The design role applied to urban contexts and landscape. From the historical identity of San Leucio, which united production of the finest quality with a plan of a utopian city in an exemplary manner, to the landscapes displayed in the exhibition "Terre Blu landscapes".
San Leucio, once an important seat of the bourbons of Naples, was recently the setting for a series of urban installations, an exhibition and an international conference. These events offer key materials which make us reflect on the role which design can play when applied to urban contexts and landscape. A still little-explored theoretical area which acts as an intermediary between artistic installations and urban design, architecture, production activities, visual arts and communication: a not only strategic tool for enhancing the environment and cultural assets. The description of the works, accompanied by rich photographic content and testimonials by the artists and designers involved, fits into a broader theoretical and narrative argument: from the historical identity of the place, which united production of the finest quality with a plan of a utopian city in an exemplary manner, a place where social and compositional models were put to the test, to the landscapes displayed in the exhibition “terre blu landscapes”, which document research conducted into the reciprocal benefit existing between design for living and for the territory, the performance qualities and the new design trends emerging from the conference, as a design culture based on “open innovation” strategies and tools in the post-industrial era.