Contributor

A humanities-based education followed by a degree in Foreign Literature and Languages – and then a specialisation in journalism (her thesis was on the journalistic narration of 40 years of apartheid in South Africa) and a Masters in Business Communication – enabled her to embark immediately on a career involving information, public relations and events organisation.

Valentina Sommariva lives and works in Milan, where she was born in 1986. As both a journalist and publicist, she specialises in interior design, travel and portrait photography. After graduating in Architecture at the Milan Polytechnic she went on to study design in London, and earned a master's in contemporary photography and video art in Modena.

Valentina has put together campaigns and catalogues for leading design firms, and her work appears in prominent international magazines published in Italy, the UK, the United States and France.

Alessandro Squatrito is a multidisciplinary designer who lives in Milan and works on design between the physical and the digital contents. Interested in contemporary issues concerning technology and the social effects of design, he has collaborated with important international studios with projects ranging from product, installation and visual communication. He currently works as a freelancer and alongside his work as designer he also teaches. He has held courses and workshops at IED, Politecnico di Milano, Abadir, UniRSM and HfG Karlsruhe.

Andrea Staid is a professor of cultural and visual anthropology at Naba, of cultural anthropology at the University of Genoa, Phd at the Universidad de Granada. He directs the Library/Anthropology series for Meltemi. Among his latest publications:I dannati della metropoli (Milieu 2014), Contro la gerarchia e il dominio (Meltemi 2018), Disintegrati (Nottetempo 2020), La casa vivente (ADD 2021), Essere natura (UTET 2022).  I suoi libri sono tradotti in Grecia, Germania, Spagna, Cina, Portogallo, Cile. Collabora con diverse testate giornalistiche.

Originally from the UK, Ed Stocker is Monocle magazine’s Europe editor at large, based in Milan since 2020. Previously he was the publication’s Americas editor, covering the US and Latin America, based in New York. Before joining Monocle, he spent almost five years in Buenos Aires, covering the Southern Cone region for international newspapers, magazines and radio stations. In his capacity as Europe editor, Ed regularly travels around the continent, from Lithuania to Spain, where he covers diverse topics for the magazine and radio.

Ludovica Serafini + Roberto Palomba founded Palomba Serafini Studio in 1994. 

The hallmark of the studio merges from the founders' ability to combine a contemporary vision of society and people's needs, with a broad knowledge of the historical and cultural roots of architecture and design, producing results that blend the past with the future.  

This unique and personal approach makes Palomba Serafini's reality particularly sensitive to questions related to the function and the need to create long-lasting products and architectures. 

Deyan Sudjic studied architecture in Edinburgh, edited Domus in Milan, was the director of the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2002 and as director of the Design Museum in London between 2006 and 2020, he led the museum’s move from a dockland warehouse to its new home in Kensington.  
He was the founding editor of Blueprint Magazine, and director of the Glasgow City of Architecture and Design festival.  

Nadja was the first female member of the Executive Board of Swarovski, which was founded in Austria by her great-great-grandfather Daniel Swarovski in 1895. She led the Branding, Sustainability and Licensing divisions and launched the luxury fashion jewelry and home décor brand Atelier Swarovski.

Nao Tamura is a designer in the most modern terms. Her talents cross-over cultures, languages, disciplines, concepts and styles with consistency of smart thinking always at the heart of her work. She is truly global in her insights and execution. As a product of Tokyo and New York City creative communities, her solutions are equally at ease in the world of 2D and 3D, with an uncanny ability to find that emotional connection with the industry status-quo often insists upon. Her unique solutions are more than simply design and possess a rare balance of innovation and beauty.

Sherif is an architectural engineer, software developer and researcher. He is an Associate Partner, Design Systems Analyst and leading the applied ML projects at Foster + Partners' Applied R+D (ARD) group. 

Sherif's position there allows him to work on complex challenges on a daily basis, utilizing his expertise in geometry optimization, digital fabrication, virtual and augmented reality, and machine learning.  

Designer based in New York, the city where he founded his studio in 1978. An early pioneer of the Hospitality industry, the award-winning designer, renown internationally for creating innovative interiors worldwide, including The Beverly Hills Hotel, The Breakers Palm Beach, Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Four Seasons Dubai DIFC and The Oberoi in New Delhi to mention few. Tihany has also created award-winning restaurants for celebrity chefs such as Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Heston Blumenthal and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. 

Born in Milan, he became interested in photography after completing his studies in Art History.

Stefania Trenti, graduated in Economics from the Bocconi University of Milan; she obtained an M.A. in Economic Analysis from the Strasbourg University. Since 1998, she has worked as an industrial economist at the Research Department of Intesa Sanpaolo, where she is Head of the Industry and Local Economies Research. Her main interests are international trade, technological innovation and environmental economics. She has authored numerous papers and articles in these areas.

Luca Trevisani is a visual artist. In his works the historical characters of sculpture are questioned or even subverted, in a relentless investigation of matter and its narratives. His multidisciplinary practice has been exhibited internationally in museums, institutions and publications.

Marjan van Aubel Studio is an award-winning innovative solar design practice that brings solar

energy into daily life. Designing for a positive future through combining the fields of

sustainability, design and technology.

The studio is creating lasting change through solar design, integrating solar power seamlessly

into our environments such as in buildings and objects. With the goal to make solar power

more accessible for everyone. Most notable works are Sunne, Current Table, Power Plant and