NABA presents Re-Assembled Views, a project developed by students on the Bachelor of Arts in Design at its Rome campus and recently the focus of a dedicated event held as part of the Festival des Cabanes at the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici. The festival opened on 20 May and will remain open to visitors until 28 September 2026.
“Re-Assembled Views”: exploring reuse and new narratives
The project reflects on the creative potential of reuse by reinterpreting materials from Cabane 7L, presented at the previous edition of the festival. Through upcycling, the students transform existing elements into a new installation that generates contemporary visual narratives and invites reflection on the role of design in addressing environmental and social sustainability.
“Re-Assembled Views”: NABA’s approach to teaching and learning
Guided by lecturer Emiliano Auriemma, the students explore design as a circular process through Re-Assembled Views, continually renegotiating the relationships between material, form and meaning. The project reflects NABA’s teaching model, rooted in learning by doing, and presents design practice as a means of generating new meanings from what already exists.
“Re-Assembled Views”: bringing academia and design professionals together on 10 June
Within the Festival des Cabanes, the project became the starting point for an exchange between academia and design professionals. Held on 10 June, the event focused on upcycling, sustainability in design and contemporary exhibition practices, bringing the students’ experience of developing the project into conversation with perspectives from outside the Academy.
The speakers
Speakers included Daniele Giorgi, Course Leader for the BA in Design at NABA Rome, and Emiliano Auriemma. They were joined by guests from the fields of design and materials research: Jacopo Cardinali, CEO and Founder of Materieunite – a design studio specialising in circular materials and their sustainable applications – and Nazrin Mohiti Asli, architect and co-founder of Orizzontale – a Rome-based collective of architects whose collaborative, experimental practice spans installations and temporary architecture. Both contributed their expertise in circular materials and sustainable exhibition design.
The installation and the Sustainability and Inclusion Thesis Award
Visitors are invited to see the installation created by the students, on display as part of the Festival until 28 September, and engage directly with research that approaches design as an open process, capable of connecting learning and experimentation with environmental responsibility. The event also saw the presentation of NABA’s Sustainability and Inclusion Thesis Award, recognising projects distinguished by their engagement with environmental issues and responsible design practices. The award was established following a joint proposal by the Sustainability Committee and the Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Re-Assembled Views therefore emerges as a collaborative process in which design practice connects learning and research with environmental responsibility.
Want to revisit the project? Watch the Re-Assembled Views video on NABA’s YouTube channel for a closer look at the students’ work.
Interested in NABA’s Design Area? Experience it first-hand at the NABA Open Day in Rome on 8 September, with course presentations, one-to-one guidance sessions and displays of student work.
