Drafting Futures: Conversations That Shape the Future of Design

Explore Drafting Futures at Salone del Mobile 2025 talks and roundtables with Bjarke Ingels, Lesley Lokko, Paolo Sorrentino & more. Discover how design, architecture & hospitality shape tomorrow. Curated by Annalisa Rosso.

Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025 | Arena Drafting Futures, Pavilion 14

Curated by Annalisa Rosso | Arena designed by Formafantasma

Image Formafantasma @Renee de Groot Salone del Mobile 2025

Returning with renewed urgency, Drafting Futures. Conversations about Next Perspectives offers a curated space where the world’s most visionary minds confront the future of design through bold, human-centered dialogue.

Annalisa Rosso Salone del Mobile 2025

From April 9 to 12, the Arena Drafting Futures at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025 will host a powerful cultural program of morning Talks and afternoon Roundtables, uniting disciplines like architecture, cinema, and commerce to reflect on design’s evolving responsibilities and limitless potential.

Valeria Segovia_Salone del Mobile 2025

Talks: Morning Dialogues That Inspire Change

April 9 | Valeria Segovia

Principal & Design Director, Gensler London

In conversation with Massimo De Conti

Segovia explores how recycled and biomaterials can tell stories of the past while shaping more meaningful, sustainable spaces.

Bjarke Ingels ©Blaine Davi Salone del Mobile 2025

April 10 | Bjarke Ingels

Founder & Creative Partner, BIG

In conversation with Oliva Sartogo

Through the lens of phenomenology and sensory experience, Ingels envisions cities not as static infrastructures but as responsive, playful ecosystems shaped by light, materiality, and movement.

Lesley Lokko ©Alix McIntosh Salone del Mobile 2025

April 11 | Lesley Lokko

Founder of the African Futures Institute & Curator of the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale

In conversation with Manuela Lucà-Dazio

Lokko highlights how Africa’s youth and urban transformation offer a vital lens on equity, sustainability, and imagination—urging us to listen where we least expect the answers.

Paolo Sorrentino ©Michael Avedon Salone del Mobile 2025

April 12 | Paolo Sorrentino

Academy Award-winning director

In conversation with Antonio Monda

Sorrentino reflects on the deeply human condition of waiting, using the metaphor of a waiting room (La Dolce Attesa) to open a conversation about space, time, and emotional presence.

Claudio Spotti ©Giulio Ghirardi Salone del Mobile 2025

Afternoon Roundtables: Where Business Meets Vision

April 10 | The Business of Design

Global Perspectives on Trade, E-Commerce, and Distribution

A global panel of leading voices—including representatives from JSW Realty, WallpaperStore*, Gallery Design, and Spotti Milano—discuss the complexities of design in today’s hyper-connected world.

Andrea Obertello Salone del Mobile 2025

April 11 | The Business of Hospitality

Where Design Meets Functionality

Top figures from Four Seasons, Hilton, Corcoran Sunshine, and Pierre-Yves Rochon Studio explore the evolving role of design in luxury hospitality, from advanced technology to sustainable elegance.

Stephan Weishaupt Salone del Mobile 2025

Drafting Futures is more than a cultural program—it’s a call to action. In a time of accelerated environmental, technological, and cultural shifts, these talks and roundtables remind us that design is not just aesthetic—it’s responsibility, storytelling, and vision.

From the voice of Africa’s architectural future to the poetic tension of cinematic space, Salone 2025’s intellectual program reinforces its role not only as a trade fair but as a cultural platform shaping global dialogue.

Pierre Yves Rochon ©Alex Systermans Salone del Mobile 2025

Stay Tuned

Stay with THECORE as we bring you exclusive insights from inside Drafting Futures and across Salone 2025—where the conversations of today shape the design of tomorrow.

Presented by INTERCERAMIC

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