Calcione Academy is a new model of training “incubator” that combines collaborative life experiences, training, design and realization of outputs aimed at enhancing and innovating the heritage of Castello del Calcione, the amazing location hosting the project. Calcione Academy has the goal of make Castello del Calcione a self-sufficient entity and an active point of reference in the area as in was in its glorious past, with a strong identity and important national and international connections.
Local
Italy
Lucignano, Tuscany, Italy
Mainly rural
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As an individual
First name: Nina Last name: Fois Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: via Giuseppe Gabetti 15 Town: MILANO Postal code: 20147 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 334 636 3594 E-mail:ninafois@gmail.com
Since the outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19 in Italy, I moved from Milan to the countryside of Castello del Calcione, a wonderful estate in Tuscany. Thanks to more in-depth research, I found that this choice of mine is not an isolated case, but belongs to a trend accelerated by the pandemic, of increasing rediscovery of the countryside. In fact, these sites become a fertile territory for young and creative people, where they can imagine new models of life and business that better satisfy new contemporary needs.
Castello del Calcione also has a priceless cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, but still little valued today. Living here, I imagined how to preserve and enhance it, to ultimately save it from abandonment as often happens in other rural areas.
Calcione Academy is the first project of the new life of the castle: a new model of training incubator that combines collaborative life experiences, training, creation, design and production of different outputs (products, services and systems), aimed at enhancing and innovating the heritage of Calcione making it a self-sufficient pole and a contemporary point of reference of the entire territory, connected to an international network.
Calcione Academy will be characterized by a creative co-residence model, with the aim of an effective, efficient, fluid and flexible system to experiment and implement new opportunities. This approach will allow the creation of a community of temporary residents open to cultural, creative and effective confrontation that will go beyond the final outputs, offering a unique and memorable experience.
The creation of this new type of Academy will make it possible to enter a national and international network of cultural educational institutions interested in collaborating with each other, multiplying the opportunities for exchange, comparison and mutual enrichment.
Rural Heritage
Cultural Heritage Innovation
Local and Global Community
Territorial Valorization
Product Service System Design for Territories
Calcione Academy is designed following the principle of environmental, economic and social sustainability.
From an environmental point of view, the project will promote respect and care for the surrounding rural territory, with the aim of enhancing it. Furthermore, only km0 resources will be used during the Academy's activities, both in terms of food for the participants and for materials used in the realization of the projects.
Regarding economic sustainability, the project will be funded initially by:
- availability of the estate and first ownership investment;
- institutional, regional and national calls dedicated to the development of culture and the enhancement of the territory;
- crowdfunding campaigns, designed ad hoc;
- sponsorships, by companies, start-ups, cooperatives active in the area;
- win-win relationships with suppliers, who will provide materials and resources for the realization of the project in exchange for visibility.
and later by:
- the revenues from tickets to attend and participate in the various events;
- the revenues from special projects as conferences, workshops, collaborations..;
- external productions;
- future collaborations;
- sale of Calcione Academy merchandising.
By creating this virtuous circle based on a "win-win" relationship, where all stakeholders benefit from being involved in the system, the project is economically sustainable. The revenues allows to pay for the accommodation and the educational activities for the Academy participants, allowing everyone to participate. The objective of social sustainability is also reflected in the creation of possible new collaborations and relationships with the local community, the development and enhancement of the surrounding area and its economies, the dissemination of culture and creative resources, the increase of social cohesion and collaboration.
The Start-up and the Board of professionals will be in charge of planning, implementing and monitoring the project of Calcione Academy, based on individual sub-projects. For each sub-project the Board will establish the objectives, the necessary resources, the investments, the costs and the revenues necessary for its management and development.
The Start-up and the Board will also take care of finding the necessary funds, coming from local and national institutions, cultural foundations active in the area, companies interested in promoting specific projects, as well as direct participation in calls and crowd founding activities. Then, the Board will deal with finding the human resources necessary for the development of the project through specific “Calls to Action”, selecting a team with different skills to promote peer-to-peer co-training among the members of the residence, capable of increasing the individual and collective know-how necessary to achieve the final outputs.
During the residence, the selected creatives will share the domestic space and the ones used as laboratories. During the first period, the team building, training and design phases will take place, with the discovery of the territory and the local community and moments of training, both peer-to-peer and with external experts. At the same time, the design phase will begin, in which they will move from an initial concept to the definition of the concrete project. The subsequent phase of realization of the designed outputs (products, services and system) will take place in a collaborative perspective, respecting the division of tasks according to the personal skills of the protagonists. At the same time, the members of the Academy will also be responsible for planning the Cultural Palimpsest of Calcione, in which a significant component will concern the communication and dissemination of the processes in which they are involved, to tell and enhance the benefits of the path followed.
