Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh
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26 NOV – 28 NOV
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15:00 – 22:00
An installation with more than 200 products from 38 Italian companies, over 350 high-profile B2B meetings, 30 leading exponents of international architecture and design in 13 cultural events. These are the numbers of the event that anticipates the first Saudi edition of the Salone in 2026.
26 Nov – 28 Nov 2025
15:00 – 22:00
Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh
Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh
Salone Del Mobile.Milano is making its Middle East debut in Riyadh. Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh will transform the King Abdullah Financial District into a stage for design, dialogue and business exchange from 26th to 28th November 2025, Featuring 38 renowned Italian brands and laying the cornerstone for the landmark 2026 edition.
Made in Italy in Riyadh
Delivered in strategic partnership with the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture, the event reflects the Kingdom’s cultural vision and design ambitions. Beyond the exhibition, the event will feature a dedicated B2B platform connecting Italian companies with Saudi buyers contractors, developers and architects; an engaging cultural program of talks and masterclasses to foster cultural dialogue curated by Annalisa Rosso, Editorial Director & Cultural Events Advisor Salone del Mobile.Milano; a landmark site-specific installation that will embody the creative theme Red in progress.
The event is supported by the institutional partners that accompany the Salone in its international activities, including the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), underscoring a shared commitment to promoting Italian design worldwide and strengthening cultural and economic ties with Saudi Arabia.
26 Nov 2025
16:15 – 17:00
Shaping the Future of Design: Milan meets Riyadh
A conversation between two leading figures on the international design scene on how leadership, cultural vision, and institutional strategy can guide the evolution of design today. At its heart lies the ambition to build a meaningful bridge between Italy and Saudi Arabia — a dialogue in which knowledge, creativity, and values mingle to inspire mutual growth. Touching on cultural strategy, education, and research, the discussion will explore how design generates social and economic value while nurturing collaboration and cultural diplomacy. A reflection on design as a shared language shaping identities, institutions, and futures.
Speakers:
Maria Porro, President Salone del Mobile.Milano
HH Nawaf Bin Ayyaf, CEO of the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture
Moderator Tumi Makgabo, Founder and Director, AfricaWorldwide Media
26 Nov 2025
17:30 – 18:30
Urban Design between Identity, Community, and Social Innovation
Public space is more than the void between buildings: it is the everyday stage for collective life, a place where relationships are activated, identity is reflected, and a sense of belonging is built. At a time when Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in culture, community, and urban quality, this discussion will explore how public space design can become a tool for social innovation, intercultural dialogue, and international appeal. Visionary architects and local practices will exchange views on inclusivity, accessibility, and context-driven design, envisioning the city as a dynamic organism — a living, open place where culture, form, and community coexist in meaningful balance.
Event in English
Speakers:
Lulu Almana, Landscape Architect
Eli Synnevåg, Director of Acquisition Middle East and Senior Architect, Snøhetta
Hind Alessa, Architect and Designer for Social Innovation
Moderator Razmig Bedirian, Art and Culture Writer, The National
26 Nov 2025
18:50 – 19:35
Urban Scenographies: Architecture, Culture and the Art of Public Space
The creative collective Giò Forma explores the transformative potential of architecture and scenography in redefining the experience of public space. Florian Boje, CEO and Founder of the studio walks us through installations, light, and theatrical interventions of their work, investigating how spatial narratives can construct identity, foster cultural engagement, and enhance the architectural experience of the city. By merging design, art, and performance, Giò Forma reveals the city as an evolving stage where architecture becomes both medium and message. These interventions activate new forms of social interaction, turning urban environments into immersive, emotionally resonant landscapes.
Event in English
Speakers:
Florian Boje, CEO and Co-Founder, Studio Giò Forma
Moderator Christele Harrouk, Editor-in-Chief, ArchDaily
26 Nov 2025
19:45 – 20:45
Environmentally Conscious Design in Extreme Climates
In an era marked by increasingly radical climate change, designing for extreme conditions is no longer an exception but a global necessity. This discussion institutes a dialogue between Italian ingenuity and Saudi momentum: Mario Cucinella — renowned for bioclimatic architecture that reconciles technology, climate, and human comfort — meets Bricklab, whose Saudi practice reimagines local materials and develops conceptual framework around the duality between nature and culture. Together they will explore passive strategies, low-tech/high-impact solutions, and urban adaptation rooted in cultural sustainability. Framed by the Kingdom’s drive for sustainable development and thriving urban life, the conversation will propose architecture that does more than endure heat and scarcity: it transforms constraint into resource, shaping places that are inclusive, beautiful, and profoundly attuned to context.
Event in English
Speakers:
Mario Cucinella, Architect and Founder of MCA — Mario Cucinella Architects
Abdulrahman Gazzas, Partner and Director, Bricklab
Al.Motasem B. Attiyah, Architect & Urbanist, CEO Clear Holding Co.
