What to expect at Colour Design Experience of Durini Design District Milano 2024

Made of 40 internationally recognised brands united under the association Milano Durini Design, Durini Design District Milano (DDD Milano) is preparing to merge colours, community, art and design, in its upcoming edition themed on Colour Design Experience. As Milan Design Week 2024 gears up to transform into an undisputed global centrepiece of furniture and all things design from April 15 – 21, 2024, the Durini Design District in Milan, Italy, will focus on projects and product designs articulating its 40,000+ sqm of exhibition spaces, to tell the story of the ultimate Italian-made experience, ranging from exclusive experiences and the latest design trends, as well as solutions, for the creative industry and design enthusiasts alike.

The Milano Durini Design association was founded in 2016 on Via Durini by seven major companies (B&B Italia, Cassina, Interni, Meritalia, Luxury Living, Porro, and Technogym), guided by its promoter, architect Massimo Salamone, who remains the president today. Since 2022, at the behest of these core companies, MDD formally conceived the Milano Design District, an associative concept with larger participation, aiming to reach its milestone of 50 members (from its current 42) in the future. At the heart of this in-house concept lies the merging of the city centre’s flagship design stores in a spirit of cohesion and partnership, furthering Italian design.

“The association brings together all the city centre’s important businesses. There are no territorial boundaries, only a sense of urban belonging to the city of Milan. With one voice, all its operators can contribute their beauty and know-how to bring effective, shared value to the city,” they relay.

Below is everything that you can expect from the 2024 edition of Durini Design District Milano:

A high-octane Colour Design Experience

“Colour is design, substance, [and] emotion, the essential element of everyday living. Designers around the world have always been engaged in a never-ending quest for colour harmony to make every object and every design even more balanced and appealing. The theme of colour will be represented by a series of visual elements with an urban appeal that will form an underlying thread within the MDD district,” relays the official statement shared by the district.

Durini Design District Milano aims to present ‘colour’ as an essential, thought-provoking, and emotion-inducing aspect of life and creativity, unfolding within its design showrooms, interactive exhibitions, brand showcases as well as tactical urban interventions distributed throughout the area during the design event.

Cromatismi Onirici (Dreamlike Colours) by Nick Maltese Studio

From this year onwards, DDD Milano confirms teaming up with emerging as well as experienced architecture and design firms in each edition, to conceive an “integrated visual communication project: installations distributed across key points in the district as iconic elements that encapsulate the area’s identity,” they add. MDW 2024 will thus introduce the first exhibition concept of Durini Design District Milano this year, showcasing the creative and innovative work of major and emerging design studios, to enhance the significance of MDD district location during design week and promote integrated urban communication.

The 2024 edition will be energised by a figurative exhibition titled Cromatismi Onirici (Dreamlike Colours/ Dream Up) created by Nick Maltese and Fede Pagetti of the Milan-based architecture firm Nick Maltese Studio, providing visitors the opportunity to indulge in a "world of dreams and artistic visions." As it integrates itself organically into its surrounding urban environment, the district’s first-ever exhibition concept (comprising four art installations placed in Via Durini, Via Santa Cecilia, Piazza San Babila, Via Visconti di Modrone), will emphasise the evocative dialogue between art, architecture and colour. “Through a collaboration with the association Milano Durini Design, the exhibition will be transformed into a sensory and artistic experience in which imagination and the infinite expressive possibilities of colour will light up the heart of Milan during Design Week,” mentions the press statement.

A Milanese Design Journey

The Milano Durini Design Association will also be launching a digital urban magazine called A Milanese Design Journey, representing the Durini Design District Milano in tandem with illustrating the programme of activities offered by the MDD members.

MDD 2024 short film

An exciting new MDD short film curated by Muse Factory of Projects, and Francesca Molteni under the direction of Nicolò Amedeo will officially be unveiled through the district’s social media channels soon. It promises to engage in and emphasise the association's values and positioning as a hub of excellence for flagship design stores in the city centre.

VOYAH iCozy concept car exhibition

The vibrancy of the MDD Design Week 2024 will be furthered by its automotive sponsor VOYAH and the futuristic lines of its iCozy concept car. “In this setting, the VOYAH iCozy concept car exhibition in Via Durini will offer a unique opportunity to explore the interplay between automotive design, research and innovation, with a special focus on colour as an essential element of vehicle design,” MDD Milano indicates.

The exhibition design guarantees a fascinating contrast between the car’s modernity and the urban context in which it will be placed during the design festival. Here too, colour will take on the role of a ‘visual bridge’ between the innovation of VOYAH’s automotive design and the creative energy of the Durini Design District’s programme.

“The exhibition’s interactive experience will invite the public to engage first-hand with chromatic storytelling through plays of light, reflections, and perspectives. There will be plenty of opportunities for the Milanese public to get involved and lots of cultural moments such as special talks and interviews. The VOYAH iCozy concept car will thus become not just a static work of art, but a dynamic experience that evolves based on spectators’ interaction with its colourful, futuristic design,” they continue.

District-wide activation through design

Plenty of encounters and opportunities for cultural exchange, special openings, as well as meetings with national and international press for stakeholders from the world of design, as well as television and radio interactions, will be presented within the district’s flagship stores. Showrooms will be activated via exclusive new products, furniture design collections, displays, interior design concepts and key case histories made available to architects, designers and industry operators, all underscored heavily by the ethos of ‘Made in Italy.’

Some key endeavours at the design fair include Antrax IT’s at Via San Damiano, 5, where a total black casing will welcome Lana, a new radiator designed by AMDL Circle led by Michele De Lucchi; AMDL Circle has also conceived the new Arrital architectural showcase at Corso Europa 22, together with a kitchen design and furniture composition by architect Franco Driusso, creative director of Arrital, with a revolutionary kitchen concept replete with a complete product line designed to meet design needs and everyday lifestyles; With a display entitled The Secret Ingredient, the brand Arclinea will unveil a renewed display introducing new kitchen designs in its flagship store in Via Durini, 7; and more.

Durini Design District’s programme will also include:

- Presentation of new products and technological innovations to the industry's press. (April 15, 2024, Monday)

- International expansion process of the MDD association: Networking breakfast at the Four Seasons Hotel Milan, with Dubai Design District (d3) (April 17, 2024, Wednesday)

- The city centre’s design streets will come alive with events and special openings until 10 pm, now an eagerly awaited tradition of Milan Design Week. (April 18, 2024, Thursday)