Milan: Design Week successes offset by the need for a better social balance
Milan, in all its immaculate splendour the day after Design Week and the Salone del Mobile; Milan, the cornerstone of international creativity and innovation; Milan, factory and showcase; Milan, once again, attractive and pulsing with energy.
Quite rightly we can play around with all the rhetoric of records and superlatives – even just by reeling off the numbers: over 350,000 visitors to the Salone and Fuorisalone, 1,950 exhibitors from all over the world, more than 1,300 events and an economic impact of 261 million euros, an increase of 13.7% on 2023. A bustle of activity not only in the heart of the city (Brera, the University area, Porta Venezia, the Arco della Pace at Parco Sempione, the Triennale and the ADI Design Museum and via Durini), but also around the Navigli, via Tortona, via Sarpi (Chinatown), NoLo (North of Loreto, that is, via Padova – a trendy, gentrified neighborhood), Scalo Farini and Lambrate, Mecenate and Assago, and so on…
In short, the whole city – streets and squares, palaces and courtyards – extending outwards, for the first time, to the outskirts and Varedo. Bright and surprising installations, nostalgic memories of revered masters such as Alessandro Mendini and Cini Boeri, tributes to the sustainability of the furnishings and the installations themselves. All bound up with a great passion for the colour green in all its shades.
And add in the great to-and-fro with the other two contemporary events, Vinitaly in Verona and, above all, the Biennale in Venice. Flutes and toasts, inaugurations and parties, “A Salone stretching from the sea to the mountains. A real mixed bag”, as Michele Masneri writes, employing a delicious culinary pun in the original Italian (Il Foglio, 16 April).
Rude health all round then? Well, certainly. The important thing, however, is not to delude ourselves that yet another well-deserved success involving an event as great as Design Week is sufficient to resolve Milan’s many ongoing problems or the increasingly frequent signs of crisis in a metropolis that has reached a key stage in its life.
This is a “crisis” and not a “decline”, if we are to insist on semantics, on the deeper meaning of the word: a state of change that might evolve in alternate directions, a ridge separating two different paths leading down either side of the slope, a flour sifter dividing precious wheat and ryegrass waste, weiji in the Chinese alphabet – “danger” and “opportunity” would be a rough translation – or, to be more precise, a “crucial passage”, that is, the time when something begins or something changes.
Here we are, then. Milan is at a watershed moment, surrounded by original ways to renew its ability to be simultaneously competitive and socially inclusive, by opportunities to either boost the kind of attractiveness that polarises and excludes people or to build an economic dynamic limited not only to growth (more business, more money, more instant glitter and ephemeral wealth) but also to the (sustainable, naturally) development of the environment and society. Milan, in short, is facing up to the responsibility of a better future (the Centro Studi Grande Milano association, chaired by Daniela Mainini, has been passionately discussing this for some time).
The debate is, of course, wide-ranging. It concerns the role of metropolises, the future of the knowledge economy, and therefore also of universities, the strategies of companies and Milan’s trade fair district (an economic hub that could take on a role of increasing significance, as a centre for services and a laboratory of ideas). And, above all, it addresses the elements behind a radical social question: how to reconcile the creative logic of competition with the need to break down the inequalities amplified by that logic, if it is not properly governed by welfare policies, urban planning choices and ambitious fiscal and cultural choices.
Aside from the event-related aspects of the various shows, Milan, together with Venice, is preparing for a couple of strategic dates related to the fate of cities: the International Exhibition at the Triennale dedicated to the topic of: “Inequalities. How to mend the fractures of humanity” from May to November 2025 and, in the same period, the next Venice Biennale of Architecture to discuss the concentration of wealth, and therefore inequalities, in metropolises and megalopolises, climate crises, the effective use of artificial intelligence-driven data on flows of people, goods and ideas, and therefore democracy, the circular economy and, indeed, sustainable development (Stefano Boeri, president of the Triennale, and Carlo Ratti, an expert in smart cities at MIT in Boston and curator of the Venice Biennale, discuss this in La Repubblica, 21 April).
It all comes down to the essential function of urban planning and good politics to redesign cities. Starting with Milan. And, as Federica Verona also suggests, this needs to start right from the success of the Salone del Mobile (“Big numbers are not enough, we need projects that endure”, La Repubblica, 20 April) and Dario Di Vico (“The Salone’s upcoming challenges: Milan must continue to be inclusive and attractive”, Corriere della Sera, 21 April).
