AN URBAN LOUNGE IN THE HEART OF MILAN

Coem at the Fuorisalone 2026

During Milan Design Week 2026, Coem will be taking part in the Fuorisalone with an installation right in the heart of the city that combines design and material with the public space.
From 20 to 26 April, Piazza dei Mercanti – just a few steps away from the Duomo – will be transformed into an inviting urban lounge, designed to host both locals and visitors for a relaxing, engaging, social experience.
The Fuorisalone is one of the highlights of the international design calendar, attracting professionals, companies and enthusiasts from across the globe every year and turning Milan into one big workshop of ideas, creativity and innovation.
The aspiration of the project, entitled “Milano Sublime – Please, take a seat,” is to restore the public space to its rightful role, inviting people to experience the city in a slower, more aware manner. This open-air installation, located in front of the Duomo, features seating, surfaces, and architectural elements that engage and interact to shape an open, inclusive environment where design becomes a means to connection.

Milano Sublime: a dialogue between matter and history

The centrepiece of the exhibit is the Milano Sublime collection, developed by Coem in collaboration with the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano. The surfaces reinterpret the material and decorative allure of the cathedral in a contemporary key, translating the rich, symbolic aesthetic of Candoglia marble into a ceramic language. Textures, colours and details evoke the stone, light, and elaborate architecture of the monument, engaging directly with the historical setting it is part of. This allows the installation to slot naturally into the urban space, amplifying its value and offering a new way to enjoy the piazza. During Fuorisalone week, Piazza dei Mercanti becomes not just a square to pass through, but a destination: a space to stop, observe, and enjoy design as an everyday experience.

A project, a unique experience in design

The “Milano Sublime – Please, take a seat” project is curated by Alessandro Pasinelli Studio, a design firm renowned for its sensitive approach to context and the relational dimension of architecture. The studio, which has been working with Coem for several years now, seeks to strike a balance between aesthetics and function, developing projects able to enhance locations through contemporary solutions deeply rooted in their identity. In this case, the design interprets the public space as a platform for socialising, transforming the square into a welcoming, dynamic environment. Also fundamental to the project was the collaboration with the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano, a historic institution founded in 1387 that for centuries has been the guardian of the cathedral’s construction and preservation. The dialogue with this institution bestows a unique cultural value upon the project, allowing for a reinterpretation of the Duomo’s heritage through contemporary design. To this day, this institution remains a benchmark for the protection and enhancement of Milan’s artistic and architectural heritage.
During Fuorisalone week, the installation will be enriched with a series of live experiences that enhance its dynamic, relational nature. Photography, contemporary dance and urban performances alternate with one another, bringing different expressions of the city’s energy to the space. Different disciplines, bodies and perspectives thus come together within the installation, bringing it to life and transforming it into a living stage, in constant dialogue with Piazza dei Mercanti and with the people who pass through it.
Coem invites the public to visit the installation and experience Piazza dei Mercanti as a new meeting space, defined by design and shared beauty, taking the opportunity to step right into the unique atmosphere of Milan Design Week and rediscover how history, material and the contemporary age interact in the heart of the city.