Ostuni Design Week 2025: “Cultivating Relationships” through Architecture, Materials, and Shared Spaces

A Manifesto of Design Humanity: Living as Relationship

The 2025 edition of the Ostuni Design Week-end bore an eloquent title: Cultivating Relationships. A theme that not only inspired every installation, but also stood as a true statement of intent: reimagining living as a social and cultural act, capable of generating authentic connections among people, spaces, and nature.

In perfect alignment with our “Living” column, which has always observed the evolution of how we inhabit spaces, the Apulian event became an open-air laboratory exploring how design and architecture can mend ties with the environment and with one another.

The Green Heart of the Event: The Relational Garden in Piazza della Libertà

The visual and conceptual emblem of the event was the large relational garden set up in the beating heart of Ostuni, Piazza della Libertà. Designed by Michele Rossi and Gino Garbellini with landscape contribution from Gianni Birardi, the space was transformed into a participatory installation where nature, culture, and conviviality merged.

This “shared garden” became a place of encounter and dialogue among designers, citizens, and visitors. A tangible example of relational architecture, where the urban landscape is repurposed to fulfill new functions: regenerating the sense of community and sparking deep reflection on collective identity.

New Living Trends: Materials, Flexibility, Biodesign

Beyond the powerful central installation, the event offered an overview of the most relevant design trends for 2025. Among these:

• Biodesign and regenerative materials: furniture and surfaces created from mycelium, algae, or biodegradable fibers, designed to be long-lasting and to interact with the surrounding environment.

• Adaptive and multifunctional spaces: transformable living modules, movable walls, and dynamic furnishings conceived to accommodate the flexibility of contemporary life.

• Emotional design: the use of earthy colors and natural textures to promote well-being and comfort, transforming each room into a sensory retreat.

The new Mediterranean architectural style emerging from Ostuni is fluid, permeable to light and nature, minimalist yet rooted—capable of blending past and future.

The “Living” Vision: A Design That Connects

In line with the approach of our column, the 2025 edition of the Ostuni Design Week-end did not simply showcase products or trends—it launched a wide-ranging reflection on living as a relational gesture. The domestic space, now more than ever, is an ecosystem interweaving aesthetics, ethics, and social relations.

For this reason, we will continue to closely follow events and movements that explore how architecture, home furnishings, and interior design can contribute to building a more livable future—not only in form, but above all in meaning.

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  author: Internal Editorial Team
• 30-05-2025

Internal Editorial Team