The fact that Milan is a large university city, with over 200,000 students from the rest of Italy and, increasingly, from abroad, is a great advantage in regards to the strength of its research and ideas. And the fact that there are three women at the helm of Milan’s main public universities may also have a significant impact, providing original solutions to problems. Indeed, Marina Brambilla has just been elected rector of the University of Milan, with Giovanna Iannantuoni at Bicocca and Donatella Sciuto at the Politecnico. The key is to guarantee students, researchers and university professors housing and living costs that do not force them to leave Milan or live there in discomfort, breeding annoyance and hostility.
The Municipality’s social housing projects and the commitment of a multinational property company like Hines (“A city with the right dreams. Milan’s new cycle will be a mix of the market and welfare: student accommodation and housing,” stated Mario Abbadessa, the American group’s head of Italy, in Il Foglio, 11 April) suggest that steps are being taken towards a better civic dimension as regards living and accommodation. Of course, this is in marked contrast to the hype of luxury property transactions, such as the 1.3 billion-euro purchase by Francois Pinault’s fashion group, Kering, of a building in Via Montenapoleone, now the second most expensive street in the world after New York’s Fifth Avenue (as estimated by Cushman & Wakefield, Il Sole24Ore, April 5).
When it comes to the property sector, the market, naturally, does what it is designed to do. But a metropolis, a living organism – a civitas and not just urbs (structures, streets, buildings) – cannot be left to the mercy of market dynamics alone. It needs wise policy-making, efficient public administration, far-sighted urban planning and a solid culture of innovation and social inclusion. If it fails in this it will lose the basic characteristics of Milan, its supportive nature, and therefore, in the long run the city’s very beauty and attractiveness.
Health, environment, quality of life and sustainable development: these are common themes for that highly developed and economically and culturally dynamic area that encompasses the North West, Lombardy, Emilia and the North East – the productive heart of Europe with an original and robust social capital comprising companies, universities, banks, cultural and research facilities and institutions and organisations with a broad range of civic virtues (we wrote about it in the 3 April blog).
The mayors of the Po Valley municipalities (Turin, Bologna, Treviso, Venice, etc., in addition to Milan, with 23 million citizens calculated to live in this large area) are currently discussing this, in Milan, appropriately, for the occasion of Earth Day. And the mayor of Milan sums it up as follows: “In our future, we see green mobility and multi-centric cities” (La Repubblica, 21 April). We will see.
(Photo Getty Images)
Milan, in all its immaculate splendour the day after Design Week and the Salone del Mobile; Milan, the cornerstone of international creativity and innovation; Milan, factory and showcase; Milan, once again, attractive and pulsing with energy.
Quite rightly we can play around with all the rhetoric of records and superlatives – even just by reeling off the numbers: over 350,000 visitors to the Salone and Fuorisalone, 1,950 exhibitors from all over the world, more than 1,300 events and an economic impact of 261 million euros, an increase of 13.7% on 2023. A bustle of activity not only in the heart of the city (Brera, the University area, Porta Venezia, the Arco della Pace at Parco Sempione, the Triennale and the ADI Design Museum and via Durini), but also around the Navigli, via Tortona, via Sarpi (Chinatown), NoLo (North of Loreto, that is, via Padova – a trendy, gentrified neighborhood), Scalo Farini and Lambrate, Mecenate and Assago, and so on…
In short, the whole city – streets and squares, palaces and courtyards – extending outwards, for the first time, to the outskirts and Varedo. Bright and surprising installations, nostalgic memories of revered masters such as Alessandro Mendini and Cini Boeri, tributes to the sustainability of the furnishings and the installations themselves. All bound up with a great passion for the colour green in all its shades.
And add in the great to-and-fro with the other two contemporary events, Vinitaly in Verona and, above all, the Biennale in Venice. Flutes and toasts, inaugurations and parties, “A Salone stretching from the sea to the mountains. A real mixed bag”, as Michele Masneri writes, employing a delicious culinary pun in the original Italian (Il Foglio, 16 April).
Rude health all round then? Well, certainly. The important thing, however, is not to delude ourselves that yet another well-deserved success involving an event as great as Design Week is sufficient to resolve Milan’s many ongoing problems or the increasingly frequent signs of crisis in a metropolis that has reached a key stage in its life.
This is a “crisis” and not a “decline”, if we are to insist on semantics, on the deeper meaning of the word: a state of change that might evolve in alternate directions, a ridge separating two different paths leading down either side of the slope, a flour sifter dividing precious wheat and ryegrass waste, weiji in the Chinese alphabet – “danger” and “opportunity” would be a rough translation – or, to be more precise, a “crucial passage”, that is, the time when something begins or something changes.
