In the splendid setting of Palazzo Isimbardi in Milan, on June 15th of 2016, the award ceremony for the 24th edition of the Compasso d’Oro ADI was held, presented by the beautiful Paola Marella, a beautiful Italian television hostess.
Do you know what the Compasso d’Oro is? Well, to put it simply, the Italian name Compasso d’Oro translates to Golden Compass and it is a prize that was established in 1954, but it is not a just any award… is the most prestigious award that a designer can receive!
To name just a few, among the most prominent winners have been Bruno Munari Caliber, Ettore Sottsass, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Mario Bellini and Marco Zanuso.
Born from an idea by Gio Ponti, for years was organized by the department store La Rinascente, in order to emphasize and promote Made in Italy.
The Compasso d’Oro has been donated to ADI since 1964 and since then, they have always taken care of the organization. In more than 50 years, over 300 design projects have been awarded and nearly 2000 have received an Honorable Mention.
All these products are collected and stored in the “Historical Collection of the Compasso d’Oro ADI” and each edition is enriched with pieces of great value.
In the 2016 edition, there were 13 prizes awarded by a panel of international experts, while as many as 56 Honorable Mentions.
Below you can see the 13 winners, which as you will see, range from lighting to transportation, to furnishing services.
“5MM” – design by Giampiero Castagnoli, Marco Fagioli, Emanuel Gargano. Rubinetterie3M
“Ascent” – design by Daniel Rybakken. Luceplan
“Auditorium” – design by Giovanni Arvedi of Giorgio Palù and Michele Bianchi. Arvedi and Luciana Buschini Foundation
“Design As Development Tool” – design by Giulio Vinaccia and Valerio Vinaccia. UNIDO
“Ferrari FXX K” – design by Flavio Manzoni with Werner Gruber. Ferrari
“Flap” – design by Alberto Meda and Francesco Meda. Caimi Brevetti
“Lucetta” – design by Emanuele Pizzolorusso. Palomar
“Monokini” – design by Francesco Paszkowski, Alberto Mancini and Baglietto. Baglietto
“Ok” – design by Konstantin Grcic. Flos
“Omnia” – design by Technogym Design Centre. Technogym
“Ossidiana” – design by Mario Trimarchi. Alessi
“Twin Gate” – design by R&D Gravel with Maurizio Gallo. Grivel
“Vela” – design by Lievore Altherr Molina. Tecno
credits photos: archiproducts.com – domusweb.it
What can I say, as always the winners of the Compasso d’Oro, are all products of great design relevance, being both aesthetic and social. My favorites are without doubt “5mm“, “Ascent” and “OK.” I find them really interesting and eye catching. What do you think? Which one do you prefer?