In a press conference on 29 January 2026, Salone del Mobile has unveiled its plans for the fair's 64th edition (21-26 April), most notably announcing a new initiative dedicated to contract furniture and led by Rem Koohlaas and David Gianotten of OMA.
The announcement introduced Salone Contract 2027, which will mark the fair's first foray into the field of contract furniture offering an opportunity to dissect it and create new connection for companies participating in Salone del Mobile. 'Salone Contract is designed to intercept the transformation of a high-potential market segment and translate it into concrete opportunities for the manufacturing industry,' reads a note introducing the initiative.
It's a project that marks a conscious shift for the fair, towards no longer existing solely as a presentation of products but as a 'market-oriented infrastructure' to help participating companies manage the increasingly complex demands of contemporary design.
Salone del Mobile 2026: Rem Koolhaas introduces Salone Contract
For Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro, it was important to find a partner that could introduce the fair to the contract market in a way that was both practical and scientific, helping dissect what is often considered a murky field.
'Contract is today one of the segments where the most significant transformations are taking place, from an industrial, operational and market perspective,' says Porro. 'The collaboration with Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA, among the most perceptive observers of the present, represents an opportunity to engage with a strong vision combined with a solid methodological approach.’
'Contract is a segment that relies less on individual products and more on an established ecosystem – one that aligns the design, production, and delivery of both furniture and architecture to create desirable built environments for the long term,' adds Giannotten. 'The growing global significance of the contract segment presents opportunities for industry stakeholders to reinvent themselves, considering not only individual objects but integrated systems.'
For the 2026 fair, Koolhaas and Gianotten will introduce the theme through a dedicated lecture and an international forum that the Salone del Mobile.Milano will curate in collaboration with OMA, as well as a contract-focused pathway that will take visitors across the fair.
'Since the 19th century, world fairs have functioned as experimental grounds where industries project their ambitions, where cultural dialogues are reinvented, and where opportunities for collaboration materialise,' says Koolhaas. 'Today, Salone Contract presents a contemporary iteration of that typology – an arena for examining its relevance and observe how it adapts within an increasingly unstable geopolitical landscape.'
Salone del Mobile 2026 will take place from 21-26 April, Fiera Milano, Rho