2018 Compasso d'Oro Award: the winners
On 20 June 2018 at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan, the award ceremony was held for the 25th edition of the ADI Compasso d'Oro Award, the oldest and most prestigious award for Italian design given to goods, services and research distinguished by quality, innovation, ethical responsibility and sustainability. 283 projects went through a two-year selection, but only 16 were awarded the Compasso d'Oro, and 56 received an Honourable Mention.
As we are always attentive to the latest developments of Italian and international design, we have followed this event with extreme interest as it shines a spotlight on the tradition of excellence that sets apart products Made in Italy, always on the leading edge of innovation and oriented towards a global market.
So let's take a moment to learn more about this authoritative recognition and the winners of the 2018 Compasso d'Oro award.
2018 Compasso d'Oro award: 60 years of culturally conscious design
Established in Milan in 1954 by Gio Ponti, in 1958 the Compasso d'Oro Award was entrusted to ADI (Associazione per il Design Industriale), the Association for Industrial Design that has been working for years to promote innovation and research to attribute cultural significance and social value to products and services made available to the market. Indeed, the products awarded with the Compasso d'Oro and those earning an Honourable Mention become part of the Compasso d'Oro Award Historical Collection, which in 2004 was declared to be "of exceptional artistic and historical interest" and a part of Italy's national heritage.
Other awards are the Compasso d'Oro Lifetime Achievement Award and the Youth Plaque, awarded to projects by students of design schools of any kind. The Compasso d'Oro winners, the 56 Honourable Mentions and the Youth Plaque projects will be exhibited until 26 June in an exhibition hosted in the Rocchetta Courtyard, joined by an installation by the young students of the IED School of Visual Arts that depicts the relationship between millennials and design.
The 25th edition is particularly important and significant: in fact, the 2018 Compasso D'Oro Award is part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage programme featuring events and initiatives throughout Europe to encourage citizens to learn more about the great cultural heritage that surrounds them.
So let's see this year's winners that featured simplicity, reliability and ethics, but above all design for all in continuity with the Freespace theme of the Biennale Architettura.
The winners of the 25th edition of the Compasso d'Oro
From interior design to fashion, from cars to graphics, the common thread of this 2018 edition of the Compasso d'Oro was an ethical reflection on the social value of design and on how much this value has become part of our daily lives. In fact, the question about the real value of design asked by ADI's president Luciano Galimberti was resoundingly answered by the winning projects.
We will start by mentioning the Compasso d'Oro awarded to the designer Alberto Torsello of Secco Sistemi with its OS2 75 thermal break window that transcends traditional windows by combining total thermal and acoustic insulation with reduced dimensions and extensive possibilities for customisation. Remaining in the home, the Compasso d'Oro was also awarded to Studiocharlie for its design "to be experienced", the ECLIPSE (Boffi) elegant and practical bathroom tap that plays on the rotary movement of its cylindrical components. The designer Fabrizio Crisà won the coveted award with the NIKOLATESLA induction hob, designed for Elica, featuring an attractive design and an innovative technology that allows it to gather information from the cooking area. ORIGAMI (Tubes Radiators) by Alberto Meda and OSA (Unical) by Ilaria Jahier, Igor Zilioli, Sergio Fiorani and Gian Luca Angiolini show how two products, a radiator and a boiler - usually functional objects that are meant to be hidden from view - can instead become furnishing accessories with elegant aesthetics that are adaptable to every need.
Innovative design that embraces all sectors
The other winning projects of the 2018 Compasso d'Oro were: Discovery Sospensione, the refined lamp made by Artemide, the Prada Foundation for its architecture that combines tradition, creativity and sustainability, the new Alfa Romeo Giulia sports saloon, the simple and transparent bill 2.0 by Enel Energia, the book Food Design Italia published by Mondadori Electa, the new Leonardiano Museum in Vigevano, Matera Cityscape for Libria publishing house, Ifi's POPAPP compact ice cream workstation, SKILLMILL for a full workout (Technogym), the high performance trainer VIBRAM FUROSHIKI THE WRAPPING SOLE by Vibram and the CAMPUS project of Milan Polytechnic. The latter offers services dedicated to two of the neediest categories of the population, Senior Citizens and those who do not study and do not work (NEET), with the aim of providing them with the tools they need to return to play an active role in society.
Italian design, blending future and tradition
The 2018 Compasso d'Oro Award proves that products Made in Italy represent an international excellence combining the elegance that has always distinguished our culture with innovative technologies and ideas. Corradi knows well that the dialogue between tradition, research and cutting-edge technology is decisive for achieving high quality standards and being able to offer products that are refined, safe and useful for our everyday lives. It is no coincidence that in 2012 Pergotenda® Move was selected as one of 100 objects representing Italian design, arriving as a finalist at the 23rd Compasso d'Oro Award thanks to its unique dynamic design.
Design for all to promote social value and to establish a line of communication between manufacturing and people: this is the challenge launched for the 25th edition of the Compasso d'Oro Award to which Italian designers have responded with enthusiasm and excellent results.
Photo credits by facebook.com/pg/ADIcompoassodoro