Passion in Action – Ideathon MUSA Spoke 5

Innovation, sustainability and creativity meet at the Politecnico di Milano: students and professionals come together to rethink the design of the future through platform thinking.

From 4 March to 2 April 2025, the Department of Management, Economics and Industrian Engineering of Politecnico di Milano hosted the second edition of "Passion in Action - Ideathon MUSA Spoke 5".

The initiative, coordinated by Margherita Pero, Silvia Gadola, Daniel Trabucchi e Tommaso Buganza, supported by the Municipality of Milan and promoted by Paolo Stella with his project Suonare Stella, involved over twenty students from different faculties with the aim of rethinking interior design from a sustainable perspective and promoting more conscious choices for the community.

At the heart of the course was the challenge of developing platform solutions capable of promoting sustainable business models and new ways of designing objects, materials and spaces, opening them up to new users and opportunities. Divided into working groups, the participants applied the concepts they had learnt in round tables and MOOCs on platform thinking, working with design and sustainability experts such as Olga Cabrioni (Elmar Cucine) and Francesca Chiodaroli (FederlegnoArredo).

The initiative was an opportunity for dialogue and co-creation.

On 22 March, five groups of students presented innovative proposals to support the sustainable transition in the design world.

Ideas ranged from upcycling furniture to showcase young designers, to opportunities for creative activities, to solutions for renting out unused furniture to provide quick and inexpensive alternatives. Other projects have explored working with craftsmen to learn restoration techniques, and reusing discarded furniture as raw material for university projects, stimulating the creativity of emerging designers.

Among the proposals submitted, the Fornovo Team stood out with a project focused on the reuse of unwanted furniture, proposing a platform for sharing and temporarily renting them within a network of users. The projects were evaluated by a heterogeneous jury made up of teachers, professionals and institutional representatives: Margherita Pero, Silvia Gadola, Daniel Trabucchi and Tommaso Buganza from the Politecnico di Milano; Nicola Ruggiu, MUSA Spoke 5 researcher at Bocconi University; Paolo Stella, founder and creative director of Suonare Stella; Serena Pelagallo, Project Director for Urban Economy, Fashion and Design at the City of Milan; Vittorio Biondi, Programme Manager at MUSA Scarl; Olga Cabrioni, Design Director at Elmar Cucine; and Francesca Chiodaroli, Circular Economy Specialist at FederlegnoArredo.

he Ideathon is part of MUSA - Multilayered Urban Sustainability Action, the innovation ecosystem funded by MUR through the PNRR, which involves the Politecnico di Milano together with the University of Milan-Bicocca, Bocconi University, the State University of Milan and numerous public and private partners.

Born in Milan, the project aims to address the challenges of the transition to a sustainable city, integrating environmental, economic and social aspects.
The enthusiasm generated by the initiative has also extended to '#RefashioningMilan', a second Ideathon promoted by Bocconi University, this time focusing on the reuse of textile materials.

For more information on the Ideathon and the MUSA projects, please visit: musascarl.it