The 2025 edition of Agorà Design, the biennial festival dedicated to design, innovation and design biodiversity, supported by main sponsor Sprech and numerous public and private partners, came to an end on Sunday 5 October at the Palazzo Baronale in Martano, in the province of Lecce. A widespread event open to the city, which for four days enlivened the historic centre with meetings, talks, exhibitions, workshops, laboratories and opportunities for discussion on the themes of architecture and creativity as tools for interpreting the present and imagining the future. Agorà Design OFF continues until 24 October in the renovated Palazzo Ducale, with a series of installations and exhibitions dedicated to new design languages. Among the works on display are Arturo Vittori’s “Warka Tower”, a bamboo structure that collects water from the air for communities without water resources, “Oggettario” by r+s Studio, “Lo Spazio Morale” by the Reggio Emilia Architects’ Foundation, ‘Anatomie del visibile’ by Alice Caracciolo, the exhibition “Shelter” on the evolution of shelters, and “Kora_Extended”, a digital platform curated by Ramdom with Studio Zero. A natural extension of the festival, it invites reflection on the role of design and architecture as tools for interpreting reality, building relationships, and shaping a more sustainable and shared future.
The 2025 edition of Agorà Design, entitled ‘Il Progetto Necessario’ (The Necessary Project), celebrated design’s ability to respond concretely to collective needs and generate social cohesion.
The event was attended by architects, designers, entrepreneurs, students, journalists and enthusiasts from all over Italy, with a completely free programme involving leading professionals such as Arturo Vittori, Mauro Bubbico, Viola Dressino, Giovanna Castiglioni, Tommaso Bovo, Anna Frabotta, Francesco Faccin and Alessio Battistella. Around eighty projects, including prototypes and drawings, were exhibited in the halls of the Palazzo Baronale, the result of the work of over 150 participants who were inspired by Dieter Rams’ “Less, but better” philosophy, interpreting it in a contemporary key. The jury, composed of Francesco Zurlo from the Politecnico di Milano, Giulio Iacchetti and representatives from Michele De Lucchi’s AMDL Circle studio, selected the winners of the Garden and Living sections in the Professional and Student categories, in addition to special mentions awarded by the festival’s partners.
In the Living section, dedicated to interior design, the winner among the professionals was Marta Doberti with her lighting system ‘Gabbiano’, followed by Patrizia Bertolini with her stool “Tiratisù” and Sissy Daniele with her bookcase ‘M19’. Among the students, Filippo Meriggi stood out with his ‘Tac&Stac’ bookcase. In the Garden section, focused on outdoor furniture and in particular on the theme of daybeds, the first prize was awarded to Aldo Mucciarone for ‘Salice’, followed by Damiano Lorenzani with “Archimede” and Marco Taietta with ‘Schultz Daybed’. Marco Negrin with ‘Tressé’ and Elena Maffioletti with ‘Tria’ tied for second place among the students. Special mentions went to Giuseppe Campailla for “Enosi”, a set of recycled paper objects, chosen by MAXXI Interior Design, and again to Marta Doberti, awarded by Italamona for her project ‘Gabbiano’. As per tradition, the Sprech company will produce a number of selected prototypes to evaluate their inclusion in its catalogue, offering the winners a concrete opportunity for professional growth.
The squares of Martano also hosted the four prototypes of the 2023 competition on the theme “Hyperlocal: architecture and design from the territories”, created by Sprech and transformed into urban installations: the “Felicità” hammock by Samuel David Silva Batista, the “Trullight” chair by Sissy Daniele and the “Esse” daybed by Antonio Giovanni Calone and “MoonGlow” by Silvia Orlandi. An open-air exhibition representing the dual soul of Agorà Design, both an international competition and a cultural festival rooted in the community.
The closing of the festival also saw the presentation of the Agorà Design Kids 2025 awards, a contest dedicated to schools in the Martano-Carpignano-Serrano Comprehensive School District, created to introduce young people to the world of design through play and experimentation. The young designers presented ingenious and poetic ideas, from the “Electronic Spoon” to the “Label Plant”, from the “Flavour-Changing Plate” to the “Watering Can Flower”, demonstrating how creativity can be a universal language capable of uniting different generations.
