IED has received two Compasso d’Oro awards during Salone del Mobile in Milan, the year the institution marks its 60th anniversary.
The first, a Compasso d’Oro in the Social Design category, went to The Glitch Camp, a free urban camp for students from around the world held during Milan Design Week. The jury described it as a creative response to the challenge of providing accommodation in large cities during major events, capable of activating inclusive practices for a young audience while valuing sociability and the building of a democratic community.
The Glitch Camp was born from the crisis in the hotel sector, turning a limitation into an opportunity for inclusion and exchange. The name itself references the disruption from which an advantage can emerge. Now in its third edition, the camp has hosted up to 1,000 students of 45 nationalities. IKEA has provided kits for each edition, along with a relaxation area and furnished common spaces. Ferrino supplied tents from its Tent Set eco-design project, a modular system that reduces material waste. IKEA kits and furniture have been donated to socially committed organisations after use, and solar-powered lamps have been used throughout.
“The Glitch Camp is the result of a process that began a few years ago at IED with the aim of creating an accessible meeting platform for young people,” said Riccardo Balbo, Academic Director of the IED Group. “The Compasso d’Oro awarded to us by ADI is proof that we have succeeded in making the extraordinary creative heritage that opens up to the world each year during Design Week more accessible.”
IED also received the Compasso d’Oro Young certificate for A occhi chiusi (With Eyes Closed), a collection of inclusive games designed for use without sight. The project emerged from the Product Design course at IED Rome, where students designed a series of games to be played blindfolded, stimulating touch, hearing, movement, and perceptual memory. The work began with a reflection on educational models often focused almost exclusively on sight, proposing instead a playful approach that includes children with different learning styles. Prototypes explore shapes, surfaces, weights, sounds, spatial relationships, and rhythms, developed through research, testing, and discussions with professionals from the educational and museum fields, including MUSE in Trento.
Both projects reflect IED’s Design for Life approach, placing the common good at the centre and using design as a tool to achieve it. Founded in Milan in 1966, IED is the largest network of art and design schools in Europe, with 11 campuses across Italy, Spain, and Brazil, plus a cultural centre in New York.
