Reaching its 7th edition, Milano Design Awards 2017’s goal was to select and elect, through an international jury, the best exhibition project of Milano Design Week, according to four fundamental qualities that define an installation: Concept, Technology, Storytelling and Engagement by IED.

Furthermore, each of these qualities will constitute a sub category Award itself, plus the new “The Unicorn” – most innovative category and the also new International Press Choice award

The Milano Design Award is, to date, the only of its kind devoted to celebrating the best installations of the Fuorisalone, otherwise known as the events that happen in the City not the Fairgrounds.

Milano Design Award is a project created by Elita ( enjoy living italy ) in collaboration with Fuorisalone.it, IED-Istituto Europeo di Design and Valverde, under the patronage of Comune di Milano.

Starting from 2016 it has become a project shared by Milano Fuori Salone committee and supported by the major design districts: 5VIE art+design, Brera Design District, Milano Space Makers, Porta Venezia in Design , Superstudio Group, Tortona Design Week, Triennale di Milano, Ventura Projects and Zona SantAmbrogio.

The seventh edition award ceremony took place at La Triennale di Milano on 6 April 2017 with a special performance of Japanese taiko drums and tip tap

In attendance were Giuseppe Sala Mayor of Milan, Milan council members Cristina Tajani, Claudio Luti ( president of Cosmit) and the General Director of Triennale Andrea Cancellato

Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Awards

The ceremony was opened by two lifetime achievement awards, meant for people and companies that have helped to build the history of FuoriSalone.

The winners were both presented with their awards by Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan.

Company Lifetime achievement Award

“I am very pleased and honored to receive this award. In fact I was one of the first promoters of the Fuorisalone that gradually involved the entire city of Milan by discovering whole neighborhoods often unknown.

Thanks to the Fuorisalone in combined at Salone del Mobile, Milan became the capital of design, the world’s center of attraction in a continuous and constant evolution both quantitative and qualitative.

Today all the brands, from cars to technology, close to the design are an active part of this unique and inimitable week of creative ferment” …. Giulio Cappellini.

Designer Lifetime Achievement Award

“We were hoping for upcoming young designer, but we’ll settle for the Lifetime Achievement Prize “ …..  Tom Dixon

Milano Design Awards Jury 2017

The prizes were assigned by an international jury, comprising  Luca Cipelletti (architect and winner of the Milan Design Award 2016); Giorgio Di Salvo (designer),; Evan Orensten (Cool Hunting),; Marco Velardi (Apartment),; Olimpia Zagnoli (illustrator).

International Press Choice Jury

The Prizes

AtelierForte, run by Italian artist and architect Duilio Forte, is the maker of “Sleipnir Troll” (The symbol of Milano Design Award ) given as prize for the previous editions of the award.

Sleipnir is, in Norse mythology, Odin’s horse.

Gray color, is the best horse that exists, the fastest. He can ride the sky and water, and also along the other worlds. Its name literally means “one who slips quickly”.

For Duilio Forte it is the symbol of exploration, discovery and achievement.

Te 2017 Milano Design Award Winners

The best exhibition of Milano Design Week, selected for its well designed mix of concept, technology, storytelling and engagement.

Overall Winner Award

Senses of the Future
LG

Tokujin Yoshioka

Motivation

For the ability to synthesize the conceptual, technological, narrative and emotional aspects in one single project

LG’s “S.F._Senses of the Future,” hosted by Superstudio Più in via Tortona, took this year’s top honors. The installation, designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, made use of OLED technology to create an overwhelming yet poetic environment.

Yoshioka imagined a series of sculptural chairs made with transparent glass and monitors that displayed abstract images of colors and shapes derived from natural landscapes.

The backdrop was an impressive wall of 30,000 tiny OLED screens, which powerfully mimics the vibrance and intensity of sunlight.

Best Concept Award

The exhibition that proposes the most innovative idea, channelling the strongest value, anticipating future opportunities and meanings.

Winner

May I Have Your Attention, Please?
Maarten Baas by Lensvelt

Motivation
For the immediacy and theatricality of the concept, which allows everyone a fun and enjoyable experience.

“May I have your attention, please?” was part of one of the most interesting areas of Design Week, Ventura Centrale.

Baas filled one of the old warehouses of the Central Railway Station with chairs and megaphones.

Counter-intuitively, the sound emitted was not noise and cries, but just whispers coming from several different sources. The result was a clever, analog parody of the desperate desire for attention that we all live with, in the digital age

Best Technology Award

The exhibition that shows innovative technologies or a creative use of the existing ones.

