Onore of Castello del Valentino, the hundredth anniversary of the School of Architecture and the thirtieth anniversary of Design as an independent academic field. The event, titled «Facciamo cifra tonda» (Let's round the number), brought together the DAD community with the participation of the Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST) [1].
The origins of the School
The history of university-level architecture education in Turin goes back to 1924, when an experimental two-year Architecture programme was established at the Accademia Albertina on the initiative of Mario Ceradini. In the autumn of 1926 the courses were brought into line with the five-year curriculum of the Scuola superiore di Architettura of Rome, giving rise to the Regia Scuola Superiore di Architettura di Torino (Royal Higher School of Architecture of Turin). In 1929 the degree received official recognition [1].
The celebration programme
The cycle of celebrations and studies on the Centenary of the School of Architecture had begun in 2024 with a conference and a publication devoted to the School's origins. The event of 30 October 2026 saw the presentation of the volume «Una scuola di sperimentazione. L'architettura e l'incrocio dei saperi a Torino, 1968-2026» (A school of experimentation: architecture and the crossing of knowledge in Turin, 1968-2026), edited by Filippo De Pieri and Nicole De Togni and published by LetteraVentidue. The cycle will conclude in 2029 with a third volume devoted to the period between 1936 and 1968 [1].
The day was preceded by a morning devoted to the thirtieth anniversary of the Design course, with two panels: one devoted to the early years of the course with some of its leading figures, including Luigi Bistagnino and Flaviano Celaschi, and a round table, extended to lecturers and representatives of companies and institutions, on the discipline's contemporary challenges [1].
The afternoon, devoted to the Centenary of the School of Architecture, was opened by the mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo, who presented the Politecnico with a commemorative plaque. The programme was organised in three parts: Stories, Crossings, Visions. The day concluded with the opening of the exhibition «Giorgio De Ferrari: storie di design, tra interni ed esterni» (Giorgio De Ferrari: design stories, between interiors and exteriors), curated by Claudio Germak and devoted to the founder of the Design courses at the Politecnico [1].
Sources
- Il Politecnico celebra i 100 anni della Scuola di Architettura e i 30 anni di Design — Politecnico di Torino, 30 October 2026