IUAV University of Venice

History

In 1926 Giovanni Bordiga and Guido Cirilli founded the Scuola Superiore di Arti, a branch of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. It was the second architecture school in Italy after that of Rome. In 1940 The Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia was founded. In the year 1963-64 Iuav moved to Tolentini with 1000 students enrolled and later in 1970 Giovanni Astengo coordinates Italy's first course in Urban Planning in Preganziol, but University reform in 1981 as the Urban Planning becomes a degree programme at Ca' Tron. By the beginning of the 90s, particularly in the year 1993 12,000 students were enrolled in 3 degree programmes (Urban and Regional Planning, History and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, and Architecture).

By the academic year 2000/2001 the Institute became a university with 3 faculties:

Architecture

Regional Planning

Arts and Design

and in 2013 three new departments were opened:

Department of Architecture, Construction and Conservation

Department of Architecture and Arts

Department of Design and Planning in Complex Environments

In the academic year 2001/2002, in parallel with the 75th anniversary, the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia (Iuav) officially changed its name to Università Iuav di Venezia and while the four letters of "Iuav" were no longer an acronym, the university decided to retain the abbreviations and use it as the university's name.

In 2002, the Iuav organized an international competition "newlogo Iuav" for the design of the new institutional logo of the university. Internationally known designers, specialized in the design of brands and logos were invited to participate in the competition, seven of the ten graphic designers selected have joined the competition. The jury, composed of Giovanni Anceschi, Enrico Camplani, Marino Folin, Bob Norda, Sergio Polano, Leonardo Sonnoli, Pierpaolo Vetta, chose the logo designed by the French graphic designer Philippe Apeloig, rather than designing an abstract symbol or a figure based on existing motifs, he developed a logo based almost entirely on the four letters I, U, A, and V, arranged vertically, a simple but richly connoted design that aims to represent past, present and future. The new logo replaces the historic seal with the effigy of the lion of St. Mark, redesigned by Massimo Scolari, who for years had been the symbol of the Iuav.

IUAV buildings and locations

Tolentini is the Headquarters of Università Iuav di Venezia. The Tolentini building complex is located near Piazzale Roma and comprises the Tolentini church convent complex and a few other neighbouring areas. In 1958, the Italian State, owner of the former convent, gave Iuav access to the building began construction work. The renovations of the whole complex took place between 1960 and 1965, project and work direction by the architect Daniele Calabi and the engineer Mario Bacci.

In 1985, the entrance area was transformed according to a project by Carlo Scarpa, work direction by architect Sergio Los, and structural calculation by the engineer Carlo Maschietto.

Palazzo Badoer In 1974, Iuav also bought the palace belonging to the Santa Caterina Sisters of Charity of Nevers. Construction work and adaptation of the palace to Department of Architecture began in April 1978. Palazzo Badoer has been the home to the Iuav School of Doctorate Studies since 2008.

Cotonificio veneziano History was inaugurated in 1883. In the previous year, a cotton spinning and production company was set up in Venice. Partially destroyed by a fire in 1916, the cotton mill (cotonificio) was rebuilt. About a thousand workers worked here: it remained operative until 1960, and then was abandoned for thirty years before restoration in the 1990s.Restored by the Venetian architecture studio of Gino Valle, the main building now houses an important part of the university: classrooms, the "Gino Valle" exhibit space, the "Archivio Progetti" (which includes a study room with nine consultation seats), the exhibition hall, a main office and a deposit. The exhibition room is permanently set up with an exhibition of models belonging to the collection of the "Archivio", and it hosts temporary exhibits that display original documents from the archive funds. It is now the seat of "Archivio Progetti", ArTec Archives on Techniques and Materials for Architecture and Industrial Design, infrastructure management, auditorium, "Gino Valle" exhibit space, Gradoni room, teaching activities.

Ca' Tron is the seat of exhibition spaces, and Ir.Ide research infrastructure. Was purchased by Iuav in 1972, and restored on a project by Architect L. Bellemo. Consolidation work, space reorganization, and space recovery were carried out for the new functions of the building. Two large salons, on the ground floor and on the first floor, offer students spaces to gather together. The palazzo is an exhibition venue for artistic events, available for both university and external users.

