The world-leading event dedicated to the natural stone sector has for many years been a platform for cultural development through initiatives that have helped re-interpret the use of stone, thereby involving not only the world of architecture but also the world of design. President Riello: "Design as an innovative element for international competition". Verona: 13 July 2011. Marmomacc, the International Natural Stone, Design and Technology Exhibition, in taking an “ADI Gold Compass Special Mention” joins the collection of the oldest and most authoritative design award in the world. For the first time ever, an exhibition was a candidate for an award - set up in 1954 by Gio Ponti, a renowned Italian architect and designer, in order to highlight the value and quality of products characterised by Italian design, then in its early years. Yesterday evening, the head offices of Pelanda in the Macro Museum, Rome, saw Marmomacc - 46 editions organised by VeronaFiere - receive the “ADI Gold Compass Special Mention” for having promoted stone culture through initiatives such as “Marmomacc Meets Design”, “Best Communicator Award” and “Biennial International Stone Architecture Award”, as well as Education. This recognition was the well-deserved conclusion of a course that began with the selection of Marmomacc by a jury of experts as a pioneering company in training activity and design research involving stone materials for the ADI Design Index 2010, the annual publication bringing together the best Italian design put into production. These cultural and educational initiatives helped Marmomacc reveal new applications for natural stone, thereby confirming its status as the most qualified cultural workshop focusing on trends in the world of architecture and stone design. "Marmomacc has the merit of having encouraged contacts between production systems and the best creativity networks, thereby focusing on design as a catalyser behind several innovation processes whereby our production system achieves an important competitive advantage and ensures significant support for operations on international markets," said Ettore Riello, President of VeronaFiere. A summary of the long-term approach taken in all these years for the “Uniqueness of Italy” exhibition saw the creation of a video http://youtu.be/OQdzRf5yuRU that will join the Historical Collection of the Gold Compass Award by the ADI Foundation, one of the most significant international documentaries of contemporary design defined in 2004 as being of "exceptional artistic and historic interest" by the Ministry for the Cultural Heritage. Since 1956, ADI has brought together designers, companies, researchers, teachers, critics and journalists with a focus on design themes: design, consumption, recycling and training. It is in the forefront of development in industrial design as a cultural and economic phenomenon.