Inclusion is one of the main objectives of Calcione Academy.
Firstly, it is reflected in the method used to develop the project, based on co-design: including the stakeholders in every phase of the project, from the idea generation to the development of the final solution, listening to their voice. The concept of co-design is based on the idea that everybody is allowed to bring ideas and take action, even though these ideas and actions could, at times, generate problems and tensions. Co-design is also a way to foster citizen empowerment, co-production, participation and democracy.
Secondly, inclusion is at the base of the idea of creating a community of residents in Calcione open to cultural, creative and effective confrontation, who will experiment communal life in the countryside, sharing the domestic and the working space. Cooperation and co-design are present also in the didactic approach, because the training activities and the co-production of the final outputs will always take place through collective actions.
Inclusion means also to involve the local community, both to share their expertises related to the tradition, art and craftsmanship of the area, and as the last beneficiaries of a new cultural offer, still non-existent in the area.
The goal is therefore to encourage the participation of all the stakeholders involved, especially those linked to the territory.
Finally, Calcione Academy is accessible and affordable for everyone, thanks to the stream of revenue previously explained that make it possible to offer a free experience to its participants.
For these reasons we can state that Calcione Academy is an inclusive system, as it aims to create a virtuous circle in which all participants will benefit from being involving in the system, without excluding anyone.
The participants will be selected through special Call to Actions, published on Calcione’s website, on its social medias and on a newsletter. It will be also published through the websites of the institutions involved in the project (Comune di Lucignano, Regione Toscana), universities, training institutes, cultural foundations, professionals channels. Participants will benefit from:
-accommodation for the entire period of residence;
-didactic activities relating to the topics of the project;
-peer to peer learning & teaching experience;
-a unique and memorable co-residency experience:
-a unique and memorable co-design experience;
-new professional and personal relationships and opportunities;
-a location to develop their personal activities;
-visibility through the communication of Calcione Academy;
-membership as ambassador in the Academy community;
-a final certificate of participation.
One of the main objectives of Calcione Academy is to involve the local community, both actively during the artists' residency and by offering them a new cultural program, which does not currently exist in the area. The artisans and artists of the area will participate in the Academy as teachers, transmitting their expertise and the local companies will provide their specific resources. Finally, the inhabitants of the surrounding areas will be the public of the events and activities proposed by the Academy.
The local community will benefit from:
-the new creative resources present in the area;
-the dissemination of culture on their territory;
-the new national and international relations;
-the possibility of new professional collaborations;
-visibility;
-implementation of conscious tourism linked to culture;
-development and enhancement of the territorial brand;
-increase of the local economy;
-increase in real estate values of the area;
-increase of social cohesion and collaboration around the topic of culture;
-territorial brand awareness
The primary stakeholders, those who need a direct involvement with the project in order to make it work, are:
-the Start-up, composed by the owner family and the Board of professionals, that will coordinate and manage the project;
-the participants of Calcione Academy (designers, makers and professionals) ;
The Secondary stakeholders, who will interact with the project, bringing fundamental value to the system are:
-the municipality of Lucignano, collaborating and promoting the Academy as a value for the territory;
-the Tuscan region, which will provide financial and promotional support to the Academy;
-local artisans, who will contribute to the various projects with their specific expertise deeply linked to the territory;
-different experts, called to collaborate with the participants according to the skills and knowledge required by the topic;
-companies or start-ups active in the areas;
-local suppliers, who will provide specific resources;
-professional association;
-universities, which could collaborate in some common didactic projects.
The Tertiary stakeholders, impacted by the implementation of the project, are:
-the local community, which will participate to the activities and events proposed;
-national and international visitors, attracted by the cultural offer.
The concept behind Calcione Academy is collaboration, which takes shape both in the activities inside the residence, based on the sharing of spaces, on the exchange of peer-to-peer skills and on the practice of co-design, and in relations with external partners, who are actively involved in the various projects. The goal is therefore to encourage the participation of all the stakeholders involved, especially those linked to the territory. In fact, ample space will be given to the local community, which will interact with the Academy not only by participating in the events of the summer schedule but throughout the residency period in an active way.
Look at Stakeholder map
The project was developed following the method of Product Service System Design, which has its central focus in the holistic and systemic approach, strategic and innovative vision, user centered design, co-design, multidisciplinary, mix of tangible and intangible focus.
