Road to Salone 2027: the future of contract design and lighting takes center stage in New York

The United States has confirmed its role as the leading non-EU market and the world’s second-largest destination for Italian Furniture Macrosystem exports, after France. In 2025, it accounted for 1.62 billion euros, equivalent to 11.4 per cent of the sector’s exports; in the first seven months of 2026, the figure stood at 888.3 million euros, according to calculations by the FederlegnoArredo Research Centre based on Eurostat data. These figures steered the Salone’s decision to consolidate its relationship with the American professional community and with the key players who shape projects, investments and supplies. 

The upward trend in the lighting sector was particularly marked. Between January and July 2026, Italian exports to the United States hit 93.8 million euros, up 14% on the same period in 2025. This result lent further significance to the New York lighting design event and the run-up to Euroluce 2027, linking the sector’s commercial opportunities with the role of light in the quality of environments. 

In 2025, New York reaffirmed its position as the leading US import district in terms of the value of furniture and lighting imports from Italy, for a total of $547.6 million. The World Tour stopover also highlighted the presence of international design studios, cultural institutions, galleries and hospitality professionals in the city, geared to developing relationships capable of translating into new business opportunities for companies. 

Engagement with cultural institutions plays a part in a highly important economy for the city. The PwC report cites an economic impact for museums and libraries, estimated by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) – the city’s economic development agency – of $4.8 billion in 2024, supporting 20,800 jobs. Over the last decade, the same agency has invested $190 million in over 492,000 square metres of creative spaces.

Through its Department of Cultural Affairs, New York City supports 39 cultural institutions housed in municipally-owned premises. It also funds design, construction and regeneration projects at these institutions and at around 200 other cultural venues spread across the city’s five boroughs[5]. In the financial year 2026, it allocated over $282 million to refurbishments, extensions and new builds, bringing the total funding for the 2023–2026 financial years to over $938 million.

The New Museum thus served as the starting point for a conversation on how to design spaces in which culture is produced and shared, creating opportunities for encounter, participation and experience. The extension designed by OMA/Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas, situated alongside the SANAA building, provided a concrete example for addressing the subject of the integration of galleries, meeting spaces, catering, education and public functions. The panel explored the challenges that this diversity of uses poses for designers and builders: flexibility of spaces, comfort, recognisability and the ability to cater to diverse audiences. 

Beatrice Galilee, curator of architecture and design, author and founder of The World Around, opened the discussion with a question: what should a cultural space offer today, beyond the content it presents? Together with Lawrence Siu, Project Architect at OMA New York, the discussion addressed the opening up of institutions to the city and the value of spaces that foster connection. Entrances, circulation routes, staircases and rest areas brought the contribution of furnishings, materials and bespoke solutions to the public’s experience into sharp focus, opening up a concrete perspective for companies operating in the contract sector. 

Paula Martinez-Nobles, President of Fisher Marantz Stone, introduced the subject of light as a component of architectural design and cultural experience. The discussion addressed its role in the viewing of artworks, in guiding visitors and in creating atmospheres, alongside the need to fulfil different functions within the same building. The relationship between light, materials and furnishings thus broadened the discussion to include the specialist skills that must be integrated from the earliest stages of design. 

Annalisa Rosso, Editorial & Cultural Director, Advisor at Salone del Mobile.Milano brought the scale of the object, experimentation with materials and the relationship between function and artistic expression to the panel discussion. Her contribution threw open the topic of how a unique piece, a limited edition or a particular craft technique can give a space its identity. The discussion thus linked the design of cultural spaces to the possibilities of collectable design, anticipating the vision underpinning Salone Raritas. 

Luca Palermo, Chief Executive Officer and General Director of Federlegno Arredo Eventi, linked these themes to the development of Salone Contract, set to debut in April 2027 with a Masterplan by Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten / OMA. Presented as a “design exchange,” Salone Contract will bring companies together with architects, developers, investors, professionals and procurement managers. 

Mathieu Lehanneur named as the second participant in Salone Raritas 2027 

The New York stopover brought with it the announcement of Mathieu Lehanneur as the second participant in Salone Raritas 2027, following that of India Mahdavi. The French designer will bring his research, combining furniture, sculpture and experimentation with materials to the second edition, evident in collections such as Ocean Memories and Inverted Gravity. Annalisa Rosso, the curator of Salone Raritas, presented the platform dedicated to unique pieces, limited editions and high-end creative craftsmanship, with exhibition design by Formafantasma — a space for dialogue between designers, galleries and professionals in the fields of architecture and interior design.