- Year of nomination: 2021
- Facility: Department of Design
- E-mail: silvia.piardi@polimi.it
"She was full professor of Industrial Design and member of the Design Department at the Politecnico di Milano. First director of the INDACO (Industrial Design, Arts, Communication and Fashion) department, she then held, from its foundation and for two terms, the role of director of the Design Department at the Politecnico di Milano.
She coordinated the Temporary Board for the Bachelor's degree in Interior Architecture and the Temporary Board for the Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design, and was chair of the Board for the Postgraduate Degree in Naval and Nautical Design, an inter-university course with the University of Genoa and inter-faculty (Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Architecture of the University of Genoa, Faculty of Design and Faculty of Industrial Engineering of the Politecnico di Milano) from its establishment until her election as director of the INDACO Department.
Silvia Piardi's scientific work has been distinguished by her open vision and awareness of the importance of cross-disciplinary contamination, with a strong focus on design theory and practices and elements of technology and construction, but also the evolution of design language and the environmental and social context in which the designer operates. Her prolific activity has generated around 150 scientific contributions, including around fifteen monographs and essays considered references in the sector.
Silvia Piardi was scientific consultant of Design of Architecture and Construction at the University of Baku, Azerbaijan, before establishing the first double Bachelor’s degree, which is scheduled to start in 2022. As project manager, she coordinated the ‘Lecco Innovation Hub’, selected among the excellences of the ADI Design Index 2012 in the category ‘Business Research’. She was also responsible for research for various clients, businesses and institutions. Since its foundation, she has been President-elect of the Italian University Conference of Design Schools (CUID) and founding member of the Italian Design Society (SID). She sits on the ministerial round table on design.
She founded the publication Design International with the Casa Editrice Franco Angeli.
In 2020, she was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tshigua University in Beijing, with the commitment of teaching and providing consultancy at the university."
[extract from the 2021 nomination statement]