According to the requirements of the various sub-projects of the Academy, the professional figures sought vary from: artists, designers, architects, engineers, artisans, technicians, makers of various types, specialists, passionate experts and other specific professionals according to the skills required. For example, the first year experience of Calcione Academy has as its goal the design and construction of a physical and digital structure (an open-air stage) capable of hosting a schedule of heterogeneous cultural events (events, shows, concerts, screenings, conferences, talks, meetings, etc... ). For this reason, the participants of this first experience will be 10 people, divided into two groups that will work closely with each other, practicing in constant and indispensable comparison and dialogue. The first team, dedicated to the structural project, will be responsible for the design and construction of the physical and digital structure of the Stage; the second team, dedicated to the cultural project, will instead deal with the planning, production and organization of the cultural contents of the first Palimpsest. The first team will be composed by a designer, an architect, a landscaper, an engineering and a technician manager.
The second team will consist of an art director, a storyteller, an event and designer&manager, a production manager and a communication manager. The two group will work in parallel, with a constant dialogue and confrontation, increasing the value of collaboration.
The diversity of skills will allow peer-to-peer learning activities, in which the participants will share their skills to increase the knowledge of the group.
Calcione wants to be a place for the development of creativity to be spread into the surrounding area; a stimulator of ideas, connections, innovation; a pole of attraction for young creatives from different places and contexts; a meeting place recognized both internationally and locally; a point of reference for the local community.
By establishing a virtuous circle, Calcione re-becomes an autonomous and self-sufficient entity, as it was in the past, with a strong local identity and important national and international connections. The goal of Calcione is therefore to coming back to an active role in the contemporary world by creating added value, in cultural and economic terms, for its system, the territory and the stakeholders involved, promoting a new model of collaborative training and implementation process based on learning and doing practice.
Its innovative elements are:
-its capacity of identify the intrinsic but still unexpressed opportunities of the rural territory;
-co-residence and co-design process, which makes the participants the real protagonists of the valorization of the territory;
-importance given to experimentation;
-union of project and realization, in an innovative way of teaching based on learning and doing;
-strong connection with the territory, being the first educational project in the area;
-the cultural exchange promoted by the Academy, thanks to the participation of different actors and stakeholders who will share their knowledge and expertise;
-its transversality;
-the creation of a virtuous circle, involving both the local community and an international network that will generate new opportunities for the system;
-“social generativity”: a new way of thinking and acting that tells the possibility of a type of socially oriented, creative, connective action, productive and responsible, capable of having a positive impact on the forms of producing, innovating, living, caring, organizing, investing.
Calcione Academy system is designed to establish a virtuous circle of research, design and field experimentation of new opportunities from which countless future directions will multiply. In fact, each project is the starting point for the following ones. The creation of the Calcione Academy as a creative incubator and a ground for effective experimentation, constitutes a first seed to favor the birth and development of other projects which, all together, aim at enhancing and innovating the heritage of Calcione making it a self-sufficient pole and a contemporary point of reference for the entire territory, connected to an international network.
Other interesting future developments concern the export of the Academy format to other territories: the application of its method, its values and its structure will allow the creation of similar and connected experiences in different places, keeping constant the objective of enhancing them by adapting to specificity of the new contexts. In this way, a network of virtuous experiences will be created which in turn will generate new opportunities and feed the system.
The project as a whole will not end with the achievement of its first strategic objective, which is to guarantee the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the castle system and its territory by enhancing it, but will continue to be a research and experimentation center in step with local and global evolution, returning to be an entity of social, cultural and economic reference, connected to others in the contemporary world.
More in general, the method of the Double Diamond with its divergent and convergent phases, used during the design of the project, can be exported in other contexts. The deep research on the field and the approach of co-design directly with the stakeholder involved in the project was strategic for its success.
The approach and development methods of the project follow the exploration process proposed by the Double Diamond model. The two diamonds represent the two opposite actions of exploring an issue more widely or deeply (divergent thinking) and taking focused action (convergent thinking). This method is particularly useful in the context of Product Service System Design, in which its approach implies a continuous involvement of the stakeholders.
In the first phase a deep desktop research was carried out about the most important topics involved: Rural and Urban, understanding the similarities and differences of development of the two contexts; Cultural Heritage and Culture and Territorial Development, to deep the concept at the base of the thesis and in the end PSSD for Territories, as a new driver to address the changes.
To complement the literature review, a case study collection and analysis were conducted to explore existing solutions and collect insights, understanding the problem to work on.
The site of Castello del Calcione was chosen as design space, and was deeply analyzed during the field research, also through observations and on-site interviews with the actors involved.
