SaloneSatellite—an international design event held within the context of Salone del Mobile.Milano—is currently taking place in Milan. With the participation of 27 design schools and universities from 16 different countries and around 550 young designers from 34 countries, SaloneSatellite is a melting pot of diverse design perspectives. With a focus on the theme of academic preparation and the future of design, this 24^th edition, curated by Marva Griffin, explores the role of design schools and universities in shaping the next generation of designers and the development of the design industry. This year's question "Design: DOVE VAI?" or "Design: WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" encourages the participating colleges and universities to consider how design may help solve today's pressing environmental, economic, and social problems.

Each institution has contributed to an ideal collective map of design visions, signalling the challenges designers will likely encounter in the future and how they can tackle them through innovative design and teaching methods. The stands of the participating design schools and universities are arranged around an outer loop. The inspiration for the installation, curated by architect Ricardo Bello Dias, comes from Euroluce pavilion. Visitors can see an imagined sky reflecting the present and future of design through telescopes that are set up in each of the two squares.

On April 19, the jury unanimously selected the six winning projects, out of a hundred entries.

Projects by representatives of different countries of origin and provenance encompassed different geographic latitudes and design approaches. The First Prize was awarded to Japan’s Honoka for his Tatami Refab, combining reclaimed tatami material and 3D printing technology. This versatile project reintroduced traditional marks and culture into everyday life and the domestic spaces. The use and making of tatami is declining year by year. The Tatami Refab Project re-embeds Tatami into modern life using 3D printing technology.

The Second Prize went to the Hong Kong-based Studio Ryte for its Triplex Stool, made using flax, a sustainable wood fibre. From lightweight to efficient structure; compactness to sustainability; the flax fibre Triplex Stool is an experimental furniture piece that responds to the nomadic lifestyle of our contemporary. Flax, as a material, also lends itself to a contemporary revisiting of the language of the Brutalist architecture. 

The Third Prize went to Ahokpe + Chatalin (Belgium is Design), for their Kudoazò hammock, made from recycled fabric spun in Benin. The fabric is woven from unravelled yarn from sweaters that would otherwise end up on African markets, the shape informed by the strip. The hammock is envisioned as an expression of sustainability channelled by a marriage of traditions and handiwork that breaks down geographical barriers and colonialist aspirations.

This year three Special Mentions were assigned the Róng Design Award, consisting of a one-month residency at the Rong Design Library in Hangzhou’s Yuhang district in China. These were awarded to Joaquin Ivan Sansone, currently living in Spain, for his cane Junki stool, to Korea’s Weonrhee, for the small Primitive Structure table, and Venezuela-born Fragmentario, now living in the USA, for the Avocado Seed Brick project. All three were chosen for their evident pursuit of research and will be supported in integrating Chinese crafts and traditional materials into their creative processes. The aim of the Róng Design Award is to celebrate and promote the introduction of Chinese craftsmanship to an international market while supporting the creativity and the growth of young designers.

The jury was made up of Paola Antonelli (Senior Design Curator, Architecture & Design Director, Research and Development, MoMA); Beppe Finessi, Design Critic; Gianluca Gessi, President Gessi; Francesca Gugliotta, Design Editor; Francesco Librizzi, Designer; Claudio Luti, President Kartell; Steven Ma, Designer; Anna Moldenhauer, Editor-in-Chief Stylepark;, Roberta Silva, CEO Flos, and Marilena Sobacchi, Press Office Salone del Mobile.Milano.

In addition to the awards and exhibitions, SaloneSatellite paid homage to Euroluce with a special exhibition titled "Sate-Light. 1998-2022 SaloneSatellite young designers". This special design exhibition includes lamps created by designers who took part in earlier editions of SaloneSatellite and now work with businesses to produce their designs. This exemplifies the event's main objective of bridging creativity and the business world, fostering partnerships supporting young design talent growth. Part of the SaloneSatellite 2023 programming also includes a talk by Gaetano Pesce, Italian sculptor, designer, and architect based in New York.

STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2023 showcases the best exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands, and special projects to look out for. Explore Euroluce 2023 and all the design districts—5Vie Art and Design, Brera Design District, Fuorisalone, Isola Design District, Tortona District, and Milano Design District—with us.