Annalisa Dominoni

Didattica

Extreme Spaces

I edizione

• English

• ottobre 2027

• Interior Design and Architecture

Bio

ITA | Architetto, designer, Ph.D., è un riferimento internazionale nel campo del Design for Extreme and Space Environments. Insegna alla Scuola del Design del Politecnico di Milano nei Master of Science in Interior and Spatial Design e Integrated Product Design ed è responsabile di ESA_LAB@PoliMi_Design, laboratorio di ricerca sviluppato in collaborazione con l’Agenzia Spaziale Europea (ESA).

Ha ideato e conduce, insieme a Benedetto Quaquaro, “Space4InspirACTion”, primo corso accademico strutturato di architettura e design spaziale supportato da ESA (dal 2017), e “X-Habitat”, programma dedicato alla progettazione per ambienti estremi (dal 2025).

La sua attività scientifica si basa su un approccio innovativo di natura neurocognitiva e comportamentale al progetto in condizioni limite, con particolare attenzione agli ambienti confinati, ai sistemi ad alta criticità e agli scenari di emergenza. È ideatrice della metodologia “Use & Gesture Design” (UGD), applicata alla dimensione sistemica e comportamentale del progetto.

Fondatrice del Millennium Charter of Space Architecture (Houston, 2002), è stata Principal Investigator di diversi esperimenti per equipaggiamenti astronautici testati sulla Stazione Spaziale Internazionale, tra cui VEST – Integrated Clothing System for Intra-Vehicular Activities (Missione MARCO POLO, ASI) e GOAL – Garments for Orbital Activities in Weightlessness (Missione ENEIDE, ESA).

Progetta habitat ed equipaggiamenti per ambienti estremi ed extraterrestri con le maggiori agenzie spaziali ESA, NASA, ASI; industrie quali Thales Alenia Space, Virgin Galactic, Argotec; enti governativi come MAECI e i centri di ricerca ICE CNR, CREA, INGV, INAF, ENEA, oltre a importanti aziende del design e dell’industria italiana quali Barilla, Benetton Group, Caimi Brevetti, Colmar, Dainese, Foscarini, Jacuzzi, Technogym e altre realtà produttive.

Ha ricevuto numerosi riconoscimenti internazionali tra i quali: Premio Compasso d’Oro XVII (1995), ESA Scientific Award for Young Researchers (1998), Premio Compasso d’Oro XX Selezione per la Ricerca (2004), ESA Eneide Mission Team Achievement Award (2005), ADI Design Index (Edizioni 2016, 2017, 2019), DIA Intelligent Award Honorable Mention (2020), Premio Focus Raymond Zreick per la Tecnologia e l’Innovazione (2022), BIG SEE Product Design Award (2024).

I suoi progetti e le sue ricerche sono stati esposti in contesti internazionali quali la 23a Triennale Internazionale “Unknown Unknowns. An Introduction to Mysteries”, il Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia “Leonardo Da Vinci”, il London Science Museum, la Frankfurt Messe, oltre ad altre sedi culturali e scientifiche in Europa e nel mondo.

È curatrice di “Design Spaziale Italiano”, progetto espositivo multimediale itinerante promosso dal Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale presentato in sedi diplomatiche internazionali tra cui Bruxelles, Praga, Parigi, Londra, Vienna e Tallinn (2024–2025), dedicato al ruolo strategico del Design nei processi di innovazione legati all’esplorazione spaziale. DSI raccoglie i risultati di oltre venticinque anni di ricerca e attività progettuale all’avanguardia nell’ambito dell’Architettura e del Design per lo Spazio sviluppati al Politecnico di Milano.

Italian Design Ambassador e visiting professor presso prestigiose università internazionali, tra cui Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York; International Space University (ISU); Tsinghua University; RMIT University, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering; Monash University; Swinburne University; Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University (RGU); Luleå University of Technology; GD Goenka University; Xi’an Jiaotong University, XJTU-Polimi Joint School of Design and Innovation.

