Tomás Maldonado e Victor Papanek. Due alternative per i designer contemporanei

Abstract

The environmental issue is the core topic of our time and social, economic and political challenges converge on it. Although design is not immune from con- frontation with this problematic horizon, the contemporary design landscape appears to lack a unified theoretical apparatus. In this sense, it may be useful to reflect on the inaugural moments of the responsible design discourse in or- der to discern alternatives that undermine the contemporary debate.
It is not uncommon for a retrospective look to juxtapose the thoughts of two pioneers of the ecological, social and responsible approach to design: Tomás Maldonado and Victor Papanek. With the help of previously unpublished doc- uments (taken from the Maldonado Fund, recently made accessible by the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation) and through the historical reconstruction and comparative reading of the new Italian editions of their classics (La speranza progettuale and Design per il mondo reale), the essay brings out the points of contact and differences between two design philosophies that, al- though historically situated, are still relevant today.