OBJECTIVES
The Bergamo Tecnologica project aims to conduct an exploratory analysis on the topic of urban manufacturing and technological craftsmanship, identifying its benefits, strengths, and main limitations for effective implementation in the city of Bergamo.
These goals are pursued through an analysis of the enabling technologies behind the Urban Factory paradigm, as well as a careful evaluation of national and international initiatives.
Given the complexity of the phenomenon, viable solutions require the involvement of a diverse range of local stakeholders, capable of integrating their expertise to support successful ideas.
RESEARCH AREA DESCRIPTION
Bergamo Tecnologica is a research and technical-managerial training project designed to answer key questions regarding the sustainability of the Urban Factory in the city of Bergamo. The project aims to bring manufacturing and artisanal activities back within the city’s boundaries, by reinterpreting them through a technological lens.
In recent years, we have witnessed a disruptive development of technologies and technology adoption models with the potential to reshape traditional industrial and craft-based activities. For example, modern 3D printing and laser cutting systems, along with the spread of open-source platforms like Arduino, have enabled business models that are compatible with the many constraints of urban settings.
However, to fully understand and disseminate the Urban Factory paradigm, it is essential to define an action plan capable of grasping its dynamics and promoting truly successful initiatives.
RESULTS AND PROPOSALS
Based on the results of the conducted research, the project team developed an action plan identifying the key actors and activities necessary to facilitate the transition toward an Urban Factory model.
Due to the complexity of the topic, the plan envisions the complementary presence of knowledge spanning the many facets of the Urban Factory paradigm. Specifically, the required expertise can be grouped into three main areas:
• Technical Field: A deep understanding of available technologies, their potential applications, and viable business models is essential. This area could be managed by university research groups especially those specializing in product design, production systems, ICT, economics, entrepreneurship, and the management of technological innovation.
• Applied Field: The implementation of the plan also requires specific technical and practical knowledge of Urban Factory technologies, held by technology solution providers as well as producers and users of open-source systems.
• Institutional Field: To support the engagement of the local manufacturing community in the proposed action plan, dissemination and sponsorship efforts are needed. These could be implemented through the involvement of local professional associations. Thanks to their contact with local manufacturing businesses, these entities play a key role in co-designing research and training activities, spreading the initiative among their members, evaluating technological and business opportunities, and identifying potential pilot cases.
In addition to expertise, developing Urban Factory initiatives requires working on technologies and design systems. This entails creating a Competence Center that makes complex and sometimes costly technologies accessible to a wider range of users, allowing for the assessment of their actual applications.
Lastly, the action plan includes support for defining new business models and extended organizational
– management systems, where strategic assets are not held by a single actor but are shared within the territory and made effectively accessible to all.
RESEARCH TEAM
Matteo Kalchschmidt (Associate Professor, UNIBG)
Roberto Pinto (Aggregate Professor, UNIBG)
Antonio Bonacina (Research Fellow, UNIBG)