Moderator Tumi Makgabo, Founder and Director, AfricaWorldwide Media
27 Nov 2025
16:15 – 17:00
Architecture of Renewal: Reimagining the Future of the Built Environment
A city without hierarchy – a living organism shaped by light, air, the rhythm of nature, and patterns of authentic use. The Saudi architecture reimagines how humanity can inhabit the future by reflecting on the past: an ecosystem where culture, prosperity, and emotion intertwine. This masterclass invites us to look beyond architecture as construction and see it as foresight – a way to anticipate transformation, to craft cities and buildings that breathe, regenerate, and inspire. It is a journey into the poetic and technological heart of tomorrow’s built environment, where innovation serves identity and every space becomes a vision of balance between humans and the planet.
Event in English
Speakers:
Noura Ghabra, Assistant Professor in Architecture King AbdulAziz University, Consultant in Sustainable Architecture and Cultural Heritage
Moderator Christele Harrouk, Editor-in-Chief, ArchDaily
27 Nov 2025
17:15 – 18:15
Reinventing Hospitality: Design, Landscape, New Forms of Guest Experience
At the heart of the touristic and cultural transformation promoted by Saudi Vision 2030, hospitality becomes a key realm for rethinking the country’s identity. Drawing on work across the Kingdom, the speakers will examine landscape integration as a design driver – shaping boutique destinations rooted in local identity yet globally resonant. The discussion will address sustainable materials, low-impact construction, and climate-savvy detailing that deliver cultural comfort and long-term value and wellbeing. Extending beyond resorts, the session will consider residential compounds and commercial mixed-use districts where hospitality principles – welcome, service, experience – inform homes, retail, and workplaces. Case studies will highlight intimate scales, resilient infrastructure, and public-realm strategies that connect guests, residents, and citizens to the Kingdom’s landscape heritage.
Event in English
Speakers:
Étienne Tricaud, Architect, Urban Planner and Engineer
Abdullah Alazzaz, Creative Director, Azaz Architects
Moderator Zen Bahar, Editor, Commercial Interior Design
27 Nov 2025
18:45 – 19:30
Speaking of Places: Imagination, Product and Interiors as one Language
This masterclass will look at design starting from the human scale – how objects, rooms, and buildings feel to the people who use them. Piero Lissoni will show how graphics, product design, interiors, and architecture can work together as a single language that “speaks” with places: their light, materials, and everyday rituals. Drawing on the strength of Italian industrial design – attention to detail, quality manufacturing, and smart innovation – it will explore how these values can connect with the energy and ambitions of today’s Saudi Arabia. The session will move from the small to the large: from a chair that sets the tone of a room, to interior layouts that guide behaviour, to architecture that creates welcoming neighbourhoods and memorable hospitality. The goal is practical design that improves daily life, our ability to speak with places and honour our identity.
Event in English
Speakers:
Piero Lissoni, Architect, Designer and Art Director, Lissoni&Partners
Moderator Christele Harrouk, Editor-in-Chief, ArchDaily
27 Nov 2025
19:45 – 20:45
Evolving Living: Canvassing the Future Habitat
As Saudi Arabia undergoes profound cultural and social transformation under Vision 2030, the concept of “home” is being redefined. Living spaces are no longer merely functional environments – they are becoming expressions of identity, comfort, innovation, and community. The round table will explore how homes in the Kingdom are evolving today, reflecting new lifestyles, values, and aspirations. This transformation also opens a dialogue with Italian design in particular, whose ability to merge heritage, craftsmanship, and innovation has made it a reference point for the world. Italian design has long embodied a balance between aesthetics and function, tradition and experimentation – principles that resonate deeply with Saudi Arabia’s current quest to create homes that embrace the future while honouring cultural roots.
Event in English
Speakers:
Nebras Aljoaib, Interior Designer, Founder Nebras Aljoaib Creative Studio
Roberto Palomba, Architect and Designer, Co-Founder Palomba Serafini Associati studio
Nawaf Al-Nassar, Interior Designer, Founder 3njeddah
Moderator Razmig Bedirian, Art and Culture Writer, The National
27 Nov 2025
21:00 – 21:30
Inequalities. Design for a Better Life
9th Edition of Italian Design Day in Riyadh | In collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Riyadh
Italian Design Day is an initiative created by MAECI in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, with the aim of involving and valorising key figures from both the public and private sectors who embody the excellence of Italian design and the business world. Italian Design Day has generated more than 1,000 events around the world, involving designers, architects, entrepreneurs, academics and specialist journalists, working to promote innovation, industry and high-quality Italian craftsmanship. These talents interacted with the creative, academic and business communities of the host countries, helping to disseminate the beauty and excellence of Italian design. For 2025, the chosen representative for the 9th edition of Italian Design Day in Saudi Arabia is Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile, whose speech will set out her vision of the role of Design in contemporary society and, in particular, in reducing the impact of inequalities on the wellbeing of individuals in everyday life.
