The Design City: Milan Workshop City

Milan has long been a platform for creating design. The infrastructure and facilities in Milan have made it central to the world of design, graphics, and architecture since the mid-1950s, and the Milan Furniture Fair and fashion industry have given it a permanent place of prominence on international calendars. Designers, companies, and furniture makers have long been the driving force of a world that must constantly reinvent itself to stay fresh and competitive. The book covers major past events and their connection to Milan while also exploring the current situation and offers thoughts for the future. It shines a spotlight on the stories of many generations of Italian and foreign designers who share having contributed to the Milan design system, which became well established on an international scale over the span of nearly a century (1950-2020). The designers were chosen based on their careers, their connections to Milan because they studied or worked here, whether opening their own studios or serving in other organisations (such as style offices, technical company offices, and schools), and for having kept their international relevance. The two common threads are the places where their creative design process happened and the voices of the designers themselves. Interviews with the key players of the Milan design scene bring together ideas and insights about the creative people who bring the city alive. The goal is to capture an ever-evolving world and to portray Milan's international spirit through the voices of those who embody it.

Marco Sammicheli teaches at the Design School of the Politecnico of Milan, and he has been design curator for Abitare since 2014.