师说｜对话产品设计专业教授Maurizio Vrenna：在教育中与学生和城市共同成长
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来自意大利都灵的毛立（Maurizio Vrenna）是温州肯恩大学建筑与设计学院的一名助理教授。他刚刚获得了浙江省国际人文交流“友好使者”称号，也是今年温州肯恩大学科研类教学先进奖的获奖者之一。
他拥有意大利都灵理工大学的“管理、生产和设计”专业的博士学位，也曾在就读于清华大学和同济大学。在职业生涯中，毛立一直参与产品创新的服务的开发，为法拉利、杜卡蒂和尤文图斯等知名企业客户提供服务。2020年8月来到温肯后，他便致力于在课堂教学中融入自己对可持续设计的独特理念。近期他还参与了由龙溪艺术馆主办的“西鹣东鲽”艺术沙龙活动以及由温州肯恩大学协办的“同舟共济·山水温州”绿色发展论坛……
本期“师说”栏目，我们邀请到了Maurizio Vrenna教授,向我们分享他与两座城市相互塑造的经历，看看他是如何以教育践行初心，用专业报效社会。
文化传承与学生教育一样也不能落下
“作为一名设计师，不管身处家乡都灵还是温州，重新认识、探寻并传播当地传统文化是我的责任，也是我这个角色应该做的……”
毛立向记者介绍自己的家乡都灵
早在来到中国之前，毛立就曾发现，在自己的家乡意大利，有许多优秀的文化在如今的城市发展中被渐渐淡忘、落入窘境。宣传意大利文艺复兴时期的画家和雕塑家高登齐奥·法拉利(Gaudenzio Ferrari)的作品便是一个例子，在采访中毛立提到，当他去到这个艺术家所居住的小镇时，他感受到了当地文化无法落地融入日常生活，传承地方文化也面临的巨大阻力。正是由于这种阻力，许多珍贵的民俗文化被人淡忘，或者仅在小范围的业内人士之间传播。毛立谈到，“我一直都觉得这些文化是值得被再发掘，再创作的。作为一名艺术学者，我也愿意与当地政府合作，为当地文化策划展览，设计标志。”
高登齐奥·法拉利作品应用
在他的努力下，那些设计的标志被广泛运用于当地各种形式的物品和工艺，越来越多的人注意到高登齐奥·法拉利的作品。“我非常高兴能看见当地居民把这个标志印在咖啡杯垫，皮鞋的鞋底，甚至门框上。你可以在小镇的各个角落找到这个标志。”毛立还说当地的人们愿意使用这些标志打造属于自己地方特色文化的品牌，这种自发的行为不仅促进了文化的再生，更赋予了地方特色文化更多新的生命力和可能。
毛立教授的课堂
毛立乐于看到文化再生的情形，也乐于充当文化再生的桥梁和催化剂。这份坚持的力量和洞察的力量也在毛立来到温肯教书后，被一起带入了他的课堂。
当这位来自意大利都灵的设计师遇上泽雅古法造纸又会碰出什么样的火花呢?一年前，毛立带领一部分温肯设计学院的学生走进“中国千年纸乡”——温州泽雅，去深入了解泽雅屏纸的制作工艺。他们团队结合了泽雅古法造纸工艺和现代美学，制作出了五盏精美的灯具。
在龙溪博物馆展示“泽雅屏纸再造”项目
当被问起是什么因素启发他去传播泽雅屏纸文化时，毛立表示，是泽雅屏纸繁杂精细的造纸工艺深深地吸引了他。 但是受限于传播的方式，泽雅纸的应用范围也十分有限。他希望借“泽雅屏纸再造项目"和温肯的学生们一起设计创造出新产品，从而让泽雅传统纸艺再放魅力。毛立还补充道：“这次所制作出来的五盏灯，不仅能够作为艺术品供大家欣赏观看，还能够作为一个文创产品被投入到工业生产中，进而拉动地方经济的发展。”
无论是在他的家乡意大利，还是在温州泽雅，毛立始终认为，文化是没有界限的。即便来到中国，他也有责任尽最大可能保护和传承这些古老的技艺。
另辟蹊径，于可持续发展领域探寻未来设计新趋势
微藻农ALGAE GROWER
专注于产品设计的专业领域，毛立尤其关注可持续发展的方向。对他而言，可持续发展不仅仅指环境上的可持续发展，也同样是经济、社会和文化层面的可持续发展。“满足当代，造福后代”是一个充满机遇和前景的话题，也是每位身处地球大家庭中的人必须思考的问题。他坚信可持续发展的研究是充满前瞻性的，其成果也可以为未来就业、科研、企业、教育提供无限的可能。
参加“同舟共济·山水温州”绿色发展论坛圆桌对话环节
“未来超级食物”线上会议
在撰写博士论文期间，他提出了“探索超级食物”——把微藻作为未来40年之后的食物的新想法，并设计了微藻农ALGAE GROWER（一款能在家里就生产新鲜的螺旋藻的机器）。他的设计初衷是为了在全球食物短缺、国内供给不足的国际大背景下，以低成本、高营养的螺旋藻来满足大家基本的生活需求，并且在未来给人们的生活带来便捷。后来，当2020年新冠疫情爆发时，全球经济结构改变，人们正常生活受到冲击，食品供给的问题也随之频发。在这样的冲击下，毛立的微藻设计也更显前瞻性与实用性……
来温州的第三年，他找到了归属感
“我的家乡都灵和温州是姐妹城市，虽然从地图上看，两所城市之间跨越的距离很长，但是两座城市的发展定位都极其相似。" 正是这份亲切感让毛立快速的融入了温州这座城。他积极参加城市和社区活动，如“市长杯”中国（温州）工业设计大赛。
2021“市长杯”中国（温州）工业设计大赛
同时毛立也利用自身的专业知识为社区、政府提供帮助，让艺术融入于生活，作用于生活。同时在他的前沿研究，硅藻泥方面，他更是将研究成果和相关技术公开。在采访中，他向我们解释到，他研究的最终目的并不是归属权和专利拥有，而是希望通过他的探索推进技术的发展，真正的扩大应用面，将学术成果推向市场和实用。“我分享我的技术，同时我希望人们能在这个技术上创新。”因此，他并不介意公开这些成果，公众真正的运用才是对他研究的最大肯定和价值所在。
“魅力温州”鹿鸣市集
毛立教授心怀梦想、拥抱时代。他不仅探索了一条永动的创新之路，也迈入了一所可以与他共同成长的学校。当被问起，曾在清华大学和同济大学学习，为何没有留在北京、上海这些大城市工作时，他提到，自己更希望选择一个具有中国传统味道的城市。“北京和上海是国际化的大都市，拥有着丰富的资源和机会，而我希望来到一个不那么‘饱和’的城市与它共同成长。温肯是一只刚飞向蓝天的雏鸟，就像我也是一位年轻而满怀憧憬的教师。”毛立教授笑着讲道。他愿意和同事、部门、学校一起成长，当然，也期待着和这座城——温州一起向国际化迈进。
Interview with Dr. Maurizio Vrenna, Industrial Design, Michael Graves College at Wenzhou-Kean University
