From 26th to 28th November 2025, the Salone will light up the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh in red. In a strategic partnership with the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture, the event will feature an installation curated by the Giò Forma architecture studio, a packed cultural programme and a B2B platform, a meeting point for the Salone and the Saudi design ecosystem – a taster of the first ever edition of the event to be held in the Kingdom in 2026.
The three-day programme will take place at the King Abdullah Financial District in the heart of Riyadh from 26th – 28th November 2025. During this period, the financial hub will be transformed into a business-first meeting point for the Salone del Mobile.Milano and the Saudi design ecosystem. It marks the first activation of the strategic partnership signed in AlUla in January 2025 between the Architecture and Design Commission and Federlegno Arredo Eventi S.p.A., the official organiser of Salone del Mobile.Milano. The agreement sets out a multi-year framework aimed at forging professional connections, spotlighting local talent, driving sustainable innovation in training and standards, and translating ideas into built spaces, interiors and cities — paving the way for the first full edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano in Riyadh in 2026.
The strategic partnership between the Salone del Mobile.Milano and the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture is designed to strengthen the creative and manufacturing supply chains of both countries and to accelerate professional connections. It also aims to highlight local talent, promote sustainability and innovation standards aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, and create the right conditions for ideas and projects to take shape, from construction sites to interiors and cities.
Red in Progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh will reshape the KAFD public spaces under the red banner of the Salone del Mobile.Milano. The initiative will feature furniture, lighting, surfaces and accessories from more than 35 Italian companies, selected for their quality, innovation and sustainability. An international cultural programme, curated by Annalisa Rosso – Editorial Director & Cultural Events Advisor for the Salone del Mobile.Milano – will bring together voices from Italy and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the Business Lounge will host meetings and presentations with key Saudi decision-makers. The event will serve as a preview of a much larger and more structured trade fair in 2026, combining shared cultural content with professional platforms.
The spectacular heart of Red in progress. Salone del Mobile.Milano meets Riyadh will be a large installation by the international architecture studio Giò Forma, which will introduce Riyadh to the world of the Salone del Mobile.Milano: a landscape of modular scaffolding, covered with a semi-transparent red fabric, transforming the raw language of the construction site into a cultural stage. Red will not only be a colour but also the common thread of the experience, a visual trace connecting places and people, a symbol of energy and the future. Within the structures of the installation, the products of more than 35 furniture companies will light up a performance in which know-how, bold design, harmony and circularity will come together and chart new perspectives. It will be both a preview and a manifesto: a communication tool that will herald the arrival of a global event, inviting Riyadh to experience design as a shared cultural construction.
The cultural programme will consist of Masterclasses and Round Tables, organised in collaboration with the Architecture and Design Commission at the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture led by leading figures in architecture and design from both countries, featuring a range of topics, case studies and analyses of ongoing urban transformations. It will also highlight innovation, sustainability, and the evolution of design identity, drawing on the heritage of the great design masters, supporting young talents in their growth journey, and promoting strategic connections between creativity and the business world. The space dedicated to the public programme has been designed as an informal, human-centric forum, with tiered seating, rugs and cushions to bring speakers and audience closer together and encourage direct dialogue: an environment capable of transforming storytelling into operational discussion and professional networking.
The B2B component will take shape in the Business Lounge designed by Lissoni & Partners studio, which will unfold into lounge and meeting areas designed for discreet yet functional hospitality: close sitting rooms defined by curved walls like graphic strokes, pillars clad in backlit pleated fabric that become landmarks, carpets, furnishings and touches of greenery creating a welcoming retreat. A fullheight illuminated wall will narrate the story and values of the Salone del Mobile.Milano. The layout of the furnishings has been conceived to convey a space given over to scheduled meetings, presentations and networking between Italian companies and key Saudi players. Rounding off the programme, site visits to some of the major mega-projects under development in Riyadh and throughout the Kingdom are envisaged. The aim is to foster professional relationships, test the needs and priorities of clients and generate concrete opportunities for companies within the supply chain.
Alongside the professional programme, there will be an area dedicated to Lifestyle in collaboration with KAFD retailers and Italian and Saudi food & beverage brands: the Financial Plaza will host convivial opportunities illustrating the rituals of Italian living, conceived as spaces for interaction between participants. Not just a simple interlude, but a theatre of service and hospitality thought out with the same care as the design aimed at fostering conversation.
Finally, there will be two institutional areas: the Architecture and Design Commission area will host key projects currently under way across the Kingdom, including the Designed in Saudi initiative, which empowers local designers and positions the Kingdom as a global design destination.
From November 26, 2025 09:00 AM
Until November 28, 2025 11:00 AM
Venue King Abdullah Financial District, Riyadh
