20(MON) — 26(SUN) April
As technological advancements and systemic conflicts reshapethe world, human civilization stands at a critical threshold. “NewDistrict” is a Milan-based initiative of the Open Source City Project,powered by RDW (RPDC Design Week). We aim to establishdeep collaboration within the Sarpi community, built on mutualunderstanding, respect, and sustainable development.
The exhibition comprises The Door, RPDC Windows, Street Bricks,and the Dialogue Theatre. Using design as a medium, we explorecross-cultural collaboration to redefine our world in an uncertainfuture.
“The Door” is the signature entrance. Inspired by iconic gatewaysin Shanghai and Milan, it acts as a symbolic threshold for a sharedvision. “RPDC Window” showcases RED PRODUCT DESIGNCENTER practices, seamlessly integrating design intoChinatown’s daily life. “Street Bricks” uses building blocksfor wayfinding, seating, and decor, bringing creative warmthto collaboratively shape a more beautiful district.
ORGANIZER
RED PRODUCT DESIGN CENTER (RPDC)
20(MON) — 26(SUN) April
Curated by RPDC Design Week in collaboration with Frank Chou,this exhibition space takes the form of a dialogic theatre, inviting allvisitors to participate in an open conversation about civilization, andto reconsider the relationship between design and the evolution ofhuman society.
If we step back far enough, the development of human civilizationhas always carried a direction. No matter how cruel, turbulent, orrepetitive the process may be, the trajectory of its outcome hasnever truly changed.The world we face today is approaching anothermoment of upheaval. And this time, such turbulence can no longerbe confronted by a single group, an organization, or even a nation alone.
As designers, how can we use design thinking to respond, toconnect, and to build shared understanding? This exhibition presents the emerging voices of a new generationof Chinese designers, while also attempting to engage with thebroader theoretical questions of design that evolve alongside humancivilization.
The direction of civilization reflects both the modernization ofChina’s ancient cultural heritage and the collective movement ofhumanity toward a new stage.
20(MON) — 26(SUN) April
Curated by RPDC Design Week in collaboration with Ma Shirui, thisexhibition uses “the book”-a universal medium-to blur boundariesand achieve a silent understanding.
A book is meant to be both “read” and “viewed.” When languagebarriers obscure content, a “passing glance” actually stripsdesign down to its bare bones, leaving its structure and underlyingquestions exposed. It is only when the act of reading begins that theviewer truly starts to scrutinize the deep logic of the design.
We each live within a circle centered on the everyday, where the“margins” of that circle lead toward the unknown. Throughouttwenty years of globalization, Chinese designers have constructeda unique “comprehensive” perspective: we were raised within anative linguistic system, yet we have long been accustomed to usingEnglish as a parallel coordinate. In contrast, designers from Latin-script backgrounds often face a more profound sense of culturalestrangement when encountering Chinese characters.
This exhibition seeks to explore: How can book design-one thatdoes not treat Chinese as its absolute axis, yet remains rooted in itsnative system-manifest its vitality? Here, design is no longer merelya carrier of information; it offers the possibility of a “deeper gaze”within a foreign context. By acting as a bridge, it allows audiencesfrom diverse cultural backgrounds to cross linguistic margins andfind resonance within unfamiliar visual symbols.
20(MON) — 26(SUN) April
Echoes 100 is a special invitation presented by RPDC Design Week during the 2025–2026 New Year period. Exploring themultifaceted relationships between “People / Space / Environment/ City,” we invited 100 designers to transform a single urbanobservation into a poster. There is no need to be literal about“sound.” Instead, these works respond to a hidden corner, a straybeam of light, a moment of congestion, a sudden void, or thoseindefinable yet profoundly real sensations of urban life.
Poster
Zipper by Yiyang Li
From 16:00
26(SUN) April
A playful day of “WHY labs” dedicated to Chinese characters! Starting from the horse symbol (马), we will discover why these signs have their shapes, explore the stories behind them and turn them into creative drawings. Inspired by the Year of the Horse and created with Il Club dei Bimbi di Quartiere, the workshop is designed for children aged 3–6 but open to everyone.
CONTACTS
lucafois49@gmail.com
giadamaria.b@theplayfulliving.com
ORGANIZER
Milano Kids Design Week
The Playful Living
Il Club dei Bimbi di Quartiere
Opening
18:00 — 22:00,
18(SAT) April
Exhibition
10:30 — 20:00,
18(SAT) — 26(SUN) April
Discover exclusive contemporary design with works by Finemateria, Locatelli-Zambernardi, Pellegrino, Tabet, Zaven, and Marco Zelli. Join the Opening on Saturday, April 18th, 6-10 PM (free access). On the occasion of Milano Design Week 2026, Galleria Luisa Delle Piane invites you to discover the exhibition PLEASE COME IN.
