The second edition of the Roundtables on Milan Design (Eco)System

The workshops were opened by a speech by Giampiero Bosoni, critic and professor at the Politecnico di Milano. Bosoni stressed that the culture of design is not reduced to a set of objects, but represents a system of values. The objects designed become bearers of symbols and meanings, helping to build relationships. “The culture of design is a device for generating encounters,” he said, and quoted Spinoza: “positive encounters enhance and give rise to joy.” 

Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile, underlined the centrality of the Salone del Mobile in inspiring new projects and encouraging cultural exchanges: “The purpose of this day, through the lens of cultural production, is to understand with honesty and transparency the critical issues and strengths of an event that is unique worldwide. Only through collaboration can we build a concrete dialogue. We live in complex times, in which networking and creating synergies is the only way to cope with an unprecedented global crisis. We have in our hands a city that is home to over 700 cultural producers, companies with centuries of experience in design, cultural institutions, specialized schools and universities: an extraordinary heritage to be protected and enhanced. All this takes shape in a temporary event, but is deeply rooted in permanent elements. It is in the relationship between the temporary and the permanent that the magic that cannot be separated from culture is born”. 

“In a global context dominated by uncertainty and very rapid transformations, research projects such as Design (Eco)System take on an undoubtedly strategic value. It is crucial for guiding the choices of companies facing global challenges: sustainability, digitization, new forms of living and production,” commented Claudio Feltrin, President of FederlegnoArredo. “For FederlegnoArredo, this approach is fundamental, because accompanying companies means not just supporting them in their daily challenges, but helping them to understand the context in which they work and the opportunities that arise from belonging to a system larger than each individual business.  In fact, the research is not limited to providing a snapshot of the present, but offers a key to understanding the future, by measuring what we could define as the widespread value of the Salone del Mobile. Milan, which is not just an economic value, but a value made up of connections, partnerships between companies, designers, universities and regions. It is a tool, based on the numbers, to demonstrate how the wood-furniture supply chain and the Salone del Mobile as its highest expression, not only contribute to the growth of the sector, but also impel energy, knowledge and business that could not exist without this stimulation.”

Leading the debate and discussions of the Roundtables, were 10 Content Leaders: Annibale D’Elia, Director of Urban Economy, Fashion and Design, Department of Economic Development and Labour Policies, Municipality of Milan; Chiara Rostagno, Deputy Director General of the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense; Marco Sammicheli, Curator of the Design, Fashion and Crafts Sector of the Triennale Milano – Director, Museo del Design Italiano; Isabella Inti, Founder Temporiuso.net – Co-director M-US-T Master Temporary Uses, Politecnico di Milano; Domenico Sturabotti, Director, Fondazione Symbola; Angela Rui, Curator, researcher, Head of MA Programs IED Milan; Stefano Micelli, Professor, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; Walter Mariotti, Editorial Director, Domus; Andrea Rurale, Director of the Intensive Program of Arts Market and Finance and Monitor Art Market, Università Luigi Bocconi; Luciano Galimberti, President, ADI.  

The contributions that emerged from the roundtables will form the basis for the thematic analysis of the cultural production of design in Milan, the first stage of the activity of the Milan Design (Eco)System Observatory. The results will be published in the 2025 Annual Report, a valuable tool for decision makers and citizens, useful for planning an event that is constantly evolving, increasingly inclusive and sustainable, in dialogue with the city and its different souls.  

The Research and Roundtables are curated by Susanna Legrenzi, Press & Communication Strategy Advisor, Salone del Mobile.Milano; Francesco Zurlo, Dean of the School of Design, Politecnico di Milano, Stefano Maffei, Full Professor, Politecnico di Milano; Massimo Bianchini, Full Professor, Politecnico di Milano, and the researchers Francesco Leoni and Filippo Parolini.