wallpaper* design awards crowns MILAN as winner of BEST CITY 2019

international design, fashion and lifestyle magazine wallpaper* has published its annual design awards issue. now in its 15th year, the wallpaper* design awards celebrate the world’s most life-enhancing places, products, people and phenomena. hand-picked by the wallpaper* team, this year’s six-strong jury included paola antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA, architect bjarke ingels of BIG, wallpaper* designer of the year 2018 philippe malouin, and artist do ho suh. ‘the past year has been a standout one for good design that behaves beautifully, that thinks about its impact in every sense,’ says sarah douglas, editor-in-chief of wallpaper*. ‘it’s heartening to celebrate the people and brands that strive to make a difference, to innovate and design a better life.’ 

the february 2019 wallpaper* design awards issue
main image by claudio sabatino

among prestigious honors such as best new restaurant, best new public building, and life-enhancer of the year, the coveted spot of BEST CITY this year has been awarded to MILAN. the italian ‘design capital’ has undergone an exciting renaissance in recent years, with the opening of key art and culture destinations: the OMA-designed fondazione prada tower was one of europe’s most anticipated recent openings, and armani’s empire has expanded to include the armani silos museum and the armani hotel. milan’s upcoming XXII triennale di milano is set to be reinvigorated by the triennale design museum’s new president, stefano boeri, and his team of curators. futhermore, recent projects – like herzog & de meuron’s porta volta mixed-use development, an apple store by foster + partners, zaha hadid architects’ generali tower – have transformed the cityscape with a contemporary architectural language.

fondazione prada recently opened ‘torre’, the final part of its OMA-designed campus
image by bas princen, courtesy of fondazione prada | read more about the project here

in winning BEST CITY, milan withstood competition from sharjah, shanghai, helsinki, and vancouver. here’s what some of the judges had to say about their choice: 

‘the milanese not only love design, but truly live by it,’ describes paola antonelli, a judge of the wallpaper* design awards 2019. ‘they use it, they talk about it, they critique it, they overdo it. design is a pillarof popular culture, it is normal. design week in april is a citywide celebration; everyone is interested and participates in it.’

‘ten years ago, milan seemed quite dormant, and slightly forgotten,’ designer philippe malouin says of the city’s evolution. ‘in the last decade, it seems to have transformed itself into a vibrant, yet classical destination, with improvements in infrastructure, residential projects and restaurants. I also love the manageable size of milan. you can get anywhere in 20 minutes on a bicycle.’

armani silos celebrates 40 years of the italian fashion house
image © davide lovatti | read more about the project here

apple’s sunken milan store by foster + partners is entered through a cascading fountain
image courtesy of apple | read more about the project here

the citylife masterplan has transformed milan’s abandoned trade fair grounds into a vibrant new district
image © hufton + crow | read more about the project here

wallpaper* design awards

now in its 15th edition, the wallpaper* design awards 2019 celebrates the world’s most pulse-raising and life-enhancing places, products, people and phenomena. the february 2019 ‘design awards’ issue is split into two parts: the first covers categories devised by wallpaper* and its extended global family of contributors, writers and curators — ranging from best roofscape to best repurpose and best future vision. the second section comprises the most prestigious honors: 11 judges’ awards selected by an esteemed international panel.