Italian
The 2026 edition of the Milan Design Week will see the launch of an innovative project that involves students, designers, and companies in an urban regeneration initiative through play and co-design
Milano – Second edition of “Designing or being designed” during the Milano Design Week 2026. The initiative, born from the collaboration with the Panzini Secondary School, the GPP Association, Ecopneus, and The Playfull Living, will transform via Giovanni Verga into a space for play and learning from April 21 to 26.
Design or be designed
The project consists of four hands-on workshops that led to the creation of four street game islands, each measuring 12 square meters. These play areas will enliven Via Giovanni Verga, providing citizens with a space to play, socialize, and express their creativity.
At the end of the Design Week, the four play areas will be moved to the courtyard of the Panzini school. This way, students from both secondary and primary schools will continue to benefit from the spaces, experiencing firsthand how design and co-design can enhance the school environment.
“Designing” – in its purest meaning and closest to the English verb “to design” – means “to move forward, to think beyond, to outline possibilities, to project into the future.” All of this with the help of technical and creative skills, as well as the ability to listen and observe.
The four street games, called Lettere Sparse, Salto nello spazio, Quattro Quadranti, and S³ (Scale, Serpenti, Sfide), are the result of a co-design effort that involved the students of class II D of the ‘Istituto “Giusti Palermo Panzini”. Guided by the designers from Design Group Italia and their teachers, the students reinterpreted the concept of street games, creating four experiential touchpoints that combine design, people, and urban space.
Chris Miller, Creative Director of Design Group Italia, commented: “It is a great pleasure to work together with the school for the second edition of the project, and to create something that will come to life. For students, we hope it will be both a fun and educational experience. Collaborating with the class reminds us of the pure joy of creativity and why we became designers. This is a true design project: from research and concepts to prototypes and final production. Our thanks go to the teachers and Zona Sarpi for their invaluable contribution.”
In the spirit of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, the games were made possible thanks to the contribution of Ecopneus. Giuseppina Carnimeo, General Director of Ecopneus, stated: “We are proud to be part of this project and to provide everyone with the opportunity to play and have fun on safe and sustainable shock-absorbing surfaces, raising awareness and helping, at the same time, people, starting from a young age, to understand the benefits of proper management of end-of-life tires, a commitment that Ecopneus has always upheld.
It has been inspiring to see the enthusiasm and commitment of the students of the Institute and to collaborate with all the parties involved in this initiative, which synergistically combines design and sustainability within the framework of Milan Design Week. Thanks to its extraordinary elastic, sound-absorbing, and draining properties, recycled rubber is a valuable resource that must be enhanced and can be reborn in new and different applications, including design elements and urban furniture, contributing to improving the safety, comfort, and sustainability of urban environments, and beyond, offering benefits on multiple levels.
Luca Fois, founder of Playfull Living, professor at the Politecnico di Milano and co-founder of Zona Sarpi, concluded: “Designing or Being Designed is a living journey, an opportunity for new and positive intergenerational and intercultural relationships through street play.”
