Compasso d'Oro

It aims to acknowledge and promote quality in industrial design in Italy and internationally, and has been called both the "Nobel" and the "Oscar" of design. • Illustration — Compasso d'Oro award trophy

• Name — Compasso d'Oro • Location — ADI Design Museum (Milan) • Country — Italy • Awarded For — Industrial design excellence • Sponsor — Associazione per il Disegno Industriale • Established — 1954 • Website — https: adidesignmuseum.org/

• Illustration — La Rinascente Compasso d'Oro, Edition III, Milan 1956 (Paolo Monti photograph) The Compasso d′Oro was established in 1954, and it is the highest honour in the field of industrial design in Italy, comparable to other prestigious international awards such as the Good Design award, iF Design Award, Red Dot Award, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards, and the Good Design Award (Japan). It was the first award of its kind in Europe and became internationally significant. • Illustration — Pier Giacomo Castiglioni receives the Compasso d'Oro for the Luminator floor lamp designed for Gilardi & Barzaghi (1955) • Illustration — Franca Helg and Franco Albini receive the award for their work on the Milan Metro (1964) The original idea for the award is credited to designer Gio Ponti and Alberto Rosselli. Many other leading architects and designers of the era, including the Castiglioni brothers (Livio, Pier Giacomo, and Achille), Albe Steiner, Enzo Mari and Marco Zanuso, were involved in aspects of its inception and early development. The Compasso d'Oro logo (designed by Steiner) and award trophy invoke the drafting compass invented by Adalbert Göringer in 1893 to measure the Golden Section. The Italy Industrial Designing Association manages the Compasso d'Oro, and it is also a member of the International Industrial Designing Committee and the European Designing Bureau. Since its inception, approximately 350 designers have been honoured with the award, for designs covering a wide range – from automobiles and bicycles to furniture and household objects, portable sewing machines, typewriters, calculators, clocks, lighting as well as concepts and systems, technical equipment, and yachts. For the first time, the 2020 Compasso d'Oro included a "Products Career Award" which was given to three historical designs that have proven to be highly successful over time but were not awarded at the time of their inception: a 1962 floor lamp, Arco, by Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni; a 1978 bed design, Nahalie, by Vico Magistretti; and the now famous 1968 Sacco bean-bag chair designed by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini, and Franco Teodoro. The ADI Design Museum in Milan houses the historical collection of the ADI Compasso d'Oro Foundation, as well as temporary exhibitions. On 22 April 2004, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism – through its Superintendency for Lombardy – declared the collection of "exceptional artistic and historical interest", thus making it part of the national cultural heritage. In 2020, the Milan square where the ADI Design Museum is situated was renamed "Piazza Compasso d'Oro" to honour the cultural and historical significance of the award. The inaugural ADI "Compasso d'Oro International Award" will be held at the Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. The winning entries will be exhibited in the Italian pavilion. In 2025, Treccani published a comprehensive history of the Compasso d'Oro. The volume is over 1,000 pages and includes 2,275 images that document the ADI museum's collection dating from its 1954 inception through to 2022. It is published in both Italian and English versions.

• Illustration — Cassina Model 683 chair by Carlo De Carli (1954 award) • Illustration — Olivetti Lettera 22 by Marcello Nizzoli (1954 award) • Illustration — Borletti Model 1102 "Super-automatic" sewing machine by Marco Zanuso (1956 award) • Illustration — Solari Cifra 5 electric split-flap clock by Nani and Gino Valle (1956 Award) • Illustration — Fiat Nuova 500 by Dante Giacosa (1959 award) • Illustration — Olivetti ELEA electric calculator by Ettore Sottsass et al. (1959 award) • Illustration — Abarth 1000 Bialbero by Ugo Zagato (1960 award) • Illustration — Brionvega Doney portable television by Richard Sapper and Marco Zanuso (1962 award) • Illustration — Grillo telephone by Richard Sapper and Marco Zanuso (1967 award) • Illustration — Zanotta Sacco chair by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini, Franco Teodoro (1968 design; 2020 award) • Illustration — Olivetti SUMMA 19 by Ettore Sottsass and Hans Von Klier (1970 award) • Illustration — Oluce Atollo 233/D lamp by Vico Magistretti (1979 award) • Illustration — Alessi 9090 espresso maker by Richard Sapper (1979 award) • Illustration — FLOS (lighting manufacturer) Parentesi lamp by Achille Castiglioni from a Pio Manzù concept sketch (1979 award) • Illustration — Castelli (company) Vertabrae chair by Emilio Ambasz and Giancarlo Piretti (1981 award) • Illustration — Tecno (company) Nomos table and office desk system by Foster + Partners (1987 award) • Illustration — Alessi Nuovo Milano cutlery by Ettore Sottsass with Alberto Gozzi (1989 award) • Illustration — Alfa Romeo Brera concept prototype by Giorgetto Giugiaro (2004 award) • Illustration — Ducati 1199 Panigale by Giandrea Fabbro and Ducati Design Center (2014 award) • Illustration — Fondazione Prada by Rem Koolhaas/OMA (2018 award)