An important approach of my work is co-design: considering users as “experts of their experience” involving them in all the phases of the design process. I organized co-design activities to involve the different stakeholders in the decision and design process, envisioning opportunities and possible direction for the project. During the design phase, two different workshops were carried out with two different types of stakeholders to develop the solution. They were also involved in the testing phase, providing feedback on the final idea, with the goal to implement and redefine the proposed project.
During Calcione Academy itself, the didactic approach is based on cooperation, co-design, learning and doing, peer to peer learning, expertise sharing, experimentation.
The global challenges fought by the project are:
-increasing of urbanization and growing of population;
-reaching a sustainable rural development;
-valorization of rural Cultural Heritage;
-imagining innovative ways of living and economies.
The consequence of the process of urbanization and the growing of population caused the detriment of rural areas and their inhabitants. Many rural communities are socially and politically marginalized, have less access to education, health and other services and infrastructures, have limited professional and cultural opportunities, and live in older communities. Countryside need help to develop their economies and value their potential. To achieve these goals, the dissemination of culture and the innovation of rural cultural heritage play a fundamental role, becoming important development drivers capable of creating and involving communities, attracting young talents, exchanging stimuli and energies, generating a sense of closeness and authenticity.
On the other hand, despite this process of urbanization, Rural Areas once again are becoming central places of development and innovation. The topic is becoming a priority also for different governments and institutions around the world, which are starting to consider themselves as an important asset in sustainable socio-economic development, as attested by the increasing number of rural policies. Young people and the so-called “creative class” are the main protagonists of this change. As shown by the research, there is a real trend underway that pushes young people and creatives to seek a better quality of life, experimenting innovative models of life and work. This therefore implies a growing production of artifacts, as products and services, that meet these new needs.
Calcione Academy fits into this context, attracting both active subjects in search of change and the new communities of users who are critical and sensitive to these new values.
Calcione Academy system is designed to establish a virtuous circle of research, design and field experimentation of new opportunities from which countless future directions will multiply. In fact, each project is the starting point for the following ones. The creation of the Calcione Academy as a creative incubator and a ground for effective experimentation, constitutes a first seed to favor the birth and development of other projects which, all together, aim at enhancing and innovating the heritage of Calcione making it a self-sufficient pole and a contemporary point of reference for the entire territory, connected to an international network.
In particular, the first experience of Calcione Academy, which will have as its goal the design and construction of a physical and digital structure (an open-air stage) capable of hosting a schedule of heterogeneous cultural events, was designed precisely for its propaedeutic function, to be a lever for the entire project to enhance the territory of Castello del Calcione. The final outputs created by the Academy participants will pave the way for numerous future developments: both in structural terms, with the expansion or relocation of the stage, for the related services, and in terms of content, opening to infinite possibilities. A first review of heterogeneous cultural events and activities will attract local and international stakeholders interested in this new model, which will form the first nucleus of an international community that will grow in and around Calcione in the years to come.
This will increase awareness of the enormous potential of the surrounding rural territories, perceived as a set of specific territorial realities with a strong cultural identity capable of offering active, innovative and memorable experiences.
The project was presented to the family that owns the Calcione property, who were enthusiastic about the initiative. We are currently looking for the necessary funds to start the project.
One of the main objectives of Calcione Academy is the development of new skills, precisely creating a special "school of life", in which participants can learn new expertises about the community life in a rural context, and more specific skills depending on the project to be developed.
The teaching about the value of sharing and collaboration is really important, as well as the combination of personal and professional development during the experience of the Academy.
The different contexts of the participants allow for a very varied "peer to peer" exchange of skills, ranging from design to architecture, from art to craftsmanship, from technology to art directing and beyond. Particular attention is given to the transmission of skills that belong to the local tradition, involving local artists and craftsmen, owners of forgotten memories.
It is good to remember that the teaching approach is based on "learning and doing", combining theory and practice.
In particular, in the context of the European framework of competences on sustainability, Calcione Academy undertakes to:
-connect historical heritage and local resources with the contemporary;
-convey a sense of belonging to the territory and to the community;
-convey the values of sharing and inclusion;
-promote a lifestyle in harmony with the surrounding area;
-enhance and pass traditions;
-enhance sustainability as an intrinsic value of the project;
-teach the value of the surrounding territory;
-promote the development surrounding territory, teaching its respect and care;
-act for sustainability in a collective action;
-imagine a sustainable future, in which cities are not the only possible cultural centres;
-create virtuous synergies with other realities with the same sustainability objectives;
-actively involve local institutions and local communities.
