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PIONEERING FUTURES || Unveiling the Winners of the SaloneSatellite Award at Milan Design Week

SaloneSatellite is celebrating its 25th year of bridging aspiring talents with the industry's vanguard.

Milan, known for its rich design heritage, embraces this melting pot of creativity, where the most recent SaloneSatellite Awards at the SaloneSatellite event, part of the larger Salone Internazionale del Mobile, have highlighted groundbreaking work from young designers across the globe.

Established in 1998, SaloneSatellite has been the launching pad for designers under 35, marking the beginning of illustrious careers and fostering connections that ripple through the design community. On its silver jubilee, SaloneSatellite has once again offered a platform for professionals to present their revolutionary projects, converging tradition with contemporary processes, all under the theme of sustainable thinking.

The SaloneSatellite Awards, now in their 13th edition, have continued to support and propel the most promising new names in design. This year’s recipients encapsulate the diversity and richness of global design practices, each bringing a unique narrative to the fore.

First prize: Studio Ololoo, Zhen Bian, Deformation under Pressure.

Studio Ololoo, hailing from China, clinched the first prize with their innovative lamp, “Deformation Under Pressure.” This piece, combining inflatable PVC with a tensioned aluminium structure, exemplifies experimental ingenuity. It is a testament to the studio's dedication to exploring the elasticity of materials and the delicate balance of strength and flexibility.

Italian-Danish designer Filippo Andrighetto secured the second prize with his wood-constructed bookcase, “Veliero.” Eschewing screws and glue, his design relies on interlocking wood elements, a nod to sustainable practices and an homage to the purity of material and form.

Second Prize: Filippo Andrighetto’s Veliero.

EGOUNDESIGN, from Italy, received the third prize for their 3D-printed brass cups, “Voronoi.” This set showcases an aesthetic appeal and heralds a new era of manufacturing, marrying art with the precision of modern technology.

Third Prize: EGOUNDESIGN’s Voronoi.

A Special Mention was awarded to the Tunisian collective comprising Mohamed Romani, Chems Eddine Mechri, and Ahmed Bssila. Their lamp “Fibra” is a beacon of how traditional materials can be reinvented into contemporary objects, proving that sustainability and design go hand in hand.

Special Mention: Fibra by Creative Tunisia Collective Mohamed Romani, Chems Eddine Mechri, and Ahmed Bssila.

These SaloneSatellite Award laureates exemplify young designers' vibrant potential to reshape our material culture. From the deliberate distortion of materials by Studio Ololoo to the sophisticated simplicity of Filippo Andrighetto's “Veliero,” and from EGOUNDESIGN's 3D-printed “Voronoi” that challenges conventional production to the “Fibra” lamp's reinvigoration of traditional craftsmanship, each design stands as a narrative of innovation and a vision of the future.