Jaipur Rugs: when design becomes a shared experience

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Jaipur Rugs: when design becomes a shared experience

The project by Istituto Marangoni Milano Design students with Jaipur Rugs

04 May 2026

During the Milano Design Week 2026, students from the Master’s in Communication Design at Istituto Marangoni Milano Design developed, in collaboration with Jaipur Rugs, a project that redefined the role of design in public space.

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In a historic bocce club in Porta Venezia, handcrafted carpets moved beyond the dimension of display to enter that of experience. No longer objects to observe, but surfaces to inhabit, cross, and use.

This is told by Filippo Rampone and Stefano Rivera, the protagonists of the project.

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“We didn’t want an installation”

From the very beginning, their approach was radical: to avoid any scenographic logic.

“We tried not to create a set. We wanted the carpets to become tools to live with, not elements to look at.”

Choosing the bocce club was not just a matter of context, but of meaning. Placing the carpets within an already active space—defined by relationships and everyday rituals—allowed them to be activated through use.

As soon as they entered the game, the carpets ceased to be aesthetic objects and became part of a collective rhythm.

A cultural dialogue shaped through restraint

The project brought together two complex worlds: the Italian tradition of bocce and the Indian craftsmanship of Jaipur Rugs. The risk of simplification was clear.

“We never tried to create an explicit dialogue between the two cultures. That would have been the fastest way to trivialize both.”

Instead, their response was to work through subtle analogies: the repeated gesture of play, precision, and the extended time of practice. Elements that belong as much to the bocce court as to the making of carpets.

Rather than a declared encounter, what emerged was a shared sensibility—allowed to surface naturally, without forced constructions.

Reality as a design variable

The most challenging step came when the project encountered the real space.

“On paper everything works. Then you enter a living place and realize you can’t control anything.”

The bocce club, with its habits and regular players, was not a neutral environment. Integrating the project without disrupting its balance required a shift in perspective: not imposing the design, but negotiating it.

It is within this tension that the project found its most authentic form.

When the audience completes the project

From the outset, the audience was envisioned as an active part of the project—and in reality, it exceeded expectations.

People stopped, drawn by an unusual visual friction. Then they observed, asked questions, and began to play.

“We left room for the unexpected. The project changed depending on who entered.”

At that point, the installation ceased to be one. It became an open system, capable of generating relationships and continuously adapting.

A real learning process

The support of Sergio Nava and Paola Rolli was key, guiding the students throughout the entire process.

“It wasn’t a simulation. It was a real project, with all its complexities.”

From working with the brand to managing space and people, the students engaged with real professional dynamics within a guided yet open environment that encouraged experimentation.

Beyond the event

The project concluded with a bocce tournament that brought together students and veteran players, turning the activation into a moment of intergenerational exchange.

A simple gesture, yet deeply consistent with the entire process.

Course

Communication Design

School

MILANO DESIGN