Fragments Reassembled: Highlights from Lake Como Design Festival 2025

Words by Yatzer

19 September 2025

Fragments Reassembled: Highlights from Lake Como Design Festival 2025

Words by Yatzer

19 September 2025

Como, Italy

When it comes to design events, few places can rival Milan Design Week in terms of the density of happenings. Yet having just returned from the seventh edition of the Lake Como Design Festival, we were reminded that the most resonant encounters with design don’t always come from scale but from setting. Como, with its layered charm and artisanal heritage, offers something quite different: a slower rhythm and a sense of place where design converses with history, landscape, and craft. Framed by forested hills and Belle Époque villas, the city’s identity has always been tied to both elegance and production—from Romanesque stonework and Rationalist architecture to its silk mills that once clothed Europe. Against this backdrop, the festival unfurled across villas, parks, and deconsecrated churches, its theme Fragments echoing not just through the objects on display but through the city itself, where layers of history comprise an urban tapestry with fragments of the past woven into contemporary life.

A striking geometric pedestal combines deep green metal panels with a striking marbled insert, forming a sculptural form. It stands on a concrete ledge, with a blurred background of trees and mountains seen through the glass panes of a conservatory-like structure. The bold colors and sharp lines of the object contrast with the soft, organic textures of the natural environment, creating a modern and artistic statement.

Fragmented Series 01.1 by Belgian designer Bas Pattyn. Exhibition view, Contemporary Design Selection at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

This grand room, with ornate plasterwork on the ceiling and large arched windows overlooking a lake and hills, displays a curated selection of contemporary furniture. The wooden floor is a rich, textured surface. Furniture pieces range from a dark wooden tray table with crisscross legs to a low bench with a textured red cushion, and a wooden chair draped with a sheepskin throw. The overall atmosphere is sophisticated and minimalist, highlighting the design of each piece against the backdrop of classical architecture.

A retrospective exhibition to Brazilian designer Claudia Moreira Salles by Etel, Fragments of Memory at Villa del Grumello, LCDF 2025. Photography by Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio.

This year’s theme could not have been more timely. In a world fractured by conflict, polarisation, and climate upheavals, fragmentation is very much a part of our daily reality. Yet the festival invited us to see it differently: not as collapse but as a chance for regeneration, a rebellion against uniformity, a gesture of reconnection. It was a thread we found ourselves tracing through each exhibition, whether literally in the reuse of discarded stone and wood or conceptually in the layering of histories, memories, and personal narratives.

Our journey began at the festival’s epicentre, the Chilometro della Conoscenza, the linear park that threads together three historic villas along the lakeshore, and which served as the festival’s epicentre. Conceived as an open-air kunsthalle, the “Contemporary Design Selection” exhibition curated by Giovanna Massoni, brought together a group of international designers whose work were scattered across the grounds like clues to be pieced together.

A pair of sculptural, light-colored stone benches are positioned on a gravel path, overlooking a serene Lake Como landscape. The benches are composed of stacked geometric blocks, their rough, unpolished texture contrasting with the smooth, manicured lawn. The composition frames a view of the still lake and the lush, tree-covered mountains, merging contemporary sculpture with the stunning natural environment. — *Amphisbaena Bench* (from the Surfaced series) by **Sho Ota** in collaboration with **Sam Henley** of **Agglomerati**, crafted by **Bianco67**. Exhibition view, *Contemporary Design Selection* at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

Many of the pieces we encountered here were unapologetically material-driven, with designers foregrounding the scars and irregularities of their chosen mediums. Take for example Netherlands-based Japanese designer Sho Ota’s Amphisbaena Bench, created in collaboration with Sam Henley of London-based Agglomerati. Stretching five metres in length—its subtly sinuous shape recalling the titular mythical serpent with a head at either end— it is made up of unused travertine offcuts once intended for the Vatican, its fragmented yet quietly monumental form succinctly encapsulated this year’s theme. Part of Ota’s ongoing Surfaced series, which is inspired by Japanese boro textiles (garments visibly patched and mended), the bench became a metaphor for continuity through repair.

