Beyond the Internet of Things, design rediscovers the human “feeling” within the walls of the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology
In a world increasingly saturated with data, algorithms, and digital connections, 5VIE Design Week 2026 chooses to chart a reverse course, bringing attention back to the irreducibility of the human experience. This year’s theme, QoT – Qualia of Things, stands as a philosophical and creative manifesto challenging the dominance of the IoT (Internet of Things).
While technology aims for network efficiency, the 5VIE district shifts the focus to the “quality of experience.” Qualia are, in fact, those subjective and private aspects of perception—like the red of a sunset or the roughness of a fabric—that no machine can encode. 5VIE Design Week 2026 thus invites us to rediscover the object not as a device, but as a threshold of memory and emotional resonance.
The Museum as a Laboratory of Consciousness
The beating heart of the exhibition will be at the Cavallerizze of the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology. In this liminal space between history and innovation, design becomes a language capable of uniting biology and technology. It is no longer just “form that informs,” but an ethical and aesthetic research that centers on “feeling.” As highlighted by the organizers of 5VIE Design Week 2026, the urgency is to safeguard the human dimension in a chaotic present, transforming every creation into a unique encounter between creator and user.
5VIE Productions: Works Between Ritual and Matter
The installations produced for this edition perfectly embody the concept of QoT – Qualia of Things. Among the most anticipated:
- Sara Ricciardi Studio – ALMA WATER: A sensory immersion into the liquid heart of Sardinia. A sound pavilion where large “silk bellies” move to the rhythm of the waves, transforming the sea into a collective gesture.
- Noe Kuremoto – Jōmon: An Anthem for Mothers: A series of stoneware vases that reinterpret prehistoric Japanese ceramics as talismans dedicated to the complexity of motherhood.
- Marco Guazzini – Resonance: Curated by Maria Cristina Didero, this installation explores the concept of emotional impact through a continuous tubular system suggesting infinite possibilities of spatial transformation.
- Richard Yasmine – Vessels of the Intangible: A lighting collection exploring invisible sensory forces, transforming the five senses into devotional relics of a “Neo-Ritual Baroque.”
A Global Dialogue in the Heart of Milan
Beyond the Cavallerizze, the district branches out to the historic headquarters at Via Cesare Correnti 14, hosting international visions spanning from Guatemala to Brazil. Projects like Guatemala designs by hand and Alagoas Plural bring the strength of ancestral traditions fused with contemporary sensibility to Milan.
5VIE Design Week 2026 confirms its status not just as an unmissable Fuorisalone event, but as an ecosystem where humanistic innovation challenges the coldness of data to restore value to the thrill of pure perception.
USEFUL INFO
Event: 5VIE Design Week 2026 – QoT – Qualia of Things
Dates: April 20-26, 2026 | 10:30 AM – 8:00 PM
Main Locations: Cavallerizze (Via Olona 4) and Via Cesare Correnti 14, Milan