Speakers:
Carlo Baldocci, Italian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Maria Porro, President Salone del Mobile.Milano
Introduction Christele Harrouk, Editor-in-Chief, ArchDaily
28 Nov 2025
16:15 – 17:15
Next Gen Saudi: Empowering Young Designers
Saudi Arabia’s future is being built today – including through the ideas and intuitions of a new generation of designers. In a country investing in education, culture, and creativity, this discussion will give voice to mentors and institutions of young Saudi and MENA designers who are redefining design language through multidisciplinary, sustainable approaches rooted in their cultural identity. The conversation will also resonate with the enduring legacy of SaloneSatellite, which for over twenty-five years has been a global platform nurturing young creativity and shaping the careers of generations of designers worldwide. A cross-cutting, inspirational, and deeply contemporary dialogue celebrating creative empowerment and opening new avenues of exchange between Saudi Arabia, Italy and the international design community.
Event in English
Speakers:
Marva Griffin Wilshire, Founder and Curator SaloneSatellite and Ambassador of International Relations, Salone del Mobile.Milano
Samer Yamani, Design Curator and Creative Director, Founder Creative Dialogue
HRH Princess Noura Alfaisal, Founder Adhlal, CEO Art of Heritage
Shahira Fahmy, Principal and Founder of Shahira Fahmy Architects
Moderator Zen Bahar, Editor, Commercial Interior Design
28 Nov 2025
17:30 – 18:15
The Living City: Designing the Public Realm as Regenerative Infrastructure
As cities evolve, architecture and landscape are converging into a single living framework. This talk explores how civic infrastructure can serve as both cultural foundation and ecological system, shaping climate, community, and identity. Drawing on several national projects inspired by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, Jon Clokie, Director of Landscape Architecture at Omrania, reflects on design as a regenerative act that heals land, restores continuity, and invites collective belonging. From large-scale planning to human-scale experience, the discussion reveals how infrastructure can move beyond sustainability toward renewal, transforming urban growth into a process that gives back more than it takes. By aligning design intelligence with natural intelligence, the public realm becomes not just the setting of civic life but the living system that sustains it.
Event in English
Speakers:
Jonathon Clokie, Head of Landscape Architecture, Omrania
Moderator Christele Harrouk, Editor-in-Chief, ArchDaily
28 Nov 2025
18:45 – 19:30
From Heritage to AI: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Italian Design
In collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Riyadh
Italian design has always stood out for its ability to combine creativity, technological research and manufacturing excellence, generating objects, environments and services that have marked the history of international design. From furniture to sports cars, from fashion to food, Italian design culture has been able to combine experimentation and quality, redefining languages and functions. Similarly, Saudi Arabia possesses a rich heritage of traditional arts and craftsmanship that is being preserved and innovated for contemporary contexts. Today, this heritage is facing a pivotal challenge: artificial intelligence, which is radically transforming processes and skills, from design to communication. Design is called upon to reinterpret its founding values — craftsmanship, culture, innovation and attention to detail — in order to integrate them into an evolving digital ecosystem. The debate in Riyadh will explore the role of education in this transition: how design schools and cultural institutions are reimagining their pedagogical approaches, fostering meaningful exchanges between human creativity and artificial intelligence, and preparing new generations of designers to honour their cultural roots while embracing technological advancement.
Event in English
Speakers:
Randa A. Mahmoud, Dean of the College of Architecture and Design, Prince Sultan University
Francesco Zurlo, Dean of School of Design, Politecnico di Milano
Eiman Yahya Kurdi, Director of Continuing Education, Royal Institute of Traditional Arts
Sergio Nava, Director of Education, Istituto Marangoni Milano Design School
Moderator Silvia Mazzetto, Associate Professor at the College of Architecture and Design, Prince Sultan University
28 Nov 2025
19:45 – 20:45
Fostering Local Talents: From Craft to Market through Design Mentorship and Collaborations
This discussion will examine the critical intersection of craft practice and commercial viability in contemporary design ecosystems. Italian architect Massimo Adario will present his methodology for integrating master craftsmen into interior design projects, demonstrating how bespoke fabrication creates site-specific solutions that transcend industrial production. Samer Yamani, Design Curator, representing Saudi Arabia's Jusoor Design Collection programme, articulates their framework for transitioning emerging designers from conceptual development to market implementation through structured mentorship and strategic partnerships with crafts-based design brands. The discussion will address sustainable models for cultivating design communities, maintaining craft traditions within modern practice, and establishing professional pathways that enable local talent to achieve international competitiveness while preserving cultural authenticity and regional design identity.
Event in English
Speakers:
Samer Yamani, Design Curator and Creative Director, Founder Creative Dialogue
Massimo Adario, Architect
Hana Al Maktoum, Head of Programs and Curricula Development at the Architecture and Design Commission
Moderator Zen Bahar, Editor, Commercial Interior Design