Nearby, Belgian designer Thomas Serruys’ Resourcer Bench offered a more industrial meditation. Its seat, cut freely from steel, rested on forged suction-cup-like legs, the whole preserved through galvanisation, fusing disparate parts into a single body. Knowing Serruys’ background as an antiques dealer and blacksmith, the bench read as a reconciliation between memory and making.

Verstrepen.studio’s Contemplation Bench also read as a reconciliation: pairing a rugged slab of Belgian schist with a minimal aluminium frame to create a seat that doubles as a coffee table, striking a fine balance between the primitive and the refined. The same can be said for San Francisco-based designer Sierra Kanistanaux’s Relics ceramics which appeared as if unearthed from another age. Made from collected shells and other coastal fragments, their primal sensibility celebrates imperfection as resilience, as did the work of Atelier WAMA and MatterForms combining Oyster[Crete]®, a bio-alternative to concrete using crushed oyster shells, with reclaimed metal.

A gracefully curved white metal bench with slender legs is set on a gravel path in a garden overlooking a lake. The organic shape of the bench, with its simple railing, complements the natural curves of the landscape, including a lush green lawn and hedge. The background reveals the picturesque town of Lake Como nestled on a mountainside, showcasing a harmonious blend of modern, minimalist design and natural scenery. — *Resourcer Bench* by **Atelier Thomas Serruys**. Exhibition view, *Contemporary Design Selection* at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

In a natural woodland setting, three contemporary stone sculptures are presented on minimalist metal stands. The stones, with their rough, natural textures, are juxtaposed against the metallic frames. The scene is nestled on a mossy, sloping hill dotted with trees and fallen leaves, with a rustic wooden fence and a subtle metal railing bordering the path. The placement emphasizes a Zen-like harmony between art and nature, highlighting organic forms. — *Contemplation Bench* by **Verstrepen.studio**. Bench edition of 7 + 2 AP. Exhibition view, *Contemporary Design Selection* at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

An interior exhibition space features a large, circular textile artwork with abstract patterns of brown lines on a textured, neutral background, displayed on a metal stand. Adjacent to it, terracotta-colored ceramic vessels with unique, organic shapes are arranged on stepped, brick-like platforms. The vibrant turquoise tiled floor and the subtly distressed walls add to the room's artistic atmosphere, suggesting a fusion of craft and design. — Exhibition view, *Contemporary Design Selection* at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

Relics series by Sierra Kanistanaux. Courtesy of Sierra Kanistanaux.
TESTAE vases by Næssi. Exhibition view, Contemporary Design Selection at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.
Mirach Bench (Andromeda Series) by PLASMA-f in collaboration with Frigerio Marmi e Graniti. Exhibition view, Contemporary Design Selection at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

A collection of industrial-style metal furniture is set on a rooftop terrace, contrasting with the gritty urban background. The pieces—two chairs, a stool, and a table—are made from folded and riveted sheet metal, their reflective surfaces catching the light. The composition highlights the geometric forms and functional nature of the pieces, juxtaposing their polished finish against the chain-link fence and weathered buildings, creating a raw, brutalist aesthetic. — Flat-pack furniture by **FlatFlat**. Made of recyclable aluminium. Hardware-free assembly. Courtesy of FlatFlat.

Other works spoke in quieter tones. New York-based Ben Kicic’s Tavolo (table) and Sedia (chair), crafted for Hand in Glove, while reducing furniture to pure joinery and repetition, their assemblage of disparate planks lent them a fragile kind of dignity, as did Milan-based Monostudio’s Tempesta Bench, crafted from locally sourced reclaimed cherry wood. Brooklyn-based FlatFlat’s recyclable aluminium LoungeChair addressed another form of transience: the nomadic lifestyle of its urban users, its foldable, hardware-free design echoing the impermanence of New York sidewalks.

This image captures a bright conservatory or sunroom, with a stone floor and walls of glass panes framed by dark metal. Natural light streams in, illuminating a simple wooden table and chairs. Through the glass, a verdant garden scene is visible, creating a biophilic connection between the interior and the lush exterior. The clean lines of the architecture and furniture offer a serene, minimalist aesthetic, enhanced by the surrounding greenery.

