A new edition of Agorà Design took place from September 28 to October 1, 2023. This biennial event takes place in Martano and celebrates design in Salento
Agorà Design was held in Martano, in the heart of Salento and more precisely in Grecìa Salentina, from September 28 to October 1, 2023. This event is dedicated to architecture and design culture, promoted by the homonymous cultural association with the support of a main sponsor, Sprech, and the collaboration of other public and private entities.
The event offered workshops, talks, lectures in the Palazzo Baronale and in the historic center of the town. There were also conferences, thematic workshops and meetings with companies and professionals. Finally, to complete the event, there was an exhibition of the projects participating in the Agorà Design Contest 2023, entitled “Iperlocale: architettura e design dai territori” (“Hyperlocal: architecture and design from the territories”).
The protagonists of Agorà Design 2023
The list of this edition’s confirmed guests includes Riccardo Falcinelli, graphic designer and one of the most appreciated design theorists, with a masterclass on the color red, and Giovanna Castiglioni, from Fondazione Achille Castiglioni, with a conversation on the Castiglioni method and a workshop on anonymous objects. There will also be Francesco Zurlo, dean of Poli.Design at Politecnico di Milano; Francesco Faccin, designer; Simona Bordone, head of content and special projects for Domus magazine; Tommaso Bovo, professor of Graphic Design and Project Methodology at IED Florence; Francesca Carlino, architect and partner of ACPV Architects Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel architecture and interior design firm.
Paolo Casati, founder and creative director of Studiolabo and the Fuorisalone.it project; Patrizia Catalano, coordinator of the inserts of Interni magazine; Giovanni Innella, designer; Francesco Pagliari, architect, architecture and art critic of The Plan portal; Marco Petroni, design theorist and critic, professor at the Naples Academy of Fine Arts; and members of the Officina Calabria Design project, to name a few.
Agorà Design Contest
The outdoor spaces of Palazzo Baronale accommodated 100 of the best projects selected from more than 200 entries participating in the Agorà Design Contest 2023. Participants in the contest included professionals, designers, artisans and students from all over Italy and abroad. This edition’s theme, “Hyperlocal: architecture and design from the territories,” stemmed from the desire to enhance the recovery of local traditions and cultures, contributing to the development of territories and the promotion of different social, cultural and productive realities.
The exhibition closed on Sunday, October 1 with the announcement of the winners in the two sections: Living, dedicated to the world of interior design (furnishings, textiles, wall and floor coverings), and Garden, dedicated to outdoor furniture, with daybeds (halfway between outdoor sofa and lounger), seating (sofas, armchairs and chairs), and outdoor coverings (gazebos, tensile structures, awnings).
The winners
In the Living section, dedicated to the world of interior design, the winning project among professionals was Linfa – Il riposo che nutre l’anima, a prototype by Apulian architect Davide Decarli, made in collaboration with Pecore Attive. Tommaso Schiuma from Basilicata with Hydria (in collaboration with Progetto Arte Snc) came second, while Fragment by Simona De Fazio from Brindisi and Carmen Carugno from Molise (in collaboration with Level Project and Vincenzo Del Monaco) came third. As for the students’ projects, the winner was Searamic, self-produced by Giulio Bragagnolo from Veneto and Paolo Sgarzi from Bologna.
The design boards of the Garden section, dedicated to outdoor furniture, intrigued visitors and the jury, which awarded Felicità by Samuel David Silva Batista from Colombia. Also on the podium were Apulia, by Sicilian Daniele Cicero, and Driades, the joint work of Roman Francesco Fontanella and Greek Maria Kassola. Ludovica Quarta, a student from Salento, convinced the jurors with Sicq.
Sprech’s valuable contribution to Agorà Design
In addition to prize money for the winners, all participants will have the opportunity to transform their project into a product. At the end of the event, Sprech, the event’s main sponsor, will choose some of the competing projects to create prototypes to be included in its commercial catalog – a unique opportunity in Italy in the field of architecture and design competitions.
Lastly, the jury awarded a mention for the recovery of olive wood, designed to give new life to plants affected by Xylella. The winner is Lampada ad Angoloby Andrea Arciuolo in collaboration with Officina Fratelli Navacchi. Linfa – Il riposo che nutre l’anima by Davide Decarli also won the MAXXI – Interior Design prize, partner of Agorà Design.
