Genoa BeDesign Week 24 recorded twenty thousand attendees thanks to the rich proposal of appointments including conferences, conventions, talks, musical moments and guided tours according to the 4 paths ‘Outdoor without borders’, ‘Container 01’, ‘Under 35’ and ‘The House changes its skin’. The Design Festival sold out with the three talks organised in collaboration with Platform, which brought four international archistars (Michele De Lucchi, Fabio Novembre, Clara Bona and Luca Molinari) to the Ligurian capital. Also fundamental was the participation of excellences such as Alfonso Femia, Carlo Orsini, Hembert Peñaranda, Patrizia Moroso, Catia Grossi, Giianluca Peluffo and Ugo La Pietra.
Genoa BeDesign Week 24 therefore represents a success that goes beyond expectations and testifies to the constant growth of an event that since 2018 has enhanced the rive gouche of a part of the old city – the area between Via San Lorenzo, Via San Bernardo and Santa Maria di Castello – and involved an increasing number of professionals in the sector. ‘Genoa BeDesign Week confirms itself as an appointment in the Genoese tradition capable not only of involving the city but also of bringing visitors from other parts of Italy this year,’ reflects Elisabetta Rossetti, President of Dide – Distretto del Design di Genova. This repays the teamwork and sacrifices made in five years of GBDW’.
There was also great success for the paths that came under the theme ‘Design in motion’, with particular reference to Outdoor without borders curated by Marta Carraro Studio CAARPA with several installations in outdoor spaces (squares in the Old Town, atriums of historical buildings, the orangery of Santa Maria di Castello) that also led to a reflection on the new models of sustainable green design.
Another theme, Container 01, the format curated by Massimiliano Dalle Sasse of DLA Designlab, proposed in Piazza Matteotti and Piazza San Lorenzo designer creations inside spaces like casings enclosing objects, feelings and thoughts. The installation in Piazza San Lorenzo sponsored by AFIS took up the original design of a house in the area in the medieval period.
Confirmations also for the ‘Designer Competition Under 35 – Creative Flows’, a path dedicated to young designers. Among the prize-winners is ‘Fragment’ by Studio Sospeso, door handles made of handcrafted ceramic and olive tree wood material affected by xylella bacteria and then recovered, which also won the third Afis prize. Leonardo Cavalluzzi’s ‘Zestep’, an environmental research and sustainability project, also won an award. The same prize goes to Francesco Pio Carpentiere who convinced the jury with ‘Terra’, steel furniture made of recycled elements and olive harvesting nets, a project that also won the first Afis prize at Bedesign Week 24 at the same time. Other prize-winners were Mattia Fontana with ‘Bigo’, hanging lamps made of rubberized linen fabric, and ‘Millebolle’ by Elia Maschio, an inflatable sofa made of spherical modules and knitted outer fabric. Other awards went to Paolo Gentile with the work ‘Pocopiano’, to Fenia Capobianco with ‘Kosmikit’, to the collective Moonrabbit with the work ‘Moon Landig’, to Joanne Jones for ‘Amadutsu’, to Lorenza di Di Gioia and Samuel Filippini for ‘Mize Anti Crash’ and Cristian Li Voi for ‘Falesia’, while ‘Cupido’ produced by Abretio Design, by Andrea Arciuolo, Cleto Luca Chieco and Silvia dell’Orco won the second Afis prize.
The numbers recorded this year were also significant. There were 166 exhibitors involved and 122 appointments on the calendar divided between conferences (20), events in the district (46), events outside the district (19), musical moments (35) and exhibitions (2). There was also an increase in the number of exhibition venues (110) including palace foyers (42), district activities (36) and out-of-district events (7) and squares (12). Speaking of numbers: since the birth of the Dide Distretto del Design di Genova in 2017, as many as 21 businesses have opened in the Piazza dei Giustiniani area. The Dide’s urban regeneration work continues.
Finally, the dates of the sixth edition of the Genova Be Design Week have been announced: it will take place from 21 to 25 May 2025 with a new theme not yet revealed.
