DOORS – Automotive Design Summer Immersion

POLI.design is the international postgraduate hub of the Politecnico di Milano Design System – ranked 1st in Italy, 1st in the EU, and 6th worldwide in Arts & Design (QS World University Rankings 2025).

Founded in 1999 by Politecnico di Milano, POLI.design brings together polytechnic research and real-world practice through a project-based learning approach that spans industries and disciplines. Its portfolio of Specializing Masters, Executive Courses, and tailored programs for companies and institutions is designed to equip students and professionals with the design mindset needed to lead meaningful transformation.

Sitting at the crossroads of academia, industry, and institutions – in the heart of Milan, the world capital of design – POLI.design offers a uniquely connected learning experience for anyone ready to think, create, and innovate at the highest level.

Marcello Gandini (1938–2024), a legendary automobile designer, revolutionized car design for over six decades. Widely regarded as the father of the supercar, his work spans high-performance vehicles, city cars, scooters, helicopters, boats, furniture, and pioneering engineering innovations. Iconic models include the Lamborghini Miura and Countach, Marzal, Espada, Alfa Romeo Carabo, Lancia Stratos HF and Zero, Maserati Shamal and Quattroporte IV, Audi 50/VW Polo, Renault Supercinq, Diablo, Cizeta V16T, Renault Magnum truck, among many more.

His studio in Almese (To) was, for over forty years, the beating heart of his creativity—a space imbued with a unique aura, a true symbol of innovation and passion. What was once his daily workplace has become after his passing a place outside of time: it preserves its original spirit while at the same time projecting his message and vision into the future. The studio embodies the almost magical transition from thought to creation, the very core of his philosophy: the importance of the original idea, that passes directly from the mind to the pencil, before evolving through advanced technologies. Today we invite you to get lost among his drawing tables, searching for the very essence of your creativity.

A historical collection, unique in the world. A journey through history that tells how the automobile has influenced fashions, costumes, art languages, scientific research and technological achievements, driven by a constant innovative impulse. A place of debate and experimentation that, starting from the enhancement of the preserved heritage, produces new content capable of speaking the languages of contemporaneity. MAUTO – Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile is a reference point for the promotion of automotive culture, expressed through creative exchanges with all fields of knowledge.

Within this vision, the museum stands as a reference point for the promotion of automotive culture, encouraging creative exchanges across all fields of knowledge. One of the spaces where this dialogue finds expression is Spazio Design, a new 1,600-square-meter exhibition area, divided into a permanent educational space and another dedicated to temporary exhibitions and rotating thematic displays. It offers an engaging narrative designed to provide the public with an always up-to-date reading of car design, transversal to the history of industry, manufacturing and product design.

The course unfolds as a progressive journey — ten days, two cities, three extraordinary locations — where each step builds on the last.

Days 1–5 · Milan — POLI.design Campus (Monday–Friday) The journey begins at POLI.design – Founded by Politecnico di Milano with lectures and masterclasses that set the theoretical and creative framework. You’ll explore the door as a design concept — opening and closure, filter between interior and exterior, scenic device, framing of landscape, threshold of invention.

Days 8–10 · Turin Region — MAUTO & Studio Gandini (Monday–Wednesday) The course moves to Turin and its surroundings. At MAUTO, you’ll explore the exhibition halls, archives, and Design Space, studying how doors have evolved across the history of the automobile — from carriages to contemporary supercars. At Studio Marcello Gandini in Almese — set in a stunning natural landscape just outside Turin — you’ll work hands-on in the creative environment where some of the most iconic cars in history were conceived. Here, you’ll bring your final project to life. We won’t spoil the brief — but trust us, it’s worth the wait.

This is a 40-hour intensive program delivered over ten days (including the weekend), combining theoretical exploration, immersive cultural visits, and hands-on design practice.

Lectures and Masterclasses Classes are held by professors from POLI.design – Founded by Politecnico di Milano, alongside researchers, automotive designers, and industry professionals. The program also features contributions curated by MAUTO’s design team, offering unique insight into the museum’s collections and archives, and by professors and professionals who represent Marcello Gandini’s legacy, bringing first-hand knowledge of the maestro’s creative philosophy and working methods. Topics span the technology, ergonomics, and cultural implications of door design, as well as the broader meaning of thresholds in design and contemporary culture.

Immersive Visits MAUTO’s exhibition route, archives, and new Design Space provide unparalleled access to over a century of automotive design history. Studio Marcello Gandini in Almese offers a rare, intimate encounter with one of the most significant design studios in the world, surrounded by an extraordinary natural setting.

Hands-On Design Work The course is deliberately analog. From idea to sketch, from sketch to prototype — the process uses only pencil and hands, preserving the purity of the creative act. Each participant keeps a personal logbook throughout the course, where every page becomes a door and revelation of the project’s evolving phases.

Final Booklet The entire experience will be documented in a final booklet capturing the journey, the ideas, and the outcomes. Every participant will receive a digital copy as a lasting record of the course.

By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped to:

• Trace the history, technology, and design evolution of doors — from carriages to contemporary supercars
• Analyze doors as functional, choreographic, and technological elements within a broader design system
• Design the user experience of a door — how it moves, how it feels, how it communicates with the body
• Build a model in cardboard, testing proportions, details, and modifications by hand
• Document your creative process in a logbook, organizing material for portfolio presentation or exhibition
• Cross the threshold of your own creative comfort zone — finding alternative paths, challenging existing skills, and discovering new ones
• Explore user experience as a design tool — understanding how people interact with objects, spaces, and movement

At the end of the program, every participant receives:

• A Certificate of Attendance issued by POLI.design in partnership with MAUTO and Studio Marcello Gandini
• A Digital Open Badge
• A portfolio-ready final project
• A digital copy of the final booklet documenting the entire course experience
• A Letter of Recommendation awarded to the team behind the most outstanding project
• An international network of peers, mentors, and design professionals

Since this course splits across Milan and Turin, here’s a realistic estimate for the full week, excluding accommodation and travel to/from Italy.

Regional Trains between Milano Torino costs €12,75. Keep in mind that breakfast and lunch are included for the three days in Turin, which significantly reduces your food costs for over half the course. Milan and Turin are both excellent cities for eating well on a budget — an espresso and cornetto will run you €2–3, a lunch at a trattoria €8–12, and a dinner at a pizzeria €15–25. Turin in particular is famous for its aperitivo culture and its incredibly affordable yet high-quality food scene.

This course doesn’t just take place in two cities — it tells a story through them. Milan, the world capital of design, provides the theoretical and cultural launchpad at POLI.design – Founded by Politecnico di Milano. Turin, the birthplace of Italian automotive culture, provides the hands-on, immersive creative core. And Almese, a small town nestled in the mountains just outside Turin, offers the rare privilege of working inside the studio where some of the most iconic cars in history were designed. Three spaces, one journey: from the classroom to the archive to the workshop, where every door opens a new way of seeing