ADI Design Museum
The history
Inaugurated in May 2021 in 5,000 square metres of exhibition space in the square of the same name, the ADI occupies the former industrial area in Milan between Via Ceresio and Via Bramante, a space that in the 1930s was a depot for horse-drawn trams and an electricity distribution plant.
The museum is managed by the Fondazione ADI Collezione Compasso d’Oro, established in 2001 by ADI – Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (an institution that promotes the Compasso d’Oro Award, the most prestigious international design award), in order to preserve and enhance what has been built up over the decades of the Award’s activities: a national cultural heritage, recognised by the Ministry of Culture as being of ‘exceptional artistic and historical interest’.
On the occasion of the opening of the Museum, a new logo, based on the one originally designed by Albe Steiner, was created by the Migliore+Servetto studio of architects in collaboration with graphic designer and architect Italo Lupi.
The collection
ADI Design Museum hosts the entire repertoire of the winning projects of the Compasso d’Oro Award, an award born in 1954 from an idea of Gio Ponti to valorise the quality of made-in-Italy design – today the oldest and most institutional recognition of the sector worldwide.
A dynamic museum, constantly evolving and destined to tell the story of Italian design in its industrial, economic, cultural and social, popular and research aspects. In addition to the Permanent Collection, the museum’s spaces host temporary exhibitions, spaces for business meetings, design lectures, workshops for children, as well as transversal initiatives and meetings for the general public – with the aim of contributing to the dissemination and enhancement of design culture on a national and international level. Also available to the public are a library, ADI headquarters and historical archive, a bookshop and a catering area.
Photo: ADI Design Museum, Milan
Temporary exhibitions
Compasso d’Oro International Award 2025
OLTREPLASTICA
BMW Art Car World Tour
ALCHIMIA
PIAZZA COMPASSO D’ORO, 1, 20154 MILAN Monday to Sunday from 10.30 am to 8 pm.
Last admission 7:15 pm.
Friday
2 hours
Temporary exhibitions included in the ticket price
Books and guides
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