ADI Museum, Milan. A design museum, the story of over 70 years of Made in Italy
Born in the middle of the pandemic, ADI is the first design museum in Milan born from the collection of the prize Compasso d’Oro established by Gio Ponti in 1934
A collection about Made in Italy in Milano
In 2022, during the pandemic, ADI Design Museum opened its door to the public for the first time. ADI is the acronym for Association for Industrial Design. It was born with the premise to establish a non-celebratory museum, able to offer visitors a generative experience The collection’s core resides in the Foundation Compasso d’Oro, composed of all the winners of the design award of the same name. It was instituted by Gio Ponti back in 1934, aiming to enhance the quality of Made in Italy design.
The foundation is rooted in Milan. An abandoned storage was scouted and has a historical meaning to the city. First it was a horse tram storage in the thirties, then an energy plant used to illuminate the Milan Cathedral after which it was abandoned. Today the museum sees the direction by its president Mr. Galimberti.
The architects Giancarlo Perrotta and Massimo C. Bodini were in charge of the renovation project. Together they decided to preserve the original structure while ensuring that entrance doors were transparent, through the use of stained glass.
A museum dedicated to the community
ADI Museum is open to everyone. This includes those who prefer to sit in the cafeteria and have a drink or visit the bookshop. Open from 10:30 am until 08:00 pm, they allow citizens to live with the institution in its events and services.
ADI Museum’s cafeteria and bookshop show a peculiar design among this type of institutional services. Shopping and hospitality services are increasingly common within cultural places, but they are usually separated and hidden from the main exhibition. Visitors are looking for an experience that can satisfy all their senses rather than just looking at art. By these premises, space designer Marco Ferreri decided to combine the two spaces. «Both have the purpose of nourishing, rather the mind or the body».
The furniture was designed by Ferreri using just copper. He decided not to use special treatment on the material. This is so that it can record and show the signs of people who pass by. Its longevity is beneficial to a circular life since it can be transformed and reused.
Concerning the library, by publishing house Electa, aims to promote books and magazines that inspire all design sectors or amateurs. Their selection varies from industrial design to fashion and arts. Ferreri has provided additional aluminum parts to allow the library to expand and adapt during events evenings.
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Visiting the ADI Museum’s collection
Visitors can appreciate over seventy years of design through twenty-three-thousand pieces. Among them, an underground floor has been dedicated and set up to host temporary exhibitions devoted to the works of companies that have distinguished themselves.
The Compasso d’Oro and the temporary collection have spaces on the ground floor since the curators decided to merge the two. The museum is not preferring certain sections to others but combines all of them to increase internal dialog with objects. They are displayed in bi-color theaters, with an in-depth insight on the yellow side. Mr. Galimberti desired to offer visitors access to every object with complete documentation. For this purpose, an app was developed that could show archive material directly connected with the museum.
Contributing to the contemporary debate
ADI Museum’s mission is to enhance and give meaning to the objects that have improved our everyday lives. These objects are marked by the contemporary factor, which indicates how our life is shaped and helped by those innovations. These changes will not be appreciable solely in the collection side but rather in the museum’s life.
Apart from the collection pieces, Mr. Galimberti and his staff have created a cultural hotspot where people can gather and discuss contemporary topics and shape their values. In fact, they decided to expand their talk from under every branch of design. In their events, hosts involved in the international debate are invited to create new logical lines with Milan’s community.
A stake to the museum community
ADI Museum, with the Foundation Compasso d’Oro, has started the institution with the aim to bring cultural change to the city of Milan. From the renovation of its spaces, they decided to privilege the community aggregator factor overall.
A stakeholder who is already connected with the institution and its mission, Mr. Galimberti, decided to target and attract the general public. The museum must be able to transmit the value that objects have in our lives and take them beyond history, stimulating critical thinking.
Through their events and exhibition, Mr. Galimberti has created a pole for design inside ADI Museum, where contemporary intellectuals, students, and Milan’s citizens can gather to discuss their values and design their future.
ADI Museum, Association for Industrial Design, was born in two-thousand-twenty-one in Piazza del Compasso d’Oro 1, Milan, and Luciano Galimberti now rules it. It was built inside an abandoned tram and energy plant that has not been used since the 1900’s. The permanent exhibition has at its core the collection composed of all the winners of the design award Compasso d’Oro, which Gio Ponti initially created in 1954.
ADI Museum:
Piazza Compasso d’Oro, 1, 20154 Milano
ADI Museum was created to showcase the historical projects of the Compasso d’Oro awards. Celebrating Made in Italy designs, since 1954, the museum opened its doors in 2022. The museum features a permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions. This is in order to raise awareness and promote design culture in Italy and abroad.