CONTACTS
info@gallerialuisadellepiane.it
+39 02 3319680
ORGANIZER
Galleria Luisa Delle Piane
Public Presentation
10:30 — 12:00, 25 (SAT)
Exhibition
21 (TUE) —26 (SUN) April
Four brand-new street games, created by a second-year middle school class together with teachers and designers, to transform Via G. Verga into a social space and discuss design as a creative, participatory, and people-centric process. In collaboration with the Panzini Middle School, the GPP Association, Ecopneus, and The Playful Living, “Design or be designed” is all about fun and learning.
CONTACTS
milano@designgroupitalia.it
ORGANIZER
Design Group Italia, a design studio part of [Alkemy +]
Sala Cisterne – Fabbrica del Vapore
22:00—05:00,
21(TUE) —25(SAT) April
Tender Hunger reimagines hunger as a storyteller. No longer merely a biological signal, it becomes a voice of desire, absence, memory, creation, and fragility. The project frames hunger as both bodily sensation and cultural condition. Visitors enter a space where hunger is made visible and tangible, inviting reflection on our relationship with food, nature, and finite resources, and what it means to feel hunger today.
ORGANIZER
Yue Liu / seilune
Tempio del Futuro Perduto
Hanfu Fashion Show
17:00, 26(SUN) April
Hanfu Cultural Hall and Experiences
27(MON) April
During Milan Design Week, APICAIA presents a Hanfu Fashion Show in collaboration with the RUYIFANG brand. The event brings the elegance of traditional Chinese Hanfu clothing and the exquisite artisanal Xiangyunsha fabric to Milan. An exclusive runway show will take place on April 26, while April 27 will be dedicated to an immersive cultural salon featuring experiences and discussions to fully discover the Hanfu heritage.
ORGANIZER
APICAIA – Associazione per l’Interscambio Culturale Artistico Italia–Asia
RUYIFANG Hanfu
Tempio del Futuro Perduto
14:00—18:00,
26(SUN) April
Returning to Milan Design Week, we share the unique charm of Eastern culture, rooted in mindfulness and universal compassion. By blending Buddhist wisdom with Chan aesthetics, we aim to help people overcome modern afflictions and discover inner calm. Through experiential activities like dhyana tea ceremonies, vegetarian cuisine, and Baduanjin, we help slow life’s pace, calm the mind, and foster innate tranquility.
CONTACTS
https://mindfulpeace.eu/milORGANIZER
Mindful Peace International
10:00 — 22:00,
20(MON)—26(SUN) April
For Monblari’s first Milan exhibition, water inspires a series of bathroom products tailored for solo-living, exploring infinite possibilities for a romantic life. The bathroom is an intimate space—a container for the body and a stage for inner dialogue. We provide comprehensive solutions balancing abundant simplicity, restrained luxury, and elegance. Like water, we embrace life’s flow, formless yet embracing all forms.
ORGANIZER
MonBlari
15:00—19:00, 19(SUN) April
Opening 15:00—18:00,
20(MON) April
Exhibition 10:00—20:00,
21(TUE)—26(SUN) April
“Fòco. Living Notes” is the new interior project by Archiproducts Milano, curated by Studiopepe. A space of transformation, where fire is a generative force and the origin of the creative gesture. Fòco interprets the natural element as a perspective through which to read space, materials, and relationships. Warm, intense, burnished tones: around the fire, a community gathers—individuals, connections, visions, and possibilities.
CONTACTS
milano@archiproducts.com
+39 0245481620
ORGANIZER
Archiproducts
Opening:
09:30, 20(MON) April
Public Exhibition:
09:00 – 19:00, 20(MON) — 26(SUN) April
Celebrating ten years of bringing auto shows to urban public spaces, the Decennial Exhibition of the Open-Air Motor Show & TADA DAY highlights how cities transformed into stages for automotive culture. Featuring 70+ international brands, the event includes Salone Auto Torino and TADA launches. Visitors can explore a 50-meter immersive video wall of iconic parades and ten classic cars showcasing design evolution.
CONTACTS
marika.santise@red-travel.com
press@red-travel.com
info@tada-award.com
ORGANIZER
Salone Auto Torino
MIMO (Milano Monza Motor Show)
TADA(Torino Automotive Design Award)
10:00—20:00,
21(TUE) —26(SUN) April
“RÓNG: Craft as Knowledge” explores material transformation in Chinese craft, focusing on the color red through pigments, dyes, and artisanal practices. The exhibition highlights Gyantse Tibetan carpets, showcasing sustainable, 1000-year-old weaving techniques via collaborations between international women artists and local artisans. Alongside the exhibition, the 2026 RÓNG Design Award will be announced, offering global designers a funded residency in China to engage with traditional craft.
