The editions of the competition

April 14, 2010 università degli studi, ca’ granda MILANO

The winners of the Grand Prix 2007-2009 have been awarded their prizes by Franco Manfredini - Casalgrande Padana President and by the international jury in the renowned Aula Magna (main hall) of the Università degli Studi di Milano, the ceremony will be also attended by key figures of the architecture culture and design world. This choice is consistent with the last editions of the Grand Prix, which also took place in equally renowned sites, like the Palazzo della Triennale di Milano (Milan) in 2003, The Scuola Grande di S. Giovanni Evangelista (Venice) in 2005 and the Salone dei Cinquecento, in Palazzo Vecchio (Florence) in 2007.

Proof of the strong link between Casalgrande Padana and qualità architecture and designers is theGrand Prix celebration of its twentieth anniversary in 2010. In this context, the Milan meeting represents also an occasion to draw up a balance of a cultural operation that grew and developed over time, acquiring a key reference role in the whole sector.

Over the last twenty years ceramic materials in general, and porcelain stoneware in particular, have further evolved on the aesthetic and performance level, resuming their leading role in the construction industry. Proof of this is given by the history of Grand Prix: over the years it has gradually evolved and featured a gradual increase in use of those products in works and installation of great architectural value, at the same time reporting an increasing diversification in the fields of intervention, in the application techniques and in the designers' interpretation modalities. The ceremonyhas been the key moment to start the Grand Prix ninth edition, to which all designers that creatively experiment and use Casalgrande Padana materials excellent aesthetic and performance qualities in their experiments and creative endeavours are invited.