Fuorisalone Award 2026 reveres the creative process of design as a social responsibility

The emergence and nomenclature of Fuorisalone, ‘Outside the Salone’, can be read as an unintended reference to how, in science, the universe is understood as a system, the focus subject of observation and the centre of activity, and its surroundings, as everything that exists outside the system. Though a simple analogy, this model is crucial to our understanding of the interaction between the two entities, of how a seemingly isolated setup can affect everything around it, and vice versa. Every year, the Fuorisalone event engages in a similar ‘system-surrounding’ equation with Salone del Mobile.Milano, each defining and feeding into the other, forming a spectacle for the entire design universe to witness during the Milan Design Week (MDW).

To distinguish the most engaging themes from the plethora of design discourses and innovations on display and discussed throughout the week, Fuorisalone collaborated with Milan-based Studiolabo in 2022 to curate the Fuorisalone Award. The highlight of the recognition is the Audience Award, for its democratic, public voting process that decides the winner from the shortlist of installations and events selected by Fuorisalone’s editorial team. The series also includes three special mentions: Sustainability & Research, Technology & Innovation and Engagement & Interaction, along with a special recognition awarded to a project selected by the Media Partners and, debuting this year, the project with the most significant interpretation of the festival theme. 

For MDW 2026, Fuorisalone—of which STIR is an official media partner—invited creatives to rediscover design through a human-centric lens: not positioning the human as a ‘user’, but unravelling the inherent humanness of the design process itself. The theme this year, Be the Project, implores the recognition of the design process as that of refinement, of making mistakes and learning: a slow, intuitive alchemy that connects ideas with hands, materials and cultures. The winning projects for the Fuorisalone Awards this year, therefore, range from installations to events that have displayed the influence of the process, consistent innovation and public participation spotlighting the essence and outcome of design as an intuitive exercise. 

Owing to their cultural and curatorial significance as part of MDW, the awards don’t just celebrate the most relevant and meaningful experiences of the design week, but extend beyond the confines of the design exhibition to highlight the most prominent and captivating trends in contemporary design culture around the world. The entries for the Special Mentions are submitted by individuals and organisations on the platform and reviewed by a panel of the technical committee and Fuorisalone’s editorial team. This year’s jury panel comprised distinguished members from the design fraternity, including Signe Byrdal Terenziani, strategist, curator and creative director of 3daysofdesign Copenhagen; journalist and curator Paolo Ferrarini; Anniina Koivu, design writer, curator, consultant and teacher at the University of Art and Design in Lausanne; Francesco Mainardi, design strategist and co-founder of Mr.Lawrence studio; Massimiliano Monteverdi, director of communications and online marketing at the German-based Claudia Wünsch Communication; design and art consultant Isabelle Valembras Dahirel; colour designer Judith van Vilet; and Valentina Ventrelli, a renowned expert in fashion and communication.

After an extensive round of public voting during the design week, the winners of the Fuorisalone Award and Special Mentions were announced on April 25, 2026. STIR enlists the defining projects of this year’s design week and the most immersive installations and events conferred as the winners of the Fuorisalone Award 2026.

RE:PROGRAMMING WOOD, SDU CREATE, University of Southern Denmark

Special Mention – Sustainability & Research

RE:PROGRAMMING WOOD, a project developed by the University of Southern Denmark, demonstrates how wood can be utilised continuously across different life cycles. Using robotic fabrication and computational design, the prototypes showcase how reclaimed timber, irregular stock and production residues are transformed into structural systems and new materials.

The Special Mention for Sustainability & Research commended the project’s tendency for bold experimentation in material and practice and for developing and furthering the drive towards a sustainable future. The project, as per the jury citation, showcases a “design approach that embraces continuous experimentation, transforming reuse and analysis into active tools for new responsible practices”. 

NikeAir_Lab, Nike and DropCity

Special Mention – Technology & Innovation

A collaborative event by Nike and Dropcity, NikeAir_Lab celebrated the inventive and experimental core of Nike and its enduring obsession with air. Featured at Dropcity, Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini—a research and exhibition hub for architecture and design in Milan—the ensemble includes everything from inventor Frank Rudy’s first experiments, Air Max grails, to the latest athlete innovations. Joining the flagship range of The Nike Air Liquid Max, FlyWeb Radical AirFlow and Therma-FIT Air Milano are a hundred never-seen-before design prototypes curated with Nike’s cutting-edge machinery, reading materials, talks and hands-on workshops.  

