Performing Affordances

Torrazzetta, Italy

2026

As part of the Design Village Global Summer Workshop season at Torrazzetta

Performing Affordances is a performative design workshop held at Torrazzetta, Italy, in 2026. It examines how design students read materials and objects for their perceived and actual action possibilities—their affordances—and how bodily performance can open up alternative uses. The workshop uses furniture designed and fabricated by participants in THE VILLAGE MAKERS, a Global Summer Workshop led by MVK Design Studio, of which I am a member. Through performative gestures , students re-examine and re-perceive their own designs, testing how bodies can prompt new readings and uses.

THE VILLAGE MAKERS was part of the Design Village Global Summer Workshop season at Torrazzetta. It challenged design students to make furniture and functional objects for the new campus studios, inspired by Memphis design and creatively reusing prefabricated wood and aluminium materials. Guided by the theoretical framework of design affordances and the radical aesthetic of the Memphis Group, students transformed industrial materials into valuable assets. MVK Design Studio supported the workshop with expert-led seminars and hands-on production guidance, culminating in a final presentation review with local and international experts. The final goal was to showcase a new collection of purpose-built, functional furniture for the new campus.

The workshop took place within The Design Village (TDV), founded in 2014 as a response to the India Design Education (INDEED) report under the Indo-Dutch partnership. TDV pioneers humanity-centred design education in India and, as the country’s first social design school, nurtures courage, perseverance, awareness, and compassion through unique manifestos and transdisciplinary journeys. Industry collaborations, taskboxes, and global mobility foster graduates who design with purpose and impact. Internationally recognised for social innovation and systemic change, TDV bridges academia, community, and industry.

Villa-Castello di Torrazzetta, in Lombardy’s Oltrepò Pavese, is a historic estate reimagined as a hub for design, learning, and culture. Rooted in heritage, Torrazzetta acts as a catalyst for social impact, embracing sustainability, cultural sensitivity, and connection to nature. As the European campus of The Design Village, it envisions itself as an epicentre for cross-cultural dialogue, fostering collaboration and discourse on creating leaders for tomorrow.

Supported by Framework (Kazakhstan), a high-end manufacturer of patterned plywood surfaces: https://framework.center