Here we are, then. Milan is at a watershed moment, surrounded by original ways to renew its ability to be simultaneously competitive and socially inclusive, by opportunities to either boost the kind of attractiveness that polarises and excludes people or to build an economic dynamic limited not only to growth (more business, more money, more instant glitter and ephemeral wealth) but also to the (sustainable, naturally) development of the environment and society. Milan, in short, is facing up to the responsibility of a better future (the Centro Studi Grande Milano association, chaired by Daniela Mainini, has been passionately discussing this for some time).
The debate is, of course, wide-ranging. It concerns the role of metropolises, the future of the knowledge economy, and therefore also of universities, the strategies of companies and Milan’s trade fair district (an economic hub that could take on a role of increasing significance, as a centre for services and a laboratory of ideas). And, above all, it addresses the elements behind a radical social question: how to reconcile the creative logic of competition with the need to break down the inequalities amplified by that logic, if it is not properly governed by welfare policies, urban planning choices and ambitious fiscal and cultural choices.
Aside from the event-related aspects of the various shows, Milan, together with Venice, is preparing for a couple of strategic dates related to the fate of cities: the International Exhibition at the Triennale dedicated to the topic of: “Inequalities. How to mend the fractures of humanity” from May to November 2025 and, in the same period, the next Venice Biennale of Architecture to discuss the concentration of wealth, and therefore inequalities, in metropolises and megalopolises, climate crises, the effective use of artificial intelligence-driven data on flows of people, goods and ideas, and therefore democracy, the circular economy and, indeed, sustainable development (Stefano Boeri, president of the Triennale, and Carlo Ratti, an expert in smart cities at MIT in Boston and curator of the Venice Biennale, discuss this in La Repubblica, 21 April).
It all comes down to the essential function of urban planning and good politics to redesign cities. Starting with Milan. And, as Federica Verona also suggests, this needs to start right from the success of the Salone del Mobile (“Big numbers are not enough, we need projects that endure”, La Repubblica, 20 April) and Dario Di Vico (“The Salone’s upcoming challenges: Milan must continue to be inclusive and attractive”, Corriere della Sera, 21 April).
The fact that Milan is a large university city, with over 200,000 students from the rest of Italy and, increasingly, from abroad, is a great advantage in regards to the strength of its research and ideas. And the fact that there are three women at the helm of Milan’s main public universities may also have a significant impact, providing original solutions to problems. Indeed, Marina Brambilla has just been elected rector of the University of Milan, with Giovanna Iannantuoni at Bicocca and Donatella Sciuto at the Politecnico. The key is to guarantee students, researchers and university professors housing and living costs that do not force them to leave Milan or live there in discomfort, breeding annoyance and hostility.
The Municipality’s social housing projects and the commitment of a multinational property company like Hines (“A city with the right dreams. Milan’s new cycle will be a mix of the market and welfare: student accommodation and housing,” stated Mario Abbadessa, the American group’s head of Italy, in Il Foglio, 11 April) suggest that steps are being taken towards a better civic dimension as regards living and accommodation. Of course, this is in marked contrast to the hype of luxury property transactions, such as the 1.3 billion-euro purchase by Francois Pinault’s fashion group, Kering, of a building in Via Montenapoleone, now the second most expensive street in the world after New York’s Fifth Avenue (as estimated by Cushman & Wakefield, Il Sole24Ore, April 5).
When it comes to the property sector, the market, naturally, does what it is designed to do. But a metropolis, a living organism – a civitas and not just urbs (structures, streets, buildings) – cannot be left to the mercy of market dynamics alone. It needs wise policy-making, efficient public administration, far-sighted urban planning and a solid culture of innovation and social inclusion. If it fails in this it will lose the basic characteristics of Milan, its supportive nature, and therefore, in the long run the city’s very beauty and attractiveness.
Health, environment, quality of life and sustainable development: these are common themes for that highly developed and economically and culturally dynamic area that encompasses the North West, Lombardy, Emilia and the North East – the productive heart of Europe with an original and robust social capital comprising companies, universities, banks, cultural and research facilities and institutions and organisations with a broad range of civic virtues (we wrote about it in the 3 April blog).
The mayors of the Po Valley municipalities (Turin, Bologna, Treviso, Venice, etc., in addition to Milan, with 23 million citizens calculated to live in this large area) are currently discussing this, in Milan, appropriately, for the occasion of Earth Day. And the mayor of Milan sums it up as follows: “In our future, we see green mobility and multi-centric cities” (La Repubblica, 21 April). We will see.
(Photo Getty Images)