ISIA's Bauhaus Legacy Under Threat from Bureaucratization

Giordano Bruno, former director of ISIA Roma (2010-2016) and professor since 1982, argues that Italy's Superior Institutes for Artistic Industries (ISIA), founded in the 1970s as the most tangible heirs of Bauhaus culture, are being undermined by recent reforms. He identifies three original prerogatives that made ISIA successful: research partnerships with enterprises and public entities; non-standardized governance by scientific-didactic committees appointed by the Ministry, selecting expert teachers; and flexible curricula updated for scientific, technological, and socio-cultural changes. ISIA Roma pioneered a master's degree in Systems Design in 2004 and introduced the study of complexity. Bruno criticizes the post-1999 AFAM reform for weakening ISIA by imposing state recruitment based on quantitative scores and tenure tracks, stripping institutes of their distinctive features. He calls for a 'return to the future' through total debureaucratization, research promotion, and the Bauhaus didactic model, warning that current policies risk secondary-school-level education and the erasure of an effective system. The article references Gabriele Simongini's earlier piece on AFAM and the European Bauhaus initiative by Ursula von der Leyen, and cites Anty Pansera's book on Italian design education.