Design Week, 300 events supported by the City of Milan

The municipality has asked operators to pay attention to a number of issues including: the design of public spaces; the participation of young people; the use of circular economy solutions also for the materials used in the fittings; and maximum inclusiveness for people with disabilities. Among the priorities is the invitation to adopt solutions to minimise the use of cars, encouraging the use of the public transport network, which will be increased during Design Week.

47% of the projects included in the programme adopted circular solutions through the reuse of previously used fittings or materials or through the use of products and materials already present in the city. Almost 52% of the initiatives in the programme adopted solutions to ensure full accessibility for people with sensory and motor disabilities.

"The Milano Design Week, together with the Salone del Mobile, is a consolidated and prestigious international event that involves thousands of visitors every year and puts ideas and energy into circulation that generate shared value," explains the Councillor for Economic Development and Labour Policies Alessia Cappello. "Even for this edition the numbers are growing and there are many quality initiatives. We hope that, despite the concerns about the ongoing geopolitical crisis that we share and follow closely, the event will be a moment of encounter, dialogue and collective reflection and a space to build relationships and synergies between people, companies and institutions'.

The growth trend of recent years is confirmed, with 293 initiatives responding to the Municipality's call for entries (+13% compared to last year's edition) for a total of over 1,850 events in the city (10% more than last year), a significant figure in view of the increasingly restrictive rules that the Administration has proposed to operators to safeguard the consistency and quality of the event.

Events, initiatives and installations will also affect the less central areas of the city, making Milano Design Week increasingly widespread in the neighbourhoods, with projects and installations also in Nolo, Feltre, Chiaravalle, Baggio, Dergano/Bovisa and Barona.

In Baggio Alcova returns to Milan by temporarily reactivating spaces of great historical and urban value: the former Military Hospital and Villa Pestarini, with a diffuse exhibition dedicated to contemporary design.

At Barona, Superstudio Maxi presents nine projects under the artistic direction of Giulio Cappellini that describe the ideal city as a cultural workshop dedicated to the design of public spaces.

The appointment promoted by Dropcity and dedicated to young designers is consolidated in Nolo. For Design Week 2026, the former railway depots in via Sammartini will host a programme exploring the active role of matter in the creative process.

In the Feltre district, the Pet Design District project sees the participation of furniture and product design companies dedicated to the pet world, which will explore the themes of design, sustainability and the human-animal relationship.

Young designers play a central role in the project conceived by Paola Lenti in the spaces of a 4,000 square metre former industrial area in Dergano, now transformed into an example of modern bio-ecological architecture. Through the public notice, the municipality invited operators to imagine projects and activities aimed at young people and young designers, to encourage their participation in the Milan Design Week 2026 and give visibility to their work. The invitation was accepted by 35% of the operators included in the programme: from the protagonists of the Tortona area (Superstudio, Tortona Rocks and Tortona Area Lab), to the initiatives of the Porta Venezia Design District and Isola Design Festival.

Once again this year BASE Milano confirms its focus on emerging design, which will be the protagonist with more than 80 projects from 23 countries selected through an international call for entries on the theme Hello Darkness, with a strong focus on sustainability and social urgencies. Also confirmed for 2026 is Temporary Home, BASE's residency, which welcomes five selected young designers who work in open studio spaces narrating their creative process.

SuperPlayground, Superstudio's project in a brand new location in Bovisa, is dedicated to emerging realities. In order to make the design week accessible to young people, the Istituto Europeo del Design is bringing the third edition of The Glitch Camp to the spaces of the Ex Macello di Porta Vittoria, an area now at the centre of a major urban regeneration project. The urban camp will also be the soul of the BASE Terrace, transformed into a collective living space.

For the 2026 edition of Milan Design Week, numerous projects are aimed at enhancing the role of the craftsman, the artist and manufacturing in design.

Among them, the exhibition Insieme conceived and curated by Sabato De Sarno, at the invitation of Vanity Fair, with an intervention by the urban artist JR on the facade of the Piscina Cozzi, focuses on human work and the value of the creative process.

The Brera district hosts Arts & Crafts & Design at the Casa degli Artisti, where realities such as Fondazione Cologni, Creative Academy and Michelangelo Foundation have come together with the aim of promoting new generations of craftsmen and reinterpreting traditional knowledge.

Terrain by Officine Saffi Lab and Hannes Peer, explores ceramics as an architectural material and expressive language, restoring centrality to the craft dimension. Finally, the programme promoted by the Assab One Association for Contemporary Arts with Garro Editions, interweaves art, textiles and design, and the exhibition promoted by Oda on sketchbooks explores the creative paths of 12 artists.