Sustainable mobility projects were at the core of the fourteenth edition of the NABA Design Marathon in collaboration with FNM Group. From March 24 to 26, sixty Milan campus students faced three briefs focusing on urban regeneration, sustainable communication and future scenarios on a human scale.
From the collaboration with FNM Group to the students' projects
FNM is the leading integrated sustainable mobility Group in Lombardy. It is the first organisation in Italy to combine railway infrastructure management with road transport and motorway infrastructure management. Therefore, the three briefs of the NABA Design Marathon fell into this sector.
The first one, "A Human Scale Future", was related to Fili - an impressive redevelopment project of the main FERROVIENORD connection centres. The aim was to promote the participation and sustainability of the Bovisa hub by transforming some of its spaces into social gathering places. The winner was "The BoNO Festival" by MA in Social Design students Nuria Valsells and Karen Zamitiz Bonilla Juarez and by MA in Interior Design students Laura Myrrha Queiroz Pimenta Parra and Ankita Shenai. It revolves around the Bovisa FN Station headquarters and four other spots in the area. These places will host events about culture, environment, innovation and sociality.
Persuasive, transparent and sustainable communication was the focus of the second brief: "A Shared Future". Projects proposals aimed to share the FNM Group's services, products, values and mission. They explored innovative narratives and tools to bridge the gap between users (citizens) and the company. Ex aequo winners are: "Chiunque è sostenibile con FNM” by MA in Visual Design and Integrated Marketing Communication students Sara Vallar and Federica Venzano and by BA in Graphic Design and Art Direction students Giulia Menini and Simone Pastori; "Muoversi per connettere" by students of the MA in Graphic Design and Art Direction Serge Forgione, Edoardo Gessi, Nicolò Moscatelli and Rebecca Rossi. The first campaign deals with the theme of sustainability in an ironic and light-hearted way. It overturns the paradigm of environmentalism, which is no longer a social contract matter but, instead, it is something that happens anyway and everywhere. On the other hand, thanks to visuals, "Muoversi per connettere" goes directly at the core of the FNM Group's mission: to unite people and places.
The third and last brief was "The Future Land". Looking back at the pandemic and smart-working practices, it made students think about more dynamic conceptions of life. They had to develop future scenarios where people will need new products or services in accordance with the expansion of the region, which is the side-effect of increased mobility. The winning project was "Travel Human Connection" by Aldo Mucciarone and Lorenzo Meroni, BA in Design students, and by Giovanna Pia Montrone and Andrea Scaccabarozzi, BA in Graphic Design and Art Direction students. In a reality where digital technologies and AI are pervasive, human relationships will be highly valuable. In particular, when people travel. The FNM Group will need to redefine its services on a new concept of comfort that "shortens the distance between people".
During the design process, a team of professionals assisted students and provided them with the knowledge to develop proposals. They were Maurizio Goetz (Co-founder Italian Institute for the Future - Speculative Design Hub), Claudio Jampiglia (Journalist, author and producer), Giuseppe Mazza (Professor of Communication), Gloria Puppi (Strategic Anticipation Consultant, board member and co-founder Speculative Design Hub), Stefano Ragazzo (Architect and Urban designer).
