We encourage you to read MA Iwona Durka ‘s account of ATA students’ trip to the Salone del Mobile 2026 trade fair in Milan.
On April 23-26, 2026, we went with the students of Interior Architecture and Design of the Faculty of Architecture of ATA to Milan for the trade fair Salon del Mobile 2026. The group was not small, as it consisted of more than 30 people, not including me, a lecturer at ATA – the originator of the trip. Our university took patronage of the trip and sponsored entrance tickets to the fair for all students, for which we thank them.
Milan greeted us with beautiful weather, good food and the atmosphere of the city. We started our tour, of course, with the cathedral, which is impossible to miss either visually or emotionally. Even if one has seen it in pictures before, it makes a completely different impression in person. That day we also visited IRIS CERAMICA, where we could see interesting material solutions and talk about ceramics and new technologies. Another point was Velasca Tower – a building that definitely has character and which one does not pass by indifferently. Some people like it, others wonder about it, but that’s why it’s worth seeing. There we visited an exhibition dedicated to Polish modernism, which was a nice and interesting highlight of the trip abroad.
We spent the next two days of the trip at the fair. Students moved between the stands with great curiosity. We watched the expositions, new collections, materials, furniture, lighting and various solutions, which sometimes delighted with simplicity and sometimes with flair. There was a lot of inspiration and conversation. The fair turned out to be a great lesson in space design, atmosphere building and brand storytelling. Everyone found something for themselves there. Some stayed longer with furniture, others with ceramics, lighting or fabrics.
In the evening it was time for a very important highlight of the event – a shared pizza. After two intensive days of the fair, this was not only a good decision, but a necessary one. We met together to relax, talk and sum up our impressions. There was a lot of laughter, conversation and exchange of insights.
Milan bid us farewell with sunshine, good atmosphere and the feeling that a lot really happened during those few days. There were fairs, exhibitions, architecture, meetings, conversations, laughter, Italian food, beautiful weather and a lot of miles in our legs. The trip to Milan was very successful. It was a great opportunity for students to see what the world of design, architecture and design looks like outside the classroom. The fair gave us a lot of inspiration, and the city itself showed how much can be drawn from the environment, history and atmosphere of the place.
What I enjoyed most, however, was that the students were curious, engaged and open to new experiences. They asked, watched, commented, photographed, compared and absorbed everything that was happening around them. And there really was a lot going on. We certainly came back richer with new ideas, photos, contacts, memories and a few stories that will continue to resurface in conversations for some time to come.
