What the 5VIE Design Week 2026 will be like

In the historic heart of Milan, between Sant’Ambrogio, the Colonne di San Lorenzo and Corso Magenta, the 5VIE district returns as one of the protagonists of the Milano Design Week with a program that weaves together collectible design, craftsmanship and contemporary experimentation. For the 2026 edition, the event presents QoT - Qualia of Things, a theme that invites us to look at design not only as form or function, but as a sensory experience. The reference is the philosophical concept of qualia, the subjective aspects of perception - the “what it feels like” of experiencing something. In a moment dominated by the Internet of Things, the focus shifts from device connectivity to the ability of objects to engage the senses and generate emotions.

Within the district, the program unfolds as a widespread route through historic courtyards, galleries and converted industrial spaces, bringing together designers, artists, artisans and international institutions. The heart of the event is once again the headquarters at the Cavallerizze of the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, the starting point of a journey that crosses the entire district, where a series of installations investigates the relationship between matter, perception and transformation.
Among the main projects, Resonance by Marco Guazzini, curated by Maria Cristina Didero, imagines an ever-evolving design landscape in which a modular tubular system generates infinite combinations between furniture, architecture and objects. With Cosmic Meadow, the Australian ceramic artist Elizabeth Lewis, presented by SWING Design Gallery, builds a biomorphic universe populated by vases and sculptures that evoke imaginary creatures, natural forms and processes of decay and calcification. The symbolic dimension of matter also emerges in La fiamma che non brucia by Giuditta Vettese, a circular ceramic sculpture conceived as a domestic altar where water, body and performative gesture intertwine in an almost ritual narrative.

Many of the projects on display reflect on the transformation of materials as a cultural act. This is the case of Re-Campaign by the Dutch studio mo man tai, which transforms massive discarded advertising banners into a sequence of walk-through textile portals: surfaces originally created for commercial communication become temporary architectures that react to light, wind and the movement of visitors. Czech designer Tadeáš Podracký presents Before the Shape Appears, a series of lamps carved from solid wood in which form emerges directly from the resistance of the material and the manual gesture of carving.
The relationship between object and sensory perception is also central to Vessels dell’Intangibile by Lebanese designer Richard Yasmine, a luminous collection that translates the five senses into sculptural presences capable of evoking memory and emotional tension. The immersive experience finds one of its most intense expressions in ALMA WATER – La stanza del mare, an installation by Sara Ricciardi Studio that transforms the space into a sonic and tactile environment inspired by the liquid dimension of the sea: large suspended fabrics move like waves while visitors activate participatory sound instruments that compose a collective score. Also at the Cavallerizze, Japanese artist Noe Kuremoto presents Jōmon: un inno per le madri, a series of sculptural stoneware vessels that reinterpret the ancient ceramics of the Jōmon period as a tribute to motherhood and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge.


Courtesy of 5VIE

Alongside the more experimental installations, the event continues to highlight the dialogue between contemporary design and artisanal traditions. The project Guatemala diseña con las manos brings together 17 design studios and Mayan textile communities in an installation inspired by the Temple of the Great Jaguar in Tikal, while Crafted in Podlasie. Design Meets Heritage brings contemporary design from the Polish region of Podlachia to Milan, reinterpreting traditional techniques and materials. Among the most anticipated collaborations is L’instabilità necessaria, born from the encounter between Armand Louis, co-founder of the Swiss studio atelier oï, and Murano glass master Roberto Beltrami. The project explores how errors and anomalies in matter can become the origin of new design possibilities and will also be presented at Galleria Rossana Orlandi.

Alongside the Cavallerizze headquarters, the program, as always, extends throughout the district with exhibitions, installations and special openings. Among them, La Boiserie by david/nicolas, presented for the first time in the duo’s Milan studio, transforms the wall into a modular system of geometric panels capable of generating architectural rhythm and depth. Nearby, Giopato & Coombes present Nokori - The Light That Remains, a series of luminous sculptures that continues the studio’s research on light as a sensitive and narrative material. The route through the neighborhood also involves historic spaces and galleries such as Alberto Levi Gallery, presenting Venetian Echoes, and Casaornella, where Maria Vittoria Paggini signs the immersive domestic project Animale sociale. At Chiostro del Cappuccio, the brand Byredo presents a series of sculptural wooden seats produced in limited edition as spaces dedicated to conversation and contemplation, while at Teatro Arsenale the artist Humberto Campana signs the textile collection Floralis for Art de Vivre, inspired by the cellular structures of nature and translated into hand-woven rugs. Through material research, craftsmanship and sensory experimentation, the 2026 edition builds a journey that crosses the entire district, bringing together designers, artists and creative communities from different contexts.