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U CAN – Unite City Architecture Nature:
the International Summer School Supported by Marmi Ghirardi
In early September 2025, Lake Garda hosted the International Summer School “U CAN – Unite City Architecture Nature”, an initiative promoted by the University of Brescia and joined by Cracow University of Technology, Curtin University, Fondazione UNIBS, Forum Architetti Mediterranei, RUniPace, State Enterprise “National Development Infrastructure”, the University of Jordan, University for Peace, Università della Svizzera italiana, the University of Trento, and West Ukrainian National University. Their participation highlights the international vocation and the high quality of the program..
Under the scientific direction of Maurizio Tira and Olivia Longo, the Summer School focused on the reconstruction of the Peace Museum in Kharkiv (Ukraine). By exploring a practical and highly relevant case study within today’s sociopolitical context, the initiative fostered a multi-layered dialogue among architecture students and professors with diverse backgrounds and expertise, all united by the themes of peace and sustainability. In the design workshop dedicated to reconstruction and peace, architecture became not only a tool for dialogue and regeneration but also a mediator between human beings and Nature.
The five design proposals—developed by mixed teams, each composed of members from all participating universities—drew inspiration from Andrea Branzi’s concept of “weak and diffuse architecture”, understood as an adaptive, flexible approach aligned with natural processes and the constant transformation of the urban landscape. The projects embraced the “geometric, structural, spatial, and material principles of Nature,” seen as foundational pillars for building—and rebuilding—the cities of the future.
Alessia Agnesi, Ayesh Ibrahim Ayesh Alawaisheh, Denise Albini, Sadeen Mustafa Abdel Haleem Alhyari, Joud Hatem Salem Alrshaidat, Ahmad Khaled Ahmad Al Makawi, Erika Benini, Felipe Chiodelli, Julia Cichy, Zuzanna Dębska, Paulina Gołąb, Miria Guidarini, Shahd Moayad Mohammad Ali Khorma, Nikoletta Kudroń, Magdalena Madej
The jury evaluating the students’ proposals included Stefano Ghirardi, CEO of Marmi Ghirardi, and Ali Abu Ghanimeh, professor at the University of Jordan.
Marmi Ghirardi’s support of the U CAN Summer School reflects the company’s commitment to promoting broad, interdisciplinary reflection on the relationship between nature, sustainability, architecture, and materials—core themes of its identity. The company believes in the value of education as a meeting point between academic research and design culture, where natural stone evolves from a mere construction material into a vehicle for sustainability and memory.
In this perspective, the Summer School’s theme fits perfectly within Ghirardi’s mission, which promotes a conscious approach to building—an art capable of withstanding time while adapting to nature’s logic.
The encounter between professors, students, and professionals from different countries and cultures made the U CAN Summer School a unique moment of exchange, where diverse perspectives and expertise intertwined around a common goal. If sustainability, innovation, and material culture are pillars of the company, the exchange between cultures and the commitment to reconstruction in the name of peace are values that the Summer School helped further strengthen within Marmi Ghirardi’s vision.
Supporting initiatives such as the U CAN Summer School means investing in the training of a new generation of aware designers, ready to build a future in which architecture, nature, culture, and ethical commitment coexist in harmony.
Watch the introduction video
Video interviews
Maurizio Tira / Full Professor of Town and regional planning at the University of Brescia / University of Brescia
Olivia Longo / Associate Professor of Architectural and Urban Design / University of Brescia
Raffaella Laezza / Professor of Architectural Design
Ali Abu Ghanimeh / Full Professor of History of Architecture / The University of Jordan
Stefano Ghirardi / CEO Marmi Ghirardi
Olena Bondar / Full Professor of Economics and Director for international Issue / State Enterprise «National Institute for Development Infrastructure»
Watch more interviews on YouTube:
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