The ADI Design Museum was created to showcase the entire repertoire of projects in the historical collection of the Compasso d’Oro Award. This Award was created in 1954 thanks to an idea by Gio Ponti to promote thequality of Made in Italy Design and today it is the oldest and most authoritative form of recognition within the industry worldwide.
The museum is managed by the ADI Compasso d’Oro Collection Foundation, established in 2001 by ADI – the Association for Industrial Design to safeguard and enhance the artifacts built up over the decades of the award. This is a national cultural legacy, recognized by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage as “of exceptional artistic and historical interest”.

The building

The Museum develops from the recovery of a historic place of the 1930s, used both as a depot for trams on horseback and as a distribution plant for electricity.
It was conceived with the idea of renewing and enhancing the rich heritage of industrial archaeology as a distinctive feature of the property itself.

Piazza Compasso D'Oro

The garden-square open to the public, recently dedicated to the Compasso d'Oro Award, is located in a former industrial area with high architectural and urban impactand is at the center of a strategic area of the city. The space is for public use but can be used by the museum for events and initiatives.

The exhibition

Together with the Permanent Collection, the museum spaces will host temporary in-depth exhibitions, cross-cutting initiatives and meetings for the general public, with the aim of raising awareness and promoting design culture at both national and international levels.
A regularly updated curatorial team that guarantees a wide range of constantly redefined visions and programmes. A museum that is open and accessible to everyone in line with design for all criteria. It's a place open to everyone, even those who don’t want to visit the exhibitions. Members of the public can spend their time here, meet friends and hold business meetings.