FOOD SPACE DESIGN
cod. 1011039

Academic year 2024/25
2° year of course - Second semester
Professor responsible for the course unit
Stefania MUSSO
integrated course unit
6 credits
hub: POLITO
course unit
in ITALIAN

Course unit structured in the following modules:

Learning objectives

Understanding the process of designing an exhibit system for food and its relationship with the space through interdisciplinary lenses.

Developing innovative, sustainable and shareable solutions deepening the related technical problems.

Knowing how to identify, analyze and solve design problems using up-to-date methods, techniques and tools.

Being able to verify the efficacy of the proposed solutions from the technical-constructive and user's point of view in the space.

Knowing how to describe and interpret the context's needs to develop appropriate and relevant design strategies and solutions.

Fostering decision-making skills and awareness of the designer's work role and the professional, ethical, and social responsibilities.

More specifically:
Understand the evolution of the practice of food space design, with particular reference to innovations in the interior, exhibit, and retail design.

Learn how to develop a correct proposal according to needs and performances required, construction feasibility, and the contextualization of the proposal in the spaces chosen.

Learn how to deepen basic knowledge and choose between different typological and structural solutions.

Develop design autonomy and communicative clarity.

Develop an attitude of awareness of the different phases of the project:
● Elaboration of the initial idea:
● Development of the concept and its mood board;
● Detailed design of the spatial project and its
material and intangible components;

Be able to integrate furnishing solutions with those related to Lighting Design and Soundscape Design and, in this way, make the project proposal complete.

Prerequisites

Excellent knowledge of descriptive geometry and techniques of representation is required. These are essential to developing the project and, in particular:
- excellent knowledge of Cartesian geometry and both analogue and digital representation techniques;
- a significant ability to observe the surrounding world and a great deal of curiosity about construction technologies and materials;
- good analytical and synthesis skills

Course unit content

The multidisciplinary Laboratory includes contributions from the two disciplinary sectors (Exhibit Design and Light and Sound). The disciplines work jointly to acquire knowledge in the field of food spaces for the students, both regarding the consumption and the retail ones. Therefore the first goal of the Laboratory is to develop an understanding and mastery of the requirements for designing the relationship between user-food-space, also addressing the main methods and criteria.
The second objective of the Laboratory is to enable the students to apply their knowledge in practical cases. These projects challenge the student to exercise their awareness of the functional and spatial characteristics of the spaces they design, dealing with the topics of the layouts, the furnishings, the requirement of accessibility and the physical-technical aspects of those same environments, with particular attention to light and sound. The food space design projects will also consider functional and technical relationships between food consumption, sales experiences, general environment and architectural context. The students will learn about multisensory factors and experiences (e.g. lightscape and soundscape) and how these can influence users' decision-making processes and behavior, especially concerning healthier consumer choices and reducing food waste.

Full programme

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Bibliography

INTERIOR DESIGN FOR FOOD SPACES
- Aglieri Rinella T., Food Experience: design e architettura d'interni. Postmedia Book, Milano 2019
- Bassi A., Food design in Italia. Progetto e comunicazione del prodotto alimentare. Mondadori, Milano 2015.
- D'Annuntiis M., Menzietti G., Food and space. Quodlibet, Macerata 2018.
-Vaudetti M.,Canepa S.,Musso S. Esporre Allestire Vendere, Wolters Kluwer Italia, Milano 2014.
- Vaudetti M., Edilizia per il commercio , Utet Scienze e Tecniche, Torino 2007
- Polano S., Mostrare, Lybra Immagine, Milano 1988
- Scodeller D., Negozi-l'architetto nello spazio della merce, Electa, Milano 2007

LIGHT, SOUND AND CLIMATE FOR FOOD SPACES
- Forcolini G., Lighting - Lampade, apparecchi, impianti, progettazione per ambienti interni ed esterni, HOEPLI, Milan 2004
- Frascarolo M., Manuale di progettazione illuminotecnica, Mancosu Editore, 2010.
- R. Spagnolo, Acustica: Fondamenti e applicazioni, UTET, 2015
- P. D’Antonio and T. J. Cox, Acoustic absorbers and diffusers theory, design and application, Spon Press, New York, 2004
- J. Kang and B. Schulte-Fortkamp, Soundscape and the Built Environment, CRC Press, 2017.
As for the teaching material, in the first part of the Laboratory, students will be provided with the files of the lessons held in the classroom on the course web page. The web page will also include documents relating to case studies that are significant for the topic of the project and, if necessary, materials of interest for the design of components, accessories and furniture.

Teaching methods

The Laboratory intends to address the following issues through lessons and exercises:
- the evolution of food space design
- the relationship between exposure/information/communication/interactivity and multimedia/graphics and communication.

The Laboratory will also discuss the following topics:
- the main categories of food spaces and places
- exhibition and exhibition criteria
- principles of environmental technical physics: light and sound in food space design
- materials and finishes
- light and colour
- active and passive solutions for soundscape design (e.g. use of sound reproduction systems, natural sounds, etc. )

The Laboratory will investigate in particular:
- environmental, performance and performance analysis;
- the comfort of the public concerning the building and food products;
- knowledge of materials and their applications in the field;
- the integration of the spatial design project with the lighting project;
- the integration of the spatial design project with the sound project.

A design assignment will complement the methodological-cultural introduction. The design exercise intends to encourage students to measure themselves with concrete aspects of the design of food spaces (15 hours).

As for the project assignment, the students will be asked to respond to a design brief aroused from the relationship with companies and entities operating in the sectors of interest. The students will work on the assignment in groups, alternating lessons, reviews and field visits.

Assessment methods and criteria

The final mark of the Laboratory of Food Space Design is the average of the exams of the two courses, INTERIOR DESIGN FOR FOOD SPACES and LIGHT, SOUND AND CLIMATE FOR FOOD SPACES. The exam will consist of an oral presentation, a discussion of the design exercise and its final elaborations, and questions that ascertain knowledge and understanding of the theoretical contents.
The Laboratory requires assiduous attendance, considering the final grade will be expressed with a single examination. For the different phases of the project development, the activities carried out will be monitored through moments of public presentation in the classroom and the submission of materials reviewed by the teachers during seminars. The assessment of these moments will contribute to the final mark. As mentioned, the final grade will also take into account the evaluation of the final project's representation material (tables in format A2 and A1, supplementary books with comments on the tables, and technical reports) presented and discussed at the exam. Students, organized in groups, carry out Laboratory activities. Still, the evaluation for each student is individual (expressed with a single vote), and it will consider the student's participation in teaching and reviews of the project. These will be organized to complement the lessons according to a specific calendar (which will be communicated in time to the students). Also, other elements that determine the individual evaluation of each student are the intermediate assessments (written, oral, graphic) and the evaluation of the oral presentation of each group to the examination committee with the discussion of the final project, the individual participation in this work, the knowledge acquired through the lessons. The maximum grade is 30 cum Laude.

Other information

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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development

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