Labor. New Workplaces, Theories and Forms of Collaboration

Abstract

As part of the 2025 edition of WAVe, six design workshops will involve design degree courses in a series of explorations into materials, bodies, technologies, and new scenarios of use. The workshops are the result of a collaboration with ANFAO (Associazione Nazionale Fabbricanti Articoli Ottici) and Assosport, with the aim of addressing some of the most pressing challenges in the eyewear and sports sectors, bringing together companies, designers, and students in an experimental and collaborative environment. These intensive courses offer the opportunity to investigate the transformations taking place within two strategic sectors of Made in Italy, through design practices oriented towards innovation, inclusion, and sustainability. Each workshop is designed as a space for applied research, where design becomes a tool for connecting emerging needs, new technologies, and contemporary languages. Through concepts, prototypes, scenarios, and narratives, topics such as the sustainability of production chains, accessibility in sports equipment, mobility in outdoor contexts, and the hybridization of objects and digital interfaces are addressed. Each workshop explores a specific area, addressing it with different approaches and methodologies: from the communication of recycled materials to the redesign of the life cycle of winter sports products, from the aesthetics of sustainability in eyewear to sensory inclusion in visual devices, through to the redefinition of eyewear as an interactive, sensitive, and relational object. The design supply chain workshops at WAVe 2025 thus represent a further opportunity for discussion and experimentation, opening up new spaces in which the project interacts with complex production systems and evolving scenarios.

Atelier

Training elsewhere: new forms of outdoor exercise

Riccardo Berrone

In collaboration with Assosport

Training elsewhere: new forms of outdoor exercise
Training elsewhere: new forms of outdoor exercise

From 23 June to 27 June
20 June – introduction to the workshop by Anna Ferrino, Assosport
The workshop explores how to rethink objects and accessories for outdoor physical activity, in a context where well-being and movement are intertwined with increasingly mobile, hybrid and unconventional spaces. Participants will work on designing artefacts capable of adapting to urban and natural landscapes, responding to the need for flexibility and inclusion. The aim is to expand the possibilities for enjoying outdoor sports, with devices that accompany the body in its new rhythms.

Collaborators
Valentina Paciaroni

Connected visions: eyewear as interface between body and technology

Luca Coppola

In collaboration with ANFAO

Connected visions: eyewear as interface between body and technology
Connected visions: eyewear as interface between body and technology

From 23 June to 27 June
20 June – introduction to the workshop by Nicola Belli, ANFAO
The workshop explores the future of eyewear as a sensitive interface between the body and technology. Starting from the limitations of current smart glasses – not yet integrated into everyday life – participants will be invited to imagine new morphologies and scenarios of use. The aim is not to replicate the smartphone, but to rethink eyewear as an object connected to the senses and the face: a relational device where interaction and perception intertwine in a new way.

Collaborators
Elena Cavallin

Narrative materials: narrating the sustainable sports supply chain

Donata Paruccini

In collaboration with Assosport

Narrative materials: narrating the sustainable sports supply chain
Narrative materials: narrating the sustainable sports supply chain

From 30 June to 4 July
27 June – introduction to the workshop by Betty Gaspari, Assosport
The workshop focuses on the importance of sustainable materials in the sports sector, exploring how new materials and second-generation materials can be valued not only for their technical properties, but also through effective presentation. Working groups will be involved in developing projects, visual languages and tools capable of making the environmental and social choices that run through the supply chain tangible, transforming them into a credible, clear and engaging narrative.

Collaborators
Anna Bego

Visible traces: the aesthetics of sustainability in eyewear

Niccolò Mazzoni

In collaboration with ANFAO

Visible traces: the aesthetics of sustainability in eyewear
Visible traces: the aesthetics of sustainability in eyewear

From 30 June to 4 July
27 June - introduction to the workshop by Michele Gasparini, ANFAO
Sustainability in eyewear struggles to translate into a shared narrative: circular materials and good practices exist, but often remain invisible. The workshop explores how to make the environmental and social values of a tangible product visible through communication strategies, visual narratives, and physical and digital artefacts. The working groups will be engaged in developing languages, signs, and formats capable of enhancing the circular approach of companies, making it accessible and credible.

