Design International celebrates major milestones in Milan
June 20th was an evening to remember when, in Milan, we celebrated the launch of new book, Motion Buildings, Meeting Places and marked the formal opening of our new DI Campus.
"Motion Buildings, Meeting Places. From retail to hospitality: the evolution of large shopping centers ", published by Mondadori Electa and written by Luca Masia and Peter Clucas, is dedicated to Design International. In the book, Paul Mollé, Founding Partner, Lucio Guerra COO and Davide Padoa, CEO, relate their professional trajectories and discuss shared projects, highlighting key factors that have made Design International buildings the new international icons of architecture and commerce.
Speaking at the event, Professor Emilio Bellini, Scientific Director of the Retail & Distribution Lab at the Milan Polytechnic’s School of Management, described the profound transformation in the world of retail and the consequent impact this has for the design of commercial spaces. " In the context of profound innovation in the sector, physical spaces play a decisive role: no longer focused just on showing products or enabling them to be tested and tried, but also places for learning, for entertainment, for sharing interests, incubation of cultural and entrepreneurial activities.”
Davide Padoa added “As an architectural practice, we know the importance of putting people at the centre of all we do, be they visitors to our buildings, our clients or our own teams. Our projects study the movement of people, their habits. That's why we design Motion Buildings, Meeting Places. Structures open to the environment, to people. Hence the decision to open our DI Campus studio to those who, like us, base their future on research.” The DI Campus is the most recent illustration of this in our practice. With an area of almost 900 sqm and comprising a “Theatre” which can accommodate up to 50 people, the DI Campus is not just a new location for Design International, but a broader project: a research centre where students and young architects can compare and refine their skills, in collaboration with universities and specialized schools.