Winner

Foundation
Formafantasma, Krizia

Motivation
For how the use of technology applied to the product is able to create a surprising installation project.

Foundation, an exhibition that showcased the work of Formafantasma at Spazio Krizia, by two Amsterdam-based Italian-born designers gained two awards: Best Technology and Press Choice.

Foundation presented the light experiments made by Formafantasma.

Their work is centered on an artistic approach toward technology and the essential installation was mainly orchestrated through the light and color effects created by the objects on display.

Best Storytelling Award

The best exhibition that clearly send its message, through enganging storytelling and communication.

Winner

Electronics Meets Crafts
Panasonic

GO ON and Panasonic Design & Shuichi Furumi

Motivation
For the ability to translate the theme of the exhibition in a fluid history in which technology is hidden in the story of the artisan tradition.

This year’s Best Storytelling Award went to Panasonic’s “Electronics Meets Crafts,” designed by GO ON and Panasonic Design with Shuichi Furumi. As the title clearly states,

Panasonic’s desire has been to reveal the beauty of the most traditional Japanese crafts in combination with their most sophisticated technologies.

The installation was made of three different stages, hosted in the historic Accademia di Brera, the most prestigious Italian art academy.

The first space was a theater in which inspirational videos were projected onto a screen made of precious kimono fabrics.

The second phase presented artisanal Japanese daily objects like tea pots, bamboo lamps, wooden buckets—all of which were filled with hi-tech products. Curiously, you could hear the sounds of the forest coming from the tea pots, the buckets were able to keep sake at the right temperature, and the lamps had no visible light source.

The third and last step showcased collaborative work conducted by Panasonic with the design students of the Accademia.

Best Engagement by IED Award

The exhibition that stands by strongly relating audience with its concept, creating an immersive relationship between different aspects (space, sound, products etc.)

Winner

New Spring
COS x Studio Swine

Motivation

For the ability to engage the visitor in a simple yet emotional experience.

One of the most photographed installation of the week was “New Spring,” designed by Studio Swine for COS.

Their minimalistic tree created bubbles filled with perfumed smoke and visitors lined up for hours to pop them and to take photos and selfies.

Such a level of involvement, the emotion and the smiles it created were among the reasons for which the jury decided to give them Milano Design Award for Best Engagement.

The Unicorn Award

The exhibition that shows an innovation seed in exhibition design, breaking the rules and traces a future design direction within the exhibition design field.

Winner

Superfollies
Nobody&Co in collaboration with Studio Toogood

Motivation
For a project that opens an unexpected point of view, creating a poetic relationship with the space

The Unicorn is a new entry in the competition and its goal is to award installations that are difficult to define, those which stand at the crossroads of disciplines and inspirations.

The winner of the Unicorn was “Superfollies” by Nobody&co in collaboration with Studio Toogood and Arabeschi di Latte.

The installation was set in a beautiful private garden, usually closed to the public, once the area in which the horses of the Royal Palace were kept. This history is what motivated the company to ask Toogood to create small shelters for objects—an installation that used dollhouses and dog houses and more to conceal design items.

Press Choice Award

The best exhibition of Milano Design Week according to the press, selected by its well designed mix of concept, technology, storytelling and engagement.

Winner

Foundation
Formafantasma, Krizia

2017 Shortlisted Installation Award Nominations

The best 40 exhibitions of Milano Design Week, selected by our Scientific Committee, running for Milano Design Award 2017 prizes.

5vie art+design

Cartier Precious Garage
Design Pride
DIESEL Living pop-up home
The Ladies’ Room
Ladies &Gentlemen
Le Sablier

Brera Design District

Cassina 9.0
Electronics Meets Crafts
Fare luce
Flowerprint
Foundation
Gardening the Trash
Holy Handmade!
The Visit
Studio Pepe

Zona Santambrogio

Colorzone
Dout Design
Dutch Design Isola
Nakuna
Natural Talent
New Spring
Multiplex
Stone Age Folk

Tortona Design

Corian® Cabana Club
MINI Living – “Breathe”
S.F._Senses of the Future
Slice of Time
Unconfined: The Galaxy S8 Design

Ventura Centrale

Decode/Recode
May I have your Attention Please
Ephemeral Eternal
IKEA Festival
Material Futures
Material Immaterial: Sonic Pendulum
REDO Super Supermarket
Rossana Orlandi

Porta Venezia In Design

Elle Decor Italia Concept Store
Superfollies
The Essential Taste of Design

La Triennale di Milano

Luxus Yet
The next frontier in mobility