“As an expression of the design world, the Compasso d’Oro cannot be limited to aspirations: it must act concretely through visions and proposals, without falling into comfortable relativism”. Luciano Galimberti, ADI president, captures the essence of this 29th edition, where the award created over 70 years ago by Gio Ponti, Alberto Rosselli, and Albe Steiner reasserts the value of design as a force that can unite in a present of tension, instability, and change. Design as a critical tool for interpreting reality shaped the jury’s selection, which included Giovanna Carnevali, Lorenza Baroncelli, Giovanni Brugnoli, Luciano Galimberti, and Jasper Morrison.
Here are the winners of the 2026 Compasso d’Oro , Italy’s “Oscars of Design”
From Philippe Malouin to Alberto Meda, the 29th edition of the ADI Compasso d’Oro highlighted projects that expand design beyond products, toward social impact, research, and cultural responsibility.
Designer: Arduini e Frigerio Industrial Design
Product type: Inflatable catamaran
Designer: Norman Foster
Product type: Modular museum display case
Photo (c) Pablo Gขmez-Ogando, courtesy of Norman Foster Foundation
Designer: Giulio Iacchetti
Product type: Stool-coffee table
Photo Irene Tranchina
Designer: IED Istituto Europeo di Design
Product type: Temporary urban campsite
Designer: Susanna Legrenzi – Salone del Mobile.Milano, Stefano Maffei, Francesco Zurlo, Massimo Bianchini, Carla Sedini, Francesco Leoni – Dipartimento di Design, Politecnico di Milano
Product type: Salone del Mobile Annual Report
Designer: Antonio Gagliardi
Product type: 3D spaghetti
Designer: Davide Fumagalli
Product type: Bicycle
Designer: Raffaella Mangiarotti
Product type: Armchair
Designer: Enrico Pagano
Product type: Wheelchair
Designer: Francois Leboine, FIAT Head of Design
Product type: Car
Designer: Gian Luca Sghedoni, Litokol Design Studio
Product type: Composite material for floors and walls
Designer: Matteo Battiston, Michele Tenca, Sarah Richiuso, Omer Kotzer, Lior Rokah, Tamar Marmur, Tamar Dovrat
Product type: Acoustic device integrated into a pair of glasses
Designer: Philippe Malouin
Product type: Table lamp
Designer: ANAKO, Università IUAV di Venezia Sede di Vicenza, DUOC UC – Chile, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – Argentina, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana – Colombia
Product type: Solutions for improving the lives of refugees
Designer: Alberto Grassi, Gian Luca Patini – We Associates
Product type: Loudspeaker
Designer: Matteo Pirola (curatore), Silvia Zeni (responsabile Archivio Storico ATM)
Product type: Historical and critical research of ATM’s history
Designer: Paolo Tassinari, Tommaso Furlan, Francesco Nicoletti, Giulia De Benedetto – Studio TassinariVetta
Product type: Cover design project
Designer: Lorenzo De Bartolomeis
Product type: Railway infrastructure robot
Designer: Snøhetta
Product type: Sofa
Foto Snøhetta © Nudesign
Designer: Giuliano Magripò
Product type: Coffee machine
View Article details
- Giovanni Comoglio
- 23 May 2026
Above all, design emerges as a field far broader than the product itself. This is reflected in the 20 awarded projects and 38 honorable mentions, all explorations of new needs or fresh interpretations of timeless ones, responding to contemporary challenges. Furniture as well as connection, service as well as solution, integration of functions alongside responses to social and global urgencies, efficiency in components yet celebrating modularity and architecture. The Compasso d’Oro also recognized emerging talent with three Young Awards and ten university student project certificates, reinforcing the connection between the design industry and those stepping into it for the first time. Targhe Memorabili tributes honored those we lost – Claudio de Albertis, Rodolfo Dordoni, and Francesco Trabucco – while lifetime achievement awards celebrated nine individuals with diverse paths, from Alberto Meda and Paola Lenti in design, Patrizia Moroso in product, Aldo Colonetti in research, as well as three long-selling products that have become Italian icons over decades: AG Fronzoni’s Sedia ’64 for Cappellini, Angelo Mangiarotti’s Eros table for Agape, and Gae Aulenti’s Rolling Table for FontanaArte.
“The responsibility of design in contributing to more balanced and cohesive scenarios” was at the heart of the jury’s criteria, highlighting projects that transcend a purely functional role to assume a broader cultural significance, generating shared meaning and an inclusive vision of difference. A cultural, productive, and civic practice, whose social responsibility and presence is not “still” but “more than ever”.
Opening image: Trespolo, by Giulio Iacchetti for Orografie by Giorgia Bartolini . Photo Irene Tranchina. .
Company: Xtramarine
Designer: Arduini e Frigerio Industrial Design
Product type: Inflatable catamaran
Company: Goppion (engineering and fabrication), Norman Foster Foundation (client)
Designer: Norman Foster
Product type: Modular museum display case
Company: Orografie di Giorgia Bartolini
Designer: Giulio Iacchetti
Product type: Stool-coffee table
Company: IED Istituto Europeo di Design
Designer: IED Istituto Europeo di Design
Product type: Temporary urban campsite
Company: Salone del Mobile.Milano – Federlegno Arredo Eventi
Designer: Susanna Legrenzi – Salone del Mobile.Milano, Stefano Maffei, Francesco Zurlo, Massimo Bianchini, Carla Sedini, Francesco Leoni – Dipartimento di Design, Politecnico di Milano
Product type: Salone del Mobile Annual Report
Company: Artisia by Barilla
Designer: Antonio Gagliardi
Product type: 3D spaghetti
Company: Colnago
Designer: Davide Fumagalli
Product type: Bicycle
Company: De Padova
Designer: Raffaella Mangiarotti
Product type: Armchair
Company: Genny Factory, GMI
Designer: Enrico Pagano
Product type: Wheelchair
Company: STELLANTIS EUROPE – FIAT Brand
Designer: Francois Leboine, FIAT Head of Design
Product type: Car
Company: Litokol Lab
Designer: Gian Luca Sghedoni, Litokol Design Studio
Product type: Composite material for floors and walls
Company: Luxottica
Designer: Matteo Battiston, Michele Tenca, Sarah Richiuso, Omer Kotzer, Lior Rokah, Tamar Marmur, Tamar Dovrat
Product type: Acoustic device integrated into a pair of glasses
Company: Flos
Designer: Philippe Malouin
Product type: Table lamp
Company: ANAKO
Designer: ANAKO, Università IUAV di Venezia Sede di Vicenza, DUOC UC – Chile, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba – Argentina, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana – Colombia
Product type: Solutions for improving the lives of refugees
Company: Enrico Ciresa – Val di Fiemme TN
Designer: Alberto Grassi, Gian Luca Patini – We Associates
Product type: Loudspeaker
Company: ATM – Azienda Trasporti Milanesi
Designer: Matteo Pirola (curatore), Silvia Zeni (responsabile Archivio Storico ATM)
Product type: Historical and critical research of ATM’s history
Company: Mondadori Media
Designer: Paolo Tassinari, Tommaso Furlan, Francesco Nicoletti, Giulia De Benedetto – Studio TassinariVetta
Product type: Cover design project
Company: Loccioni
Designer: Lorenzo De Bartolomeis
Product type: Railway infrastructure robot
Company: MDF Italia
Designer: Snøhetta
Product type: Sofa
Company: Axess Industry
Designer: Giuliano Magripò
Product type: Coffee machine