Italian Design Day 2026: the tenth edition

The 10th edition of Italian Design Day (IDD) offers an opportunity for reflection on design and architecture, employed in both the regeneration of our individual and shared living spaces, and the regeneration of materials and objects.

The initiative is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with Salone del Mobile.Milano, FederlegnoArredo, the ITA- Italian Trade Agency, ADI – the Association for Industrial Design, the ADI Compasso d’Oro Collection Foundation, Triennale Milano.

Urban planning, objects and buildings can all contribute in synergy to resolving complex problems: this year’s event seeks to encourage reflection on innovative processes that can tackle the global challenges facing us now and in the future. The theme, embracing both urban regeneration and the regeneration of objects, makes the most of the Italian experience, founded on an exceptionally rich heritage of knowledge and expertise. 

Italian cities are the result of successive stratifications and adaptations, and thus offer a unique field for experimentation for a planning approach that aims to combine sustainability, attention to people and communities, inclusion and technological innovation. Despite the specific nature of these projects, they constitute a model that can be exported around the world, as can be seen from the urban regeneration projects set up in other countries that are distinctive in their integrated approach, focusing on environmental, social and economic aspects, and in how they boost local communities through the active involvement of citizens in the processes of transformation.

Italian Design Day is thus an opportunity to highlight the planning expertise, technological research, analysis of new materials and focus on environmental and social sustainability of designers, companies, public bodies and third-sector organizations in Italy.

Italy offers a wealth of examples of excellence in the field of designing objects, both physical and digital, inspired by the principles of the circular economy from the very first stages of the design process. The use of recycled materials and attention to the life cycle of the products show how contemporary challenges can be a powerful creative stimulus for designers and can supply innovative production chains able to generate successful processes of sustainable development.