Dr. Maurizio Vrenna, from Turin, Italy, is an Assistant Professor in Industrial Design at Wenzhou-Kean University who honors this year’s WKU Excellence Award in Research. He holds a Ph.D. in Management, Production and Design from Politecnico di Torino (Italy) and has studied at Tsinghua University and Tongji University, both key universities in China. Throughout his career, Maurizio has been involved in the development of innovative products and services for clients such as Ferrari, Ducati, and Juventus. Since arriving at Wenzhou-Kean University in August 2020, he has been working to integrate his unique understanding of sustainable design into his teaching. Recently, he has participated in “West meets East —The Old Hand at Art VIII” art salon hosted by the Longxi Art Museum and the “Come Together for a Better Future of Wenzhou” Green Development Forum co-organized by WKU with the support of other social associations.
In today’s program, we have invited Dr. Maurizio Vrenna to share his experiences with the mutual shaping of the two cities and how he acts his intention out with education and serves society with his profession.
01 Shouldering the responsibilities of cultural inheritance and students’ education
“No matter in my hometown of Turin or Wenzhou, it is my responsibility and my role as a designer to rediscover, innovate and spread the local traditional culture…”
Before coming to China, Dr. Maurizio Vrenna has found in Italy, his hometown, that many excellent folk cultures were left out of the city’s memory and removed from people’s vision. Maurizio was determined to change this situation and endeavored to keep the local culture alive. One of the successful examples of his hard work is promoting the Italian painter and sculptor Gaudenzio Ferrari’s artworks. Maurizio mentioned that when he visited the small town where the artist lived, the local culture was not integrated into people’s daily lives, and there was great resistance to passing on the local culture. Dr. Vrenna said, "I insisted that the local cultures are worthy of being rediscovered and recreated. As an art scholar, I am willing to work with the local government to make those culture rebirth in a new form." Thus, he planned exhibitions and designed logos on the theme of local characteristics and culture. Through his efforts, those designed logos were widely used in various forms of local crafts, and an increasing number of people noticed Gaudenzio Ferrari's works. “I was so excited to see the logo put on coffee coasters, shoe soles, and even door frames. I may say that you can find this logo all over the town." The local people were willing to use the logo to brand their own local culture, and this spontaneous behavior not only promoted the regeneration of culture but also gave new life and possibilities to the local culture.