CONTACTS
info@ronglibrary.com
info@bcaf.org
ORGANIZER
Róng Design Library
Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation
SaloneSatellite 2026
10:00—18:00,
21(TUE) — 26(SUN) April 2026
Five thousand years ago, the Liangzhu civilization emerged in China’s lower Yangtze wetlands. Its people cultivated rice, carved sacred jades, and built a society based on ritual order, craft, and harmony with nature. In 2019, the ruins became a UNESCO World Heritage site.Presented at Milano Design Week · China Week, SaloneSatellite 2026, this exhibition gathers creative designers who use Liangzhu culture as their starting point. Through contemporary design, their works reinterpret Eastern aesthetics across sustainable materials, interactive design, metalwork, glass art, and digital furniture.Drawing from these ancient origins, creators reflect on humanistic values in technological contexts. Engaging with bio-material design, digital craftsmanship, and organic cultural transmission, they employ cross-disciplinary approaches to rethink relationships between humans, nature, and society, offering new insights for future innovation.
CONTACTS
ORGANIZER
Hangzhou Liangzhu Archaeological Administrative District Management Committee, Institute of Life Aesthetics, School of Industrial Design,
China Academy of Art
NOI MEN, ZONA SARPI's signature gateway, reimagines the cultural threshold between Shanghai and Milan. Bridging history and future, it is a symbol of Sino-Italian dialogue.NOI—MEN GATE merges Milan’s Biscione Visconteo with the Chinese Dragon, symbolizing the bond between two cultures. Step through and explore this evolving artistic dialogue.
Public Installation
20(MON)—26(SUN) April
Via Sarpi, 1
20154 Milano (MI)
Rooted in ZONA SARPI, The Flags is a visual system based on the six "Better" themes. More than signage, they guide the district into an evolving urban
Public Installation
20(MON)—26(SUN) April
Along Via Sarpi
20154 Milano (MI)
Sarpi Wrap transforms a 100-meter hoarding into a visual journey. Discover the story of Matteo Ricci, a symbol of dialogue between Italy and China, traveling from the Marche region to the East.
Public Installation
From 20(MON) April
Via Sarpi, 13
—corner Via Bramante
20154 Milano (MI)
Windows of Sarpi 2026 collaborates with Red Design Week and RPDC. By showcasing design through storefronts, it seamlessly weaves creativity into Chinatown's daily life.
Public Installation
20(MON)-26(SUN) April
Via Paolo Sarpi 1
Via Paolo Sarpi 2
Via Paolo Sarpi 4
Milano (MI)
The new 2026 ZONA SARPI Info point is a hub for orientation and encounters. With art by Hu Yuehua and Grantaliano, it blends info, interaction and narratives.
oTTo
11:00–18:00,
20(MON) – 26(SUN) April
Via Sarpi, 8
Milano (MI)
Through Shidong embroidery and reclaimed fabrics, the artist translates Miao heritage into abstract spatial forms. Her work explores collective memory and the rhythm of the land.
oTTo
11:00–18:00,
20(MON) – 26(SUN) April
Via Sarpi, 8
Milano (MI)
Grantaliano explores the threshold between design and the “undesignable,” using natural elements that resist formal control as generative agents.
oTTo
11:00–18:00,
20(MON) – 26(SUN) April
Via Sarpi,
8Milano (MI)
Curated by RPDC & Frank Chou, this theatre explores design and civilization. It presents new Chinese designers, asking how design can unite humanity in turbulent times.From April 3-17, 2025, Circolo UltraFiorucci (Via Lomazzo 19) presents Lost and Found, an exhibition turning everyday objects into art and memory
20(MON) — 26(SUN) April 2026
Teatro del Borgo Milano
Via Giovanni Verga,
520154 Milano
Curated by RPDC Design Week & Ma Shirui, this exhibit uses books to bridge cultures. It shows how design transcends language, offering deep visual resonance across borders
20(MON) — 26(SUN) April 2026
Teatro del Borgo Milano
Via Giovanni Verga,
520154 Milano
Echoes 100 by RPDC Design Week asked 100 designers to create posters from urban views. They explore the city by visualizing the hidden, profound sensations of everyday life.
20(MON) — 26(SUN) April 2026
Teatro del Borgo Milano
Via Giovanni Verga,
520154 Milano
Galleria Luisa Delle Piane invites you to PLEASE COME IN for MDW26! Discover works by Finemateria, Locatelli-Zambernardi, Pellegrino, Tabet, Zaven, Zelli. Opening Apr 18, 6-10PM.
