Within the framework of the Milan Design Week 2023, Pro Helvetia and Présence Suisse are joining forces to present the most pressing topics and players of the Swiss design industry under one roof by giving space to emerging studios and designers, institutions and established brands.  

The Open Call for the House of Switzerland was a huge success. More than 100 applications were handed in from the design industry at large, showing the relevance of such initiative and the willingness to join forces to impact the global industry. A renowned international jury will select the most relevant and meaningful projects responding to this edition’s theme “Urgent Legacy”. The selected exhibitors will be notified by mid-December and the public announcement will follow by the end of January 2023.

The members of the jury are (fLTR);

Cecilie Manz

Cecilie Manz is a designer, born 1972 in Denmark and lives and works in Copenhagen. After graduation from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts – The School of Design in 1997 including studies at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, Cecilie Manz founded her own studio in Copenhagen in 1998. Here, Cecilie Manz works with design of industrial manufactured products and experimental prototypes and sculptural one-offs. Recipient of the Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal 2011 (Denmark), the Bruno Mathsson Prize 2009 (Sweden), the Finn Juhl Architectural Prize 2007 (Denmark), The Crown Prince Couples Cultural Award 2014 (Denmark), Designer of the Year 2018, Maison&Objet Paris, E. Kold Christensen’s Award of Honour, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres 2019 (France), the lifelong Honourable Award from the Danish Art Foundation (Denmark), Honourable Award from the Danish National Banks Foundation 2021. Works with Duravit, Fritz Hansen, Bang & Olufsen, Fredericia Furniture, Iittala, Muuto, Nils Holger Moormann, Nikari, Georg Jensen Damask, Gloster, Actus/Nissin Moku, 1616 Arita Japan and others. “My work has always revolved around simplicity, the process of working toward a pure, aesthetic and functional object”.

Johanna Agerman Ross

Johanna Agerman Ross is a curator of 20th century and contemporary furniture and product design at the V&A and leads the museum’s new initiative Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures, supported by John Makepeace OBE. This is a ten-year research project dedicated to looking at the use of natural renewable materials within design and architecture and involves an annual display and symposium.  Johanna has recently co-curated Plastic: Remaking Our World, due to open at V&A Dundee in October and V&A’s new gallery Design 1900-Now, which opened in 2021. She is also the founder and director of the leading quarterly design journal Disegno, founded in 2011 and recently awarded for the podcast Words on Wood.

Nolan Giles

Nolan Giles is a design editor and a passionate advocate for the creative industries. He was formerly the Executive Editor of Monocle magazine. As a design editor and senior editor he’s commissioned, written and edited hundreds of articles with a special focus on design, architecture and fashion. Nolan has worked with various design organisations, furniture firms and fashion brands in numerous capacities – from hosting panel discussions to judging international architecture competitions – as well as using his journalistic skills to enhance their communications offerings. 

Valentina Ciuffi

Valentina Ciuffi is a curator, consultant and writer specialised in design, architecture and art. Beginning her career as a journalist, she has written for numerous Italian and international newspapers and magazines such as D/La Repubblica, Vogue, IlSole24ore, Living/ Corriere, La Stampa, Apartamento, Klat, and Rodeo. From 2007 to 2013 she was a member of the editorial staff at Abitare magazine.  In her agency for visual design Studio Vedèt, founded in 2016, Valentina works with a team of graphic designers, writers and web developers to provide design and creative strategies for companies and institutions. Operating both as a design consultancy, curatorial agency and creative office, Vedèt has now a range of prestigious clients including design galleries, festivals and fairs, established design companies and cutting-edge start-ups. In 2017 she co-founded Alcova, a platform for independent design currently operating as an itinerant network of exhibition spaces across multiple sites in and around Milan.