Tavolo (table) and Sedia (chair) by Ben Kicic for Hand In Glove. Exhibition view, Contemporary Design Selection at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

This image showcases a striking eclectic display of contemporary design pieces. A tall shelving unit features vertical panels with a marbled green and white pattern, interspersed with thin orange shelves. To the left, a table with a similar marbled surface and a vibrant pink accent draws the eye. Various sculptural objects, including a textured pale green form, are placed throughout the scene, creating a rich visual texture within a bright, minimalist gallery space.

REMAINS series by Omniaworks and Payam Askari. Exhibition view, Contemporary Design Selection at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

Playfulness surfaced too. Spinzi’s Circus bench, made of brightly coloured metallic cylinders, refracted Roman ruins through the lens of 1970s Space Age design. Paris-based designer Payam Askari and Omniaworks' REMAINS shelving system suspended marble shards in resin, creating a three-dimensional terrazzo that layered geological memory into modular furniture. Studio Högl Borowski’s Nougat Bar series translated confectionery’s fusion of textures into resin-bound wood blocks, their knotholes and fissures rendered sculptural. Italian studio Næssi’s TESTAE vases reinterpreted Rome’s Monte Testaccio, a hill formed from broken amphorae, into forms that bridged archaeology and design, while Milan-based design studio PLASMA-f experimented with mechanically binding different coloured thin marble scraps without glue in Mirach Bench.

REMAINS shelving system by Omniaworks and Payam Askari.
REMAINS series by Omniaworks and Payam Askari.

This scene features two vibrantly colored, minimalist benches—one bright yellow and one turquoise—placed on a stone floor within an arched architectural space. Above them hangs a large, textured fabric tapestry adorned with floral motifs and intricate stitching, its fringed edges adding a delicate touch. The juxtaposition of the playful, modern benches with the rustic stone setting and artisanal textile creates an eclectic and artful display.

The Words‘ Weaver tapestry by Yanis Miltgen. Circus bench by Tommaso Spinzi. Exhibition view, Contemporary Design Selection at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

A man and a woman stand amidst an arrangement of cube-shaped stools. These stools are made from wood slices encased in clear resin, with some surfaces lightly colored in pastel shades of pink, blue, and green. The man is seated on one stool, while the woman stands beside another. The background is a white brick wall, suggesting an art gallery or studio space. The overall aesthetic is contemporary and artistic, highlighting natural materials in a unique application.

Stefanie Högl and Matthias Borowski of Studio Högl Borowski pictured with their. Nougat Bar series. Courtesy of Studio Högl Borowski.

One of the most evocative works came from Milan-based Italian-Ethiopian designer Abreham. Inspired by traditional Ethiopian headrests, Lefleté consisted of four modular elements that can be joined or separated to form a stool, two seats, or a side table. In Ethiopian pastoralist communities, such headrests protected elaborate hairstyles during sleep while also serving as stools for brief moments of rest. Abreham reinterpreted this dual function in contemporary form, bridging Africa and Europe, the past and present, and symbolism and utility, while embedding a fragment of personal heritage into design.

A tranquil forest clearing reveals a four-post structure covered in emerald green fabric, draped to create soft, organic shapes. This installation is set against a backdrop of dense foliage and tall trees, with a winding path leading through the scene. The interplay of natural light, lush greenery, and the flowing fabric creates a serene and almost ethereal atmosphere, evoking a sense of natural artistry. — Canopy by **We Mediterranean** (Paola Carimati, Matilde Cassani, Francesca Lanzavecchia, Sex&the city, Piovenefabi, Studio Ossidiana) in collaboration with **Caterina Frongia** and Mosae. Exhibition view, *Contemporary Design Selection* at Chilometro della Conoscenza, LCDF 2025. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.

If there was a single takeaway from the “Contemporary Design Selection”, exhibition it was that fragments, whether geological, cultural, or emotional, become fertile ground for reinvention. Even the installation by We Mediterranean a lightweight canopy created in collaboration with textile artist Caterina Frongia that blends into its verdant surroundings, reminded us that fragments of fabric, stitched together, can speak powerfully of migration, hospitality and the right to dream.

