On the occasion of Milan Design Week 2025, the Raffles International Institute in Milan - under the scientific direction of Carlo Forcolini - presents RafflesStool, a project that fully expresses the identity of the Raffles teaching method: a training approach that intertwines theory and practice, inspired by the model of the renaissance workshop and directly involving students in concrete projects commissioned by real industrial realities.
RafflesStool is much more than a design object: it is the tangible testimony of an educational method that promotes a deep connection between academia and the productive fabric. A model that works thanks to a strategic and forward-looking alliance between school and business: in this case, companies Siroplastin and Pelplasticspecialising in contract manufacturing, have decided to strongly support emerging talent.
The project originated within the first year of the Product Designled by architect Luigi Baroliand is developed along all stages of the industrial process: from design to engineering and final realisation. A cooperation that puts the experimentation, dialogue and shared knowledgein a dynamic where the company becomes a patron, helping to build a virtuous ecosystem between education and innovation.
RafflesStool is not just a stool: it is a system, a platform of meaning, a three-dimensional poster che si confronta con le sfide dell’industria contemporanea. Al centro del progetto, tre principi chiave:
Sustainability as a condition
Beauty as a value
Enjoyment as pleasure
A conscious balance between production efficiency and aesthetic desirability, between social responsibility and design culture.
From April 7 to 12the public at Milano Design Week will be able to discover the universe of RafflesStool thanks to an installation that narrates - through several interpretations - the versatility, conceptual strength and concreteness of this object-system.