The Fuorisalone 2026 Special Mention for Technology & Innovation rewarded the project’s essence for “evolutionary innovation that enhances and expands design thinking, whilst keeping human ingenuity at the heart of the innovation”. Blending technology, curiosity and brand ethos, NikeAir_Lab strives to expand the horizons of design thinking while improving production, expression and use.

Reference Library, Apartmento and Jil Sander

Special Mention – Engagement & Interaction

Reference Library—a collaboration between the Spain-based interior design magazine Apartmento and German fashion designer Jil Sander—is an exhibition bringing together 60 books from around the world. Each book, chosen by a distinguished cohort of creatives, including designers, writers, artists, architects, filmmakers and thinkers, offers a collection of ideas that initially captivated these individuals and eventually stayed with them.

To promote endeavours that strike a dialogue with the public and their surroundings, the Special Mention in the Engagement & Interaction category applauds the library’s curatorial and conceptual spirit for blending engagement, inclusivity and community participation.

When Apricots Blossom, ACDF

Special Mention - Media Partners

At the historic Palazzo Citterio in the Brera Design District, the architect Kulapat Yantrasast-curated exhibition When Apricots Blossom has won a special mention in the category Media Partners. Commissioned by Gayane Umerova, chairperson of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF), the project—inspired by the Thailand-born architect's visit to Uzbekistan—presented works by 12 international designers focused on the three central pillars of northwestern Uzbekistan’s Karakalpak culture—textile, food and shelter. A deconstructed yurt, a vibrant tasselled entrance and a showcase featuring creative reinterpretations of the traditional hand-stamps used in Uzbek breadmaking form the ensemble. Yantrasast, in an exclusive conversation with STIR, discussed how the project positions craft as a system of knowledge, echoing memory, identity and generational adaptations.

“I really love cross-cultural collaborations. The sense of empathy and sharing is why we chose common grounds, shelter, food and clothing, because anyone from any culture can relate to it,” he said. The jury complimented his efforts by extending the honour, recognising the exhibit as “a project rich in meaning and substance, establishing a dialogue between the space and the content that invites visitors to immerse themselves”.  

Prototype Island, DesignSingapore Council

Special Mention – ‘Essere Progetto’

Prototype Island is an exhibit that demonstrates Singapore’s capabilities of transforming creative visions into real-world innovations integrated within the city fabric. Curated by industrial designer Hunn Wai; designer and researcher Eian Siew; and Italian design curator Maria Cristina Didero for the DesignSingapore Council, the national agency for the development of the design sector in the country, the showcase portrays the city as a prototype for futuristic developments powered by technology and design. 

The Special Mention, in its debut year, values the display for embodying this edition’s theme: Essere Progetto or Be the Project. The exhibit emphasises the importance of the creative process, beyond the mere beauty of the outcome, highlighting the material, research and the responsibility that guides it.

Ooooh, that’s EpiQ!, Škoda Auto

Fuorisalone Award

Against the rustic backdrop of the Baroque palace of Palazzo del Senato in the Porta Venezia Design District, the Czech-based global automobile giant set up varicoloured sculptural forms to create a playful landscape as a celebration of their latest contribution to the world of electric mobility, EpiQ.

Designed and developed in collaboration with Spanish digital artist Ricardo Orts, the vibrant installation invited visitors for a transformative, flexible and playful spatial escape, making it “the most memorable installation at Fuorisalone 2026”, as voted by the people.

The Fuorisalone Award trophy is designed by Studiolabo and produced by Andrea Gallo in collaboration with Milan-based Pollodesign Factory. Its form draws from the traditional ‘pin’—a symbol used to identify and orient visitors among the installations, exhibitions and events spread across the city during one of the most defining weeks in the global design calendar.

Stay tuned for exclusive coverage and highlights of Milan Design Week 2026 and Salone del Mobile.Milano 2026 on STIR. Tap here for regular updates on all design districts, including Fuorisalone, Brera, 5vie, Isola and beyond.