Crossing the threshold into Villa del Grumello, we encountered “Fragments of Memory”, an exhibition that reframed fragmentation as a bridge between eras. The seventeenth-century residence, with its frescoed ceilings and lakefront setting, proved an apt stage for objects steeped in memory like a unique book of hand-drawn textile designs dating back to 1902, part of Archivio Mantero’s UNANNO installation. Celebrating its one-year anniversary, the Archivio serves as a repository of Mantero’s textile heritage, boasting a vast collection of materials that document the company's over 120-year history. Having visited the Mantero factory as part of the festival tour, we felt the resonance of this archival treasure even more keenly.

Elsewhere in the villa, Etel’s retrospective of Claudia Moreira Salles traced the Brazilian designer’s warm modernism, her wood and stone pieces embodying sensitivity within structure. Campeggi revisited its collaboration with Vico Magistretti through transformable objects that conveyed function as a living form. DEDAR, in collaboration with the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, unveiled jacquard fabrics inspired by Anni Albers, transforming thread into a language of memory.

A striking woven textile, predominantly black with intricate bands of cream and grey geometric patterns, is centrally displayed within a vivid red frame. This artwork is suspended against a background of industrial wire grids and metal shelving. The stark contrast between the textured fabric, the bold frame, and the utilitarian grid structure creates a dynamic visual tension, hinting at an exhibition of craft or design within a modern, minimalist setting. — *Ancient Writings*, 1936, Zapotec graduated geometric motifs. Designed by **Anni Albers**, woven by **Dedar**. Exhibition view, *Weaving Anni Albers* at Villa del Grumello. Photography by Ilaria Orsini. Art direction by Carina Frey and Stefanie Barth.

An ornate, carved stone fireplace serves as the focal point of this room, framed by traditional wooden doors. Above the mantelpiece, a series of small framed artworks are displayed. In front of the fireplace, an open, ancient book rests within a modern glass display case on a simple wooden table. The image blends historical architectural elements with contemporary exhibition design, creating a sense of refined presentation. — **Sample book of printed cottons from the Alsace region, 1820. Courtesy of Mantero.** The fabrics are organized in three columns and seven rows per page, individually numbered from 401 to 109,500. Designs for shirting and garments, with small-scale patterns: abstract, floral, foliage, stripes, paisley, geometric and ornamental. Exhibition view, *Fragments of Memory* at Villa del Grumello, LCDF 2025. Photography by Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio.

Exhibition view, VOICE OF FIRE by WonderGlass. Part of Fragments of Memory at Villa del Grumello, LCDF 2025. Photography by Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio.
Vico Collection by Campeggi. A selection of transformable objects born from the historic collaboration between Campeggi and Vico Magistretti. Courtesy Campeggi Archive – Vico Magistretti Foundation.
Tempesta bench by Monostudio. Courtesy of Monostudio.

This watercolor illustration depicts a vibrant, stylized cityscape. The perspective draws the eye through a series of interconnected urban blocks, characterized by brick facades, distinct window patterns, and varying rooflines. A prominent yellow elevated walkway or structure adds a geometric element against the backdrop of a distant city skyline. The palette is a mix of earthy tones, punctuated by colorful window frames, evoking a lively yet structured urban environment. — **Aldo Rossi**, *Fragments*, 1987. © Estate of Aldo Rossi. All rights reserved 2025-Bridgeman images.

Back in the city centre, the former church of San Pietro in Atrio hosted “Aldo Rossi. Architecture in Fragments”, curated by Chiara Spangaro in collaboration with the Aldo Rossi Foundation. The exhibition explored Rossi’s lifelong fascination with fragments, from his cinematic collages to Berlin’s reconstructed blocks. What lingered was not just the content but the setting: the quiet intimacy of drawings and texts staged against the worn walls of a deconsecrated church. While in Como, we also had the privilege of attending a screening of Aldo Rossi Design, Francesca Molteni and Mattia Colombo’s documentary, a rare cinematic portrait of Rossi’s restless vision layering archival footage and testimonies.

