Italian Design Day explores sustainable spaces in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Consulate General of Italy in Bengaluru marked the 10th edition of Italian Design Day on Friday with a series of events examining the role of design and architecture in shaping sustainable and functional spaces.

The programme opened with a keynote lecture by Antonella Andriani, Vice President of the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (ADI), at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Her talk focused on the evolution of Italian design through the Compasso d’Oro award, considered among the country’s most recognised design honours, with an emphasis on sustainability, research and technological innovation.

Alongside the lecture, an exhibition titled ‘Icons of Design’ was inaugurated at the Science Gallery, located on Bellary Road. The exhibition showcases a selection of Italian design works that have received the Compasso d’Oro, offering a view into developments in industrial design and material use.

The event concluded with a panel discussion on ‘Re-Design: Regenerating Spaces, Objects, Ideas, and Relations’. The session featured Andriani along with Bengaluru-based architects and designers Nicola La Noce and Federico Fraternale. The discussion centred on how Italian design principles interact with local contexts, particularly in South Indian cities like Bengaluru, and addressed themes of sustainability, modern materials and technological adaptation.

Speaking on the role of architecture in making Bengaluru more liveable, Nicola stressed the importance of both public and private architecture being accessible and inclusive. “Architecture can’t make a city liveable on its own; we also need our counterparts, such as policymakers and sociologists, to work with us,” he said.

Italian Design Day is an annual initiative supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture and held across multiple cities globally. This year’s edition aims to encourage dialogue between Italian and Indian design practitioners while highlighting ongoing shifts in design practices driven by environmental and social considerations.