Centro Culturale Cinese
from 16:00
26(SUN) April
Via Paolo Sarpi 20,
Milano (MI)
Join our “WHY labs” with Il Club dei Bimbi di Quartiere! For the Year of the Horse, kids 3-6 (open to all) will turn the horse symbol (马) into creative drawings
Galleria Luisa Delle Piane
Opening
18:00 — 22:00,
18(SAT) April
Exhibition
10:30 — 20:00,
18(SAT) — 26(SUN) April
Via Giusti, 24, Milano (MI)
Design Group Italia, together with Ecopneus, The Playful Living, Panzini Secondary School, and the GPP Association, presents 4 new street games born from education and collaboration.
Public Presentation
10:30 — 12:00, 25(SAT) April
Exhibition
21(TUE) —26(SUN) April
Via Giovanni Verga , Milano (MI)
Tender Hunger reimagines hunger as a storyteller of desire and memory. It creates a tangible space to reflect on our relationship with food, nature, and finite resources
Sala Cisterne – Fabbrica del Vapore
22:00—05:00,
21(TUE) —25(SAT) April
Via Giulio Cesare Procaccini, 4, Milano (MI)
APICAIA and RUYIFANG present a Hanfu Fashion Show at Milan Design Week. Discover traditional Chinese clothing and Xiangyunsha fabric through a runway show and cultural salon.
Tempio del Futuro Perduto
Hanfu Fashion Show
17:00, 26(SUN) April
Hanfu Cultural Hall and Experiences
27(MON) April
Via Luigi Nono, 9/7, Milano (Mi)
Returning to Milan Design Week, Mindful Peace International shares Eastern culture and Chan aesthetics. Experience tea ceremonies,vegetarian cuisine and mindful activities to find true inner peace.
Tempio del Futuro Perduto
14:00—18:00,
26(SUN) April
Via Luigi Nono, 9/7, Milano (Mi)
CHOPSTICKS 箸 by S—3 connects East Asian design with globalideas. Curated by Yoko Choy, 16 creatives explore how traditionsevolve into globally relevant design languages.
10:00—19:00
21(TUE) — 25(SAT)
10:00—15:00
26(SUN)
Via Pietro Giannone 3,
Milano (MI)
Returning to Milan Design Week, we share Eastern culture and Chan aesthetics. Experience tea ceremonies, vegetarian cuisine and mindful activities to find true inner peace
15:00—17:00,
24(THU) April 2025
Registration +39 349 3912848 (Marco)
Via Privata Simone Schiaffino 25,
Milano (MI)
Monblari’s Milan debut uses water to inspire solo-living bathroom designs. We blend simplicity and luxury, transforming intimate spaces into a romantic dialogue with oneself.
10:00 — 22:00,
20(MON)—26(SUN) April
Piazzale Principessa Clotilde, 11, Milano (MI)
“Fòco. Living Notes” is the new interior project by Archiproducts Milano, curated by Studiopepe. A space of transformation, where fire is a generative force and the origin of the creative gesture.
15:00—19:00, 19(SUN) April
Opening
15:00—18:00,
20(MON) April
Exhibition
10:00—20:0,
21(TUE)—26(SUN) April
Via Tortona, 31, Milano (MI)
Celebrating 10 years of urban motor shows, the exhibit features 70+ brands, immersive videos of city parades, and classic cars highlighting design evolution.
Opening:
09:30, 20(MON) April
Public Exhibition:
09:00 – 19:00, 20 (MON) — 26(SUN) April
Via Tortona, 35, Milano (MI)
Explore “RÓNG: Craft as Knowledge,” showcasing Chinese traditions, the color red, and Gyantse Tibetan weaving. Includes live demos and the 2026 RÓNG Design Award.
SaloneSatellite 2026
Fiera Milano Rho, Pavilion 5/7, Stand E21
10:00—20:00,
21(TUE) —26(SUN) April
Strada Statale del Sempione 28
20017, Rho (Mi)
At SaloneSatellite 2026, designers draw from the ancient Liangzhu civilization. They use sustainable materials and digital craft to reinterpret Eastern aesthetics.Celebrating 10 years of urban motor shows, the exhibit features 70+ brands, immersive videos of city parades, and classic cars highlighting design evolution.
SaloneSatellite 2026
Fiera Milano Rho, Pavilion 5, Stand A02–A04
10:00—18:00,
21(TUE) —26(SUN) April
Strada Statale del Sempione 28
20017, Rho (Mi)