At Via Diaz 11, the newly inaugurated Archivio Design Ico Parisi presented “Edifying Collapses”, a series of Parisi’s large-format paintings from the late 1970s and 1980s never before shown in Como were on view. Composed of disjointed panels, the works evoked fragmentation not as decay but as provocation. Later, visiting Parisi’s mosaic-tiled Fontana della Felicità at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, we felt his work as part of a continuum, fragments of an oeuvre spanning design, art, and public gesture.

Exhibition view, Aldo Rossi. Architecture in Fragments at the former church of San Pietro, LCDF 2025. Photography by Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio.
Exhibition view, Aldo Rossi. Architecture in Fragments at the former church of San Pietro, LCDF 2025. Photography by Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio.

Within a hall with weathered, frescoed walls, minimalist light blue exhibition walls create distinct display zones. A long wooden table is laid out with numerous framed prints and books, inviting close inspection. Other displays feature framed artworks of varying sizes, some with intricate urban or landscape scenes, arranged on these partitions. The overall presentation is clean and contemporary, highlighting the exhibited works against the historical backdrop. — Exhibition view, *Aldo Rossi. Architecture in Fragments* at the former church of San Pietro, LCDF 2025. Photography by Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio.

A large, open room with a high ceiling is furnished with rows of midcentury-modern school-style tables and chairs. The space is filled with a soft, diffused light from the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows and large globe pendant lights. The minimalist palette of white walls, light gray floor, and natural wood furniture creates a calm, functional atmosphere. The design is simple and industrial, reminiscent of a school cafeteria or a large shared workspace. — Interior view of *Asilo Sant'Elia* by Giuseppe Terragni. Photography by Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio.

Perhaps the most unforgettable moment of our tour emerged at Asilo Sant’Elia, Giuseppe Terragni’s Rationalist masterpiece. Rarely open to the public, the building hosted "Piccoli Razionalisti", a video installation documenting how over 1,400 local schoolchildren had engaged with Rationalist heritage, but the real attraction was the building itself. Unlike the austere monuments of its era, this former kindergarten radiates warmth and optimism, with ribbon windows flooding light across open-plan interiors enlivened by abstract frescoes.

Later, at Studio Terragni Architetti, we saw how fragments of Giuseppe Terragni’s legacy—lamps reconstructed from remains, and drawings preserved alongside new commissions—continue to inspire contemporary practice, reminding us why Como is often described as the cradle of Italian Rationalism, further underscored by access to Terragni’s Casa del Fascio and Cesare Cattaneo’s Casa Cattaneo.

This exterior shot showcases a modernist building complex with a sprawling, lush lawn. The white, horizontal structures with large windows are connected by an elevated walkway with a minimal railing, leading to a staircase. The architecture is characterized by clean lines and an open, airy feel, while the surrounding mature trees with their seasonal foliage soften the angular forms. The design seamlessly integrates the building with the verdant landscape, a hallmark of biophilic design. — View of *Asilo Sant'Elia* by Giuseppe Terragni. Photography by Alessandro Saletta - DSL Studio.

Other encounters punctuated our itinerary with new textures. In the former church of Santa Caterina, “Lobby Nomade” reimagined the lobby as a convivial salon, populated by works from Cristina Celestino, Paolo Gonzato, and a number of emerging studios. Within an abandoned Antica Nevera, Virginia Guiotto’s “Fragments of History” unfolded as a photographic meditation on time layered and reinterpreted, the historic venue itself, once serving as an ice house, a fragment of a vanished world.

By the time we left Como, the theme of Fragments had taken on a practical clarity. Rather than focusing on what is broken, the festival showed how fragments can be used as tools for renewal, whether through material reuse, cultural memory, or reinterpretation of heritage. Across villas, churches, and gardens, we encountered design as part of a cycle of transformation rather than a static end point, where discarded pieces or overlooked histories could be assembled into something meaningful. It was a reminder that fragmentation, far from being an end point, can be the start of new connections and ideas.