Collaborators
Valentina Nitti

Beyond end-of-life: circular design for winter sports

Alberta Pisoni

In collaboration with Assosport

Beyond end-of-life: circular design for winter sports
Beyond end-of-life: circular design for winter sports

From 7 July to 11 July
4 July – introduction to the workshop by Marco Meggiolaro, Assosport
Making winter sports products sustainable means rethinking their entire life cycle: from materials to distribution, from use to end-of-life strategies. The workshop explores how the circular approach can challenge established product development practices and open up new scenarios related to product design. The activities will involve students and designers in defining collaborative approaches between R&D and design, transforming technical constraints related to the use of recycled materials into opportunities that are adaptable to different contexts and capable of going beyond performance as the sole parameter of value.

Collaborators
Michele De Chirico

Moving eyes: visual devices for inclusive sports

Riccardo Toldo

In collaboration with ANFAO

Moving eyes: visual devices for inclusive sports
Moving eyes: visual devices for inclusive sports

From 7 July to 11 July
4 July - introduction to the workshop by Simone Barbazza, ANFAO
Eyewear is an integral part of the sporting experience, but it is often designed for an ideal user: young, standardised, high-performing. The workshop offers a reflection on design and technology as tools for enabling inclusion, safety and comfort. Participants will be asked to develop sports eyewear designed for children, the elderly and non-conforming bodies, expanding accessibility without sacrificing performance and sustainability.

Collaborators
Massimiliano Cason Villa

Program

Friday, June 20 2025

From 09:30
Cotonificio veneziano, Room J
Introduction to workshop #1 “Training elsewhere: new forms of outdoor exercise” by Anna Ferrino, Assosport
Introduction to workshop #2 “Connected visions: eyewear as interface between body and technology” by Nicola Belli, ANFAO

Monday, June 23 2025

10:00
Magazzino 6
Beginning of workshops activities #1 and #2

Tuesday, June 24 2025

09:30
Magazzino 6
Work in progress

Wednesday, June 25 2025

09:30
Magazzino 6
Work in progress

Thursday, June 26 2025

09:00
Magazzino 6
Work in progress

Friday, June 27 2025

From 09:30
Cotonificio veneziano, Room H1
Introduction to workshop #3 “Narrative materials: narrating the sustainable sports supply chain” by Betty Gaspari, Assosport
Introduction to workshop #4 “Visible traces: the aesthetics of sustainability in eyewear” by Michele Gasparini, ANFAO

09:30
Magazzino 6
Work in progress and conclusion of workshops #1 and #2

Monday, June 30 2025

10:00
Magazzino 6
Beginning of workshops activities #3 and #4

Tuesday, July 01 2025

09:30
Magazzino 6
Work in progress

Wednesday, July 02 2025

09:30
Magazzino 6
Work in progress

Thursday, July 03 2025

09:00
Magazzino 6
Work in progress

Friday, July 04 2025

From 09:30
Cotonificio veneziano, Room H1
Introduction to workshop #5 “Beyond end-of-life: circular design for winter sports” by Marco Meggiolaro, Assosport
Introduction to workshop #6 “Moving eyes: visual devices for inclusive sports” by Simone Barbazza, ANFAO

09:30
Magazzino 6
Work in progress and conclusion of workshops #3 and #4

Monday, July 07 2025

10:00
Magazzino 6
Beginning of workshops activities #5 and #6

Tuesday, July 08 2025

09:30
Magazzino 6
Work in progress

Wednesday, July 09 2025

09:30
Magazzino 6
Work in progress

Thursday, July 10 2025

09:00
Magazzino 6
Work in progress and conclusion of workshops #5 and #6

Friday, July 11 2025

09:30
Cotonificio veneziano + Magazzino 6
Vernissage with institutional representatives

19:00
Terese
Party

Monday, July 14 2025

09:00
Cotonificio veneziano + Magazzino 6
Disassembly of the exhibition (only morning). Students will be allowed to take their work away. Any materials left on the premises will be disposed of.

Colophon

Università Iuav di Venezia
WAVe 2025

Labor. New Workplaces, Theories and Forms of Collaboration

Workshop di Design Venezia
23 June – 11 July 2025
Magazzino 6

Curators
Alberto Bassi
Pietro Costa
Annapaola Vacanti

Staff
Iris Brucculeri, Alessandro Bulegato, Alessia Ronco Milanaccio

Administrative staff
Lucia Basile, Federico Ferruzzi, Maria Gatto

Visual identity
Lorenzo Mason Studio

In collaboration with
ANFAO
Assosport

Collaborations
Servizio fotografico e immagini Iuav
Laboratorio strumentale per la didattica Iuav

With the support of
Fondazione Iuav

Contact
wave2025@iuav.it

Instagram
iuav_wave