«Andrea Branzi and the School of Piazza Bausan» – Talk with Francesca Balena Arista and Nicoletta Morozzi Branzi.
Thursday, February 5, 11:30 AM – RUFA Milan Campus – Piazzale Lugano, 19 (Di Salvatore Lecture Hall)
❯ Event registration will be available starting Thursday, January 29 via the Career System.
❯ If you have any questions during registration, please consult this Guide.
❯ Attendance at the Talk justifies absence from any concurrent classes.
The RUFA Talks 2025/2026 series continues with an event open to the public and with free admission, dedicated to the figure of Andrea Branzi and his theoretical and pedagogical legacy, at the heart of the talk Andrea Branzi and the School of Piazza Bausan.
An architect, designer, and theorist, Andrea Branzi was one of the most authoritative figures in the debate on contemporary design, making a decisive contribution to redefining the role of design as a field of cultural, critical, and social experimentation. The meeting aims to explore the relevance of his thought today through a dialogue between Francesca Balena Arista and Nicoletta Morozzi Branzi, with particular attention to his radical and unconventional educational approach.
The talk draws from the experience of the so-called School of Piazza Bausan, a term coined by Branzi to describe an experimental educational practice developed from 2010 onwards outside traditional academic frameworks. A form of teaching understood not as the transmission of standardized professional models, but as an open field of research, capable of shaping generations of self-taught individuals ready to confront the complexity of the contemporary world with critical and project-based autonomy. As Branzi himself wrote in an article published in INTERNI magazine in 2014, the School of Piazza Bausan assumes that the role of a design school is to guide students toward “walking on their own legs,” developing visions and tools beyond disciplinary conventions.
The speakers
Francesca Balena Arista, architect, PhD, independent researcher and curator, carried out research, teaching, and design activities alongside Andrea Branzi, directly participating in the experience of the School of Piazza Bausan together with Michele De Lucchi and Marco De Santi. She currently teaches at RUFA, SPD, and the Politecnico di Milano and collaborates with numerous international cultural institutions.
Nicoletta Morozzi Branzi, former member of the High Council for Cultural and Landscape Heritage of the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiBACT), has long pursued a professional practice at the intersection of fashion, design, and art, developing projects that combine research, curatorial practice, and artistic experimentation, with a strong focus on the collective and social dimensions of design-making.
The talk represents a moment of shared reflection on the value of education as a space of freedom, on design as a critical tool, and on the legacy of Andrea Branzi, whose teachings continue to question the present and suggest new trajectories for the future of design and education.
Registration for the talk will be available starting Thursday, January 29, 2026.
Talks are open to all RUFA students. To register, access the RUFA Career System using your credentials.
If you have any questions during registration, please consult this Guide. If anything remains unclear after reading the guide, contact careers.alumni@unirufa.it
Duration: 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026
Venue: RUFA Milan Campus – Piazzale Lugano, 19 (Di Salvatore Lecture Hall)
Language: Italian
Attendance at the Talk justifies absence from any concurrent classes.
ARE YOU A RUFA STUDENT? REGISTER FOR THE TALK HERE
Attendance at all Talks held during the academic year (no exceptions) allows students to earn 1 academic credit.