THE MULTIMEDIA PROJECT

Design Spaziale Italiano is an itinerant multimedia project curated by Annalisa Dominoni and Benedetto Quaquaro and promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in order to enhance the strategic role of Design for Space, a cutting-edge sector in our country of which the Politecnico di Milano has been a pioneer since the late 1990s, contributing to its development and affirmation.

The project, previewed in the diplomatic offices of Brussels, Prague, Paris, London and Vienna on the occasion of National Space Day 2024, consists of events and exhibitions of physical products, digital content, installations, animations and videos that develop different forms of site-specific narrative to communicate how the shape and meaning of the objects we use in our daily activities can change in the transition from Earth to Space.

The catalogue brings together these narratives, giving voice to the research and didactics developed with the support of the European Space Agency at the Department and the School of Design of the Politecnico di Milano, which over more than a quarter of a century of projects and experimentation has transformed Design for Space into an autonomous and avant-garde discipline, capable of acting as a bridge between human nature and technology and creating knowledge transfers between the space industry and design companies. The aim is to generate innovation and well-being in Space, by increasing comfort, sustainability, beauty, and inclusion, thanks also to the collaboration with the first European parastronaut John McFall.

The theoretical-scientific contents and founding concepts of Design for Space are told through animations and videos of the Principles and Challenges that characterise and guide the design of confined and reduced gravity environments. The design contents bring together 36 Projects presented through images and mockups of space objects exhibited in the installation “Cities of the Universe”, that highlight the strategic role of design in redefining a “new normality” for a “new environment” able to re-establishing a new balance of physical and emotional forces, gestures and relationships. Gravity is the great Designer that shapes objects by transforming their identity.

THE EXHIBITION

The Design Spaziale Italiano exhibition projects us towards a future in which it will be possible to live on other celestial bodies, confronting us with confined environments and reduced gravity that are not part of the terrestrial experience and that transform our way of life: physiology, body shape, posture, perception of the entire environment change, gestures and behaviour, relationships with objects.

The themes addressed build a narrative in which the design role emerges capable of increasing well-being and generating innovation through sustainable, inclusive and beautiful projects in an extreme and challenging environment.

The theoretical-scientific contents that characterise and guide design are distilled into 8 Space Design Principles, which through animations and icons tell what extreme, confinement, gravity and the resulting disorientation mean, and how design can counteract the negative effects of these conditions by designing protective structures, environments that can reactivate the senses despite the lack of natural stimuli, objects that can use gravity to reduce the adaptation time to the new environment. The 12 Space Design Challenges complete the fundamental reference contents for design aimed at improving the quality of life and performance of astronauts, similarly to what happens in the redefinition of concepts with a strong social impact, such as disability, which can be nullified in Space.

Finally, the projects contents comprise 36 Projects, of extraterrestrial habitats, equipment, clothing and wearables that propose innovative solutions for living and working in Space.

The exhibition has been designed to be flexible in its different narratives and modular, in order to easily adapt to the different contexts, both physical and thematic.

THE INSTALLATION “CITIES OF THE UNIVERSE”

The Italian Embassy in Prague hosted the installation “Cities of the Universe”, designed by Annalisa Dominoni and Benedetto Quaquaro in a dialogue between past and future in the historically dense environment of the Scuderie, and inspired by the book of the same name written by the curators.

Seven shining towers evoke the skyline of a hypothetical extraterrestrial city, hinting at visions of an ever closer future. Inside transparent showcases, recreating empty volumes emphasised by slender lines of light, are white mockups and prototypes of previously unseen space objects - the result of years of research and development into the various aspects of life in Space - which show how gravity has a decisive influence on the shape and use of many everyday products, making them alien and unrecognisable at first glance. The public is called upon to immerse themselves in an unknown biophysics to understand what it means to design for Space and what it implies, what principles guide design in order to improve the comfort and performance of astronauts and consequently, determine the success of the entire mission: from the International Space Station to the visionary projects of lunar and Martian settlements, the future of interplanetary exploration is revealed.

The choice of aluminium for the installation, a material widely used in the aerospace sector, is a reference to the theme of sustainability, a virtuous principle at the basis of Design for Space: the particular profile used to create the towers, supplied by Fiera Milano, is in fact totally re-used at the end of the exhibition.

“Cities of the Universe” highlights how Design, in uniting creativity and innovation, can become a bridge between science, technology and beauty, creating scenarios of possible futures, because they are based on existing technologies or those under development, capable of stimulating emotions and reflections on how life will develop outside the Earth, both in Space and on other planets.

Bruxelles

28.11.2024 — Residence Palace

Exhibition Design Spaziale — Italiano
Talk “Cities of the Universe” with Annalisa Dominoni and Benedetto Quaquaro

Hosted by:
Permanent Representation of Italy to the European Union
Vincenzo Celeste / Permanent Representative
Stefano Verrecchia / Deputy Permanent Representative

Prague

04.12 / 20.12.2024 — Scuderie dell'Ambasciata d'Italia in Prague

Exhibition Design Spaziale — Italiano
Talk and installation “Cities of the Universe” with Annalisa Dominoni and Benedetto Quaquaro

Hosted by
Embassy of Italy in Prague
Mauro Marsili / Ambassador of Italy
Maria Cristina Falvella / Space Attachè
Giovanni Vietri / Administration Officer
Svetlana di Carlo / Space Team

Paris

12.12 / 19.12.2024 — European Space Agency (ESA)

Exhibition Design Spaziale — Italiano
Talk “Cities of the Universe” with Annalisa Dominoni and Benedetto Quaquaro

Hosted by:
Embassy of Italy in Paris
Emanuela D'Alessandro / Ambassador of Italy

Permanent Representation of Italy to the International Organisations in Paris
Luca Sabbatucci / Permanent Representative
Alessandra Fiumara / Space Attaché

London

11.12.2024 — Embassy of Italy in London

Exhibition Design Spaziale — Italiano
Talk “Cities of the Universe” with Annalisa Dominoni and Benedetto Quaquaro

Hosted by:
Embassy of Italy in London
Inigo Lambertini / Ambassador of Italy
Umberto Bernardo / Head of the Economic Office

Wien

04.02.2025 — European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)

Exhibition Design Spaziale — Italiano
Talk “Innovation Beauty Inspiration” with Luca Parmitano, Prada, Annalisa Dominoni and Benedetto Quaquaro

Hosted by:
Embassy of Italy in Vienna
Giovanni Pugliese / Ambassador of Italy
Amedeo Stalano / Scientific Counselor
Permanent Representation of Italy to the International Organizations in Wien
Debora Lepre / Permanent Representative
European Space Policy Institute (ESPI)