Academics

Graduate programs

Iuav offers 4 bachelor's, 6 master's degree, and 1 PHD programmes covering the fields of architecture, design, fashion, visual arts, urban and regional planning and theatre. This in addition to 19 Postgraduate specialisation course and 7 advanced specialisation programs.

Bachelor's Degree Programs (All in Italian):

Bachelor of Architecture

Bachelor of Planning & Urban Design

Bachelor of Product, Visual Communication & Interior Design with 2 tracks (First is Interior Design and Second is Product and Visual Design)

Bachelor of Fashion Design & Multimedia Arts with 3 Tracks (First is Fashion Design, Second is Multimedia Arts, and Third is Fashion Communication and new media)

Master's degree Programs (Taught in Italian & English):

Master of Architecture (Taught in Italian)

Master of Architecture (Taught in English)

Master of Planning & Urban Design with two Tracks (First is Urban Planning for Transition (Taught in English) and Second is Planning and Urban Design for Transition (Taught in Italian)

Master of Product, Communication And Interior Design with 3 Tracks (Taught in Italian) (First is Interior Design, Second is Product Design, and Third is Communication Design)

Master of Fashion and Visual Arts with two Tracks (First is Visual Arts and Second is Fashion Design)(Taught in Italian)

Master of Theater & Performing Arts with two Tracks(Taught in Italian) (First is Theatrical and Choreographic Studies, Second is Performance and Gender Studies)

Enrollment and staff

For 2021-2022 academic year, number of students enrollments are as per the following:

2361 students - Bachelor's degree programs

1454 students - Master's degree programs

64 students - Vecchio ordinamento degree programs

161 students - postgraduate specialisation courses

115 students - PhDs

106 as research fellows

173 outgoing and 143 incoming students in frame of exchange programs

526 professors and researchers, teaching assistants

250 administrative staff members

Library

The University has a library dedicated to architecture and other design disciplines in Italy. The Iuav library, located in Tolentini, is open to institutional users and, subject to authorization, also to the external public. It houses a wide and rare collection of volumes, databases and journals especially focusing on architecture, urban planning and the arts. For some years collections on design, fashion and theatre have been growing. Specific keynotes, handbooks and general publications to support the teaching of the University are available. Moreover, the library holdings include dissertations (since 1983), and some valuable items: the Daniela Palazzoli Special Collection; the Italo Zannier Special Collection, a remarkable collection of books and journals on the history of photography, owned by the popular photographer and critic, and the personal collections of the architects Mario Labò, Giovanni Sardi and Giorgio Wenter Marini, which include some antique books and publications of the first half of the 20th century, also it holds a considerable range of international magazines and books and is open till late evening.

The Università Iuav di Venezia Library System promotes cooperation and projects which aim to improve and develop the dissemination of information on the subjects of Architecture and Urban Planning, with agreements and membership of The National Library Service of Italy (Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale– SBN), Archinet and Urbandata Associations and the University of Padua and the Ca' Foscari University of Venice phaidra Library System.

Iuav Library produces the most important Italian Architecture and Urban Planning Periodical Index in cooperation with the Italian Association of Architecture Libraries (Coordinamento Nazionale Biblioteche di Architettura - CNBA). More than 7,000 new records are added to the database every year. This catalogue and other bibliographic and full-text databases are also accessible to Iuav users from outside the University network with user ID. The discovery tool primo.iuav.it provides access to all the information resources mentioned above, as well as to the Projects Archive, the Map Collection and the Slide Collection catalogues and digitalized images.

Labs

The Labs constitute a research infrastructure supporting also the educational activities of various degree programs as well as the more in-depth analysis of specific topics for master theses and PhD dissertations. They support research and other work in the fields of building sciences, conservation and Archaeological science studies, structural analysis, building physics, environmental monitoring, representation, photography, topography, cartography, geographic information systems, material and components characterization.

