Domus Academy - History

History

Domus Academy was founded 1983 by Maria Grazia Mazzochi, who observed that Italian design was spreading all over, while in Italy the culture of it was illogically missing. In those years, in fact, the growth of the Italian design industry and the fame it was arousing abroad, it was due to some individual designers working in their studios, but not sharing their knowledge, nor teaching design in a formalized way. Along with Pierre Restany, Valerio Castello, Alessandro Guerriero and Andrea Branzi. Maria Grazia Mazzochi created Domus Academy. The international student diversity, not only enriched the school but also spurred a dynamic exchange of ideas and a healthy intellectual dialogue that are still a hallmark of Domus Academy. The stream of ideas brought from the leading designers of the world - such as Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini, ClinoTrini Castelli, Denis Santachiara, Philippe Starck, Isao Hosoe, Mario Bellini, Achille Castiglioni, Rodolfo Bonetto, Vico Magistretti, Bruno Munari who have come to Domus Academy during its first years - it was very fruitful in encouraging a collaboration between the designers operating in the well-established product design field and those working in the new design disciplines. Domus Academy launched a pioneering and revolutionary method of instruction providing that designers, psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists held lectures. This sophisticated and humanistic approach considered processes more important than results, and placed a priority on focusing on the human being for any kind of project.

In 2009 Domus Academy joined the Laureate International Universities network.