Ha pubblicato oltre 200 saggi scientifici sulla cultura del progetto e sul Design per lo Spazio, contribuendo alla sua affermazione come ambito disciplinare riconosciuto a livello internazionale. Tra le monografie recenti: Design for Sustainability and Inclusion in Space. How New European Bauhaus Principles Drive Nature & Parastronauts Projects (Springer, 2024), Le città dell’universo (Il Saggiatore, 2023), Design of Supporting Systems for Life in Outer Space. A Design Perspective on Space Missions Near Earth and Beyond (Springer, 2021), For Designers With Their Head Beyond the Clouds (Maggioli, 2015). Fra i contributi presentati in congressi astronautici internazionali: Space Design Learning. An Innovative Approach of Space Education Through Design, 69th International Astronautical Congress (2018), Space4Inspiration: Survival Lab. Designing Countermeasures for Natural Disasters, Design Journal (2017).

ENG | Architect, designer and Ph.D., she is internationally recognized in the field of Design for Extreme and Space Environments. She teaches at the School of Design of Politecnico di Milano within the Master of Science programs in Interior and Spatial Design and Integrated Product Design, and leads ESA_LAB@PoliMi_Design, a research laboratory developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA).

Creator and director, together with Benedetto Quaquaro, of “Space4InspirACTion”, the first course in space architecture and design supported by ESA (since 2017), and of “X-Habitat”, a program dedicated to design for extreme environments (since 2025).

Her research activity is based on an innovative neurocognitive and behavioural approach to design in critical conditions, with particular attention to confined environments, high-risk systems and emergency scenarios. She developed the “Use & Gesture Design” (UGD) methodology, applied to the systemic and behavioural dimension of design.

Founder of the Millennium Charter of Space Architecture (Houston, 2002), she has served as Principal Investigator of several astronaut equipment experiments tested on the International Space Station, including VEST – Integrated Clothing System for Intra-Vehicular Activities (MARCO POLO Mission, ASI) and GOAL – Garments for Orbital Activities in Weightlessness (ENEIDE Mission, ESA).

She designs habitats and equipment for extreme and extraterrestrial environments in collaboration with major space agencies including ESA, NASA and ASI; industries such as Thales Alenia Space, Virgin Galactic and Argotec; governmental institutions such as MAECI; and research centres including ICE, CNR, CREA, INGV, INAF and ENEA, as well as leading Italian design and industrial companies such as Barilla, Benetton Group, Caimi Brevetti, Colmar, Dainese, Foscarini, Jacuzzi and Technogym.

She has received numerous international awards, including the Compasso d’Oro XVII (1995), the ESA Scientific Award for Young Researchers (1998), the Compasso d’Oro XX Research Selection (2004), the ESA Eneide Mission Team Achievement Award (2005), ADI Design Index (2016, 2017 and 2019 editions), DIA Intelligent Award Honorable Mention (2020), the Focus Raymond Zreick Award for Technology and Innovation (2022), and the BIG SEE Product Design Award (2024).

Her projects and research have been exhibited internationally, including at the 23rd International Exhibition of the Milan Triennale “Unknown Unknowns. An Introduction to Mysteries”, the National Museum of Science and Technology “Leonardo da Vinci”, the London Science Museum, the Frankfurt Messe, and other cultural and scientific venues across Europe and worldwide.

She is curator of “Design Spaziale Italiano”, a multimedia travelling exhibition promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, presented in diplomatic venues including Brussels, Prague, Paris, London, Vienna and Tallinn (2024–2025). The project highlights the strategic role of design in innovation processes related to space exploration and brings together over twenty-five years of advanced research and design activities in Architecture and Space Design developed at Politecnico di Milano.

Italian Design Ambassador and visiting professor at prestigious international universities, including Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York; International Space University (ISU); Tsinghua University; RMIT University, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering; Monash University; Swinburne University; Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University (RGU); Luleå University of Technology; GD Goenka University; Xi’an Jiaotong University, XJTU-Polimi Joint School of Design and Innovation.

She has published over 200 scientific issues on design culture and space design, contributing to its recognition as an established international disciplinary field. Recent monographs include Design for Sustainability and Inclusion in Space. How New European Bauhaus Principles Drive Nature & Parastronauts Projects (Springer, 2024), Le città dell’universo (Il Saggiatore, 2023), Design of Supporting Systems for Life in Outer Space. A Design Perspective on Space Missions Near Earth and Beyond (Springer, 2021), and For Designers With Their Head Beyond the Clouds (Maggioli, 2015). Among the papers presented at international astronautical congresses are: Space Design Learning. An Innovative Approach to Space Education Through Design, 69th International Astronautical Congress (2018), and Space4Inspiration: Survival Lab. Designing Countermeasures for Natural Disasters, The Design Journal (2017).