Iuav: teorie e dibattiti – theories and debates

Iuav Library for the Centenary: “L’Università Iuav e i suoi libri: proiettare la memoria” (Iuav and its books: projecting memory)

Exhibition

Curated by Mario Farina, Andrea Guerra and Valerio Paolo Mosco

The exhibition examines the ways in which the Venetian School contributed to shaping an international debate on architectural design, modernism and the historical role of architecture, taking the history of the Department of Architectural History as a critical lens through which to observe this process. The aim is not to offer a retrospective celebration, but rather to reconstruct the constellation of theories that made Iuav a centre of advanced research and debate, capable of influencing the global debate.

The exhibition takes the book as its privileged critical medium: not merely an object on display, but a material trace of genealogies, conflicts and disciplinary repositionings.

The exhibition is divided into three sections, conceived as three movements tracing the emergence, crisis and renewal of historical method.

“L’università Iuav e i suoi libri: proiettare la memoria” (Iuav and its books: projecting memory)
Library of Università Iuav di Venezia serves as a living archive of the bodies of knowledge that have shaped, and continue to inform, the cultures of design. On Iuav Centenary, the Library opens its collections to the public as a means of reading the past century, its disciplines, ideas and visions, all of which have marked the University’s history.

Developed throughout 2026, the exhibition itinerary is structured around eight thematic sections exploring Iuav’s relationship with Venice as a laboratory city, its international networks, theoretical reflection, research on the city, the environment and historic centres, publishing practices, teaching and interdisciplinarity. Through a selection of books and archival materials, visitors are invited to explore Iuav’s memory and to reflect on the evolution of the cultures of design, research and education, in dialogue with the transformations and challenges of the contemporary world.