Dr. Maurizio Vrenna is glad to see the inheritance of culture, and he is willing to assist and catalyzed cultural inheritance. His considerable insight and persistence in inheriting traditional culture were brought into the classroom after he started teaching at WKU. When a western designer from Turin encountered Eastern ancient Zeta paper, what kind of sparkles would be crashed out?
In 2021, Maurizio led his students from the WKU Design department to visit Zeya—known as the "Chinese Millennium Paper Town" and gained insight into how Zeya paper was made. Combining Zeya's ancient papermaking techniques with modern aesthetics, Dr. Maurizio Vrenna and WKU students jointly made five beautiful lamps. When asked about what inspired him to spread Zeya’s paper, Maurizio said with excitement: "The complicated and delicate papermaking process of Zeya’s paper deeply attracted me!" Restricted by way of transmission, unfortunately, Zeya paper has a very limited application. Therefore, Maurizio hopes to use the "Zeya Paper Reborn Project" to design and create new products with WKU students so as to rediscover the beauty of Zeya's paper art. He also added: "The five lamps not only can be used as artworks for everyone to enjoy but also they can be put into industrial production as cultural characteristic products boosting the local economy."
Whether he was in Italy or in Wenzhou, Maurizio believed that there are no boundaries between cultures. Even though he is in China, he still insists that he has a responsibility to preserve and pass on those talent ancient skills as much as he can.
02 Exploring future design trends in the field of sustainable development
Focusing on the field of Industrial Design, Dr. Maurizio Vrenna is particularly interested in sustainable development. For him, sustainable development involves not only environmental sustainability but also involves economic, social, and cultural sustainability. “Meeting the needs of the present and benefiting future generations” is always a hot topic. It’s a topic full of opportunities and prospects that everyone around the globe must think about. Maurizio is convinced that research on sustainable development is forward-looking, and its results offer infinite possibilities for future employment, research, business, and education.
While preparing for his doctoral dissertation, he proposed the idea of “exploring superfoods”—microalgae as food in 40 years. He also designed ALGAE GROWER, a machine that produces fresh spirulina at home. His original intention was to meet everyone’s basic needs with low-cost, highly nutritious spirulina and to bring convenience to people’s lives in the future against an international backdrop of global foot shortages and insufficient domestic supply. Later in 2020, COVID-19 broke out, and the global economic structure changed. People’s daily life was impacted while problems with food supply were frequent. Under such impact, Maurizio’s micro-algae design has become quite prospective and practical.
03 In his third year in Wenzhou, he found a sense of belonging
“My hometown Turin and Wenzhou are sister cities. Although the distance between the two cities is very long from the map, the development orientation of the two cities is very similar.”
This intimacy makes Maurizio quickly integrate into the city of Wenzhou. He participates in city and community events such as the “Mayor’s Cup” China (Wenzhou) Industrial Design Competition. At the same time, he also used his professional knowledge to assist the community and the government so that art could be integrated into and affect life.
Moreover, he even publicized his “diatom mud’s” research results and related technologies. In the interview, he explained to us that the ultimate goal of his research is not attribution or patent ownership but rather to advance the technology through his exploration. He wants truly expand the application area and bring academic achievements to the market and practical use. “I share my technology, and I hope people can innovate on this technology”, said Maurizio. Therefore, he does not mind making these results public, and the actual use by the public is the most significant recognition and value of his research.
Dr. Maurizio Vrenna keeps the dreams and embraces the times. He has explored a path of innovation and stepped into a school that could grow with him.
When asked why he did not stay in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai to work after his life as a student, he mentioned that he preferred to choose a city with a traditional Chinese style. “Beijing and Shanghai are international cities with rich resources and opportunities, but I hope to come to a city that is not so ‘saturated’ and grow together with it. WKU is a fledgling that has just taken to the blue sky, just like I am also a young teacher full of longing.” Dr. Maurizio explained. He is willing to grow with his department, college, and school. Admittedly, he also looks forward to marching toward internationalization with this city—Wenzhou.
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制作 | 项温蔚
初审 | 项温蔚终审 | Maurizio Vrenna 叶铖茜 王舒责编 | 媒体中心
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