The lab system offers tools and support for:

mechanical and thermos-physical testing of materials and structures

short and long-term static and dynamic structural monitoring

environmental monitoring and analysis

lighting and acoustical analysis, monitoring and design

archaeometry and conservation studies

surveys and representations of projects, buildings and areas

3D interactive models, digital animation, video, multimedia works

drawings, models, video animation and websites

geographic information systems

elaborating and archiving digital maps

archiving materials and components

document retrieval and research

photographic campaigns

Below is the list of the labs

Reputation and ranking

Foremost experts in the fields of architecture, planning, design and arts as well as artists are part of the university's history, including: Le Corbusier, Louis Kahn, Frank Lloyd Wright, Carlo Scarpa, Carlo Aymonino, Manfredo Tafuri, Vittorio Gregotti, Gino Valle, Aldo Rossi, Giovanni Astengo, Giancarlo De Carlo, Tadao Ando and Richard Serra.

Iuav has established agreements with important Italian and foreign cultural institutions, museums and universities such as La Biennale di Venezia, Teatro La Fenice, Palazzo Grassi, Musei Civici Veneziani, Triennale di Milano, Parsons School of Design, MIT, Illinois Institute of Technology, UNSW Sydney and Tongji University. Iuav students are involved with all of these institutions on a regular basis.

As of 2026 and According to QS World University Ranking, Università Iuav di Venezia is among the best 40 universities around the world in the field of Architecture, it gained around hundred and fifty position going from position 151-200 (2018) to 51-100 (2019 & 2020) and currently jumping to 40 (2026). An improvement of about 150 positions that places Iuav architecture courses among the best in the world and largely first in Italy for growth intensity. Since 2019, Iuav is among the best 150 universities around the world in the field of Art & Design on the report of QS World University Ranking for best Art & Design universities for the year 2019 & 2020.

Also, as one of the finest architecture universities in Europe, it was listed in Domus Magazine's Guide to Europe's Top 100 Schools of Architecture and Design selected across Europe.

Nationally, according to La Repubblica-CENSIS University Rankings (2017) Iuav was ranked 2nd after Polytechnic University of Milan(PoliMi) and followed by Polytechnic University of Turin(PoliTo) according to the classification and evaluation parameters of The Italian polytechnics. While in the 2020 La Repubblica-CENSIS ranking for Best Architecture Faculty 2019-2020 for the three-year degree courses, the Iuav (110 points) was in first place – first also in terms of career progression and international relations – followed by the University of Sassari (104.5 points) and Camerino (99.5 points). The Polytechnic of Turin and Milan are in fifth and sixth place respectively (95 and 94 points).

Notable alumni

Carlo Scarpa (architect, 1906–1978)

Giancarlo De Carlo (architect, urban planner, and architectural theorist, RIBA Royal Gold Medal winner (1993), 1919–2005)

Bruno Morassutti (architect, 1920–2008)

Graziano Gasparini (historian and architect, 1924–2019)

Roberto Gottardi (Italian-Cuban architect, 1927–2017)

Massimo Vignelli (designer, 1931–2014)

Costantino Dardi (architect, 1936–1991)

Guido Guidi (photographer, born 1941)

Gino Finizio (designer and architect, 1941–2022)

Abbas Gharib (architect, born 1942)

Mario Botta (architect, born 1943)

Franco Stella (architect, born 1943)

Francesco Dal Co (historian and architect, born 1945)

Milo Manara (Italian comic book writer and artist, born 1945)

Marco Frascari (architect and architectural theorist, 1945–2013)

Maurizio Bolognini (media artist, born 1952)

Antonio Martinelli (photographer, born 1953)

Stefano Boeri (architect, born 1956)

Rectors

Among the rectors who have taken place so far are:

Giovanni Bordiga (1926-1929)

Guido Cirilli (1929-1943)

Giuseppe Samonà (1943-1971)

Carlo Scarpa (1971-1974)

Carlo Aymonino (1974-1979)

Valeriano Pastor (1979-1982)

Paolo Ceccarelli (1982-1991)

Marino Folin (1991-2006)

Carlo Magnani (2006-2009)

Amerigo Restucci (2009-2015)

Alberto Ferlenga (2015-2021)

Benno Albrecht (2021-2027)