ZONA SARPI, a platform that promotes the network of cultural projects and events related to design in the Paolo Sarpi district, returns as a protagonist during Milan's design week.
Officially recognized and sponsored by the Municipality of Milan within the Milano Design Week program, the second edition of the festival will take place along Via Paolo Sarpi, involving the district's hybrid and active community, the Chinese Cultural Center, and the ADI Design Museum, in the year of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese community's settlement in Milan.

The artistic direction of ZONA SARPI is entrusted to Michele Brunello, a resident of the neighborhood and the architect founder of DONTSTOP Architettura, part of the Progetto CMR International Group, a studio specialized in the design of new forms of dwelling and living, and Luca Fois, a creative consultant among the historical figures behind Milan's design districts such as Zona Tortona. Both have always been promoters of international relations and collaborations between Italy and China.

Among the most evocative interventions, produced and set up by Zona Sarpi, will be the Chinatown Portal: NOI men. A temporary symbolic insertion, each year Zona Sarpi asks an artist who has a history of relationship with the district to represent the meeting between the Visconti "biscione" (snake) and the Chinese dragon. The structure, designed by Dontstop and illustrated by Tommaso Lanciani and Silvan Borer, was funded by the network of local merchants involved by Angela Zhou, who also supported the creation of an illustrated Construction Fence of over 100 meters at the corner of Sapri and Bramante, with the story of the 100 years of the Chinese community's settlement illustrated by Alessandro Grande and Marzio Mariani. This work, and the underlying research, will be the first nucleus of a neighborhood museum that will tell the story of the last 100 years of multicultural and vital dialogue, which have made Sarpi one of the model Chinatowns in the world.
Another section of the Fence, promoted by The Playful Living, will host a selection of art toys by PopMart.

The main hubs of ZONA SARPI will be: Via Paolo Sarpi, with installations along the street by Nicola Maggi, ZTE, Winx Club and works by young designers hosted in the shop windows on Via Paolo Sarpi curated by Arsonar; Via Verga with the workshop/exhibition curated by Design Group Italia and the Panzini school with the GPP; and the Chinese Cultural Center with the workshops of the Kids Design Week. Synergies will also be activated with cultural entities in the district such as in Tempio del Futuro Perduto, the excellent gallery of Luisa Delle Piane, the Fondazione Sozzani, brands such as Fiorucci, designer and creative studios based in the district such as DIME lab, Studio Magda, TreP+ Design Lab, Officine Saffi Lab, Róng Design Library, exhibition spaces such as oTTo Cose which will host the Pop Mart temporary store, and artistic performances such as those of JOYY! Food Design Studio and Italia Oggi Milano.

ADI Design Museum will be the other outstanding venue of the event, where a selection of design proposals developed between China and the West will find space, an exhibition curated by Keyi, with the installation by Dontstop. A unique piece born from the synergy between architecture and art will be previewed: an exclusive table inspired by the iconic San Siro Stadium. The result of the collaboration between Progetto CMR and the artist Alessandro Busci, famous for his representations of Milan's most renowned architecture including the Meazza Stadium, celebrates the harmony between innovation, architectural tradition, and artistic sensibility. The activities at the ADI will have a special moment with the MEET Turin Auto Award Press, the first award dedicated to the design of electric cars promoted with the Piemonte institutional entities.

During Milan Design Week 2025, Zona Sarpi will launch projects that go beyond Design Week with the call DO IT BETTER: an invitation for companies, brands, and professionals to contribute through collaborations, partnerships, sponsorships, content, and projects to the improvement of the district through design prototypes of products and services, using a co-design approach. In the same week, as part of the DO IT BETTER theme, the Zona Sarrrrpi ideas competition will be launched to select projects and services that can improve the district's sustainability performance.