Sanlorenzo Holds Un_Material Exhibition at Milan Design Week

Sanlorenzo returned to Milan Design Week 2026 with UN_Material, a new design installation conceived by Piero Lissoni. The project was unveiled as part of INTERNI MATERIAE, the curated exhibition-event staged at the historic Cortile del ’700 of the Università degli Studi di Milano, from 20-30 April 2026 during Fuorisalone. UN_Material continues Sanlorenzo’s exploration of design as a cultural language, one that extends beyond the yacht itself to encompass architecture, perception and experience. The installation anticipates a broader evolution of the brand and the way it expresses its values on a global stage. 

Inspired by the pioneering SHE yacht project, which merges heritage craftsmanship with advanced technology, UN_Material represents the next step in Sanlorenzo’s dialogue between yachting, design and architecture.

The installation takes the form of a sequence of full-scale cross-sections that reconstruct the yacht’s volume at full scale. Visitors are invited to walk through the structure, experiencing its spatial logic from within rather than observing it as an object. Semi-transparent surfaces and fine metal outlines create layered visual effects, allowing the silhouette of the yacht to gradually emerge and dissolve through light, movement and perception.

Conceived as an architectural drawing translated into space, UN_Material reveals the internal geometry of the yacht without fully defining its exterior presence. Elevated on a platform that suggests the waterline, the structure is complemented by moving image elements that extend the visual narrative beyond the physical form, giving shape to what is suggested rather than declared.

“We worked on the theme of transparency by taking this boat, SHE, as our starting point and dematerialising it,” explains Piero Lissoni, founder of Lissoni & Partners and Art Director of Sanlorenzo. “We created ‘slices of the boat’ using a semi-transparent fabric that, by day, appears like a light cloud, while at night it turns into a true apparition. The dematerialisation of SHE thus becomes the idea of a dream.”

Beyond the installation itself, UN_Material signals a new phase in Sanlorenzo’s evolution, as the company continues to expand its presence within the broader landscape of contemporary design and culture.

“At Sanlorenzo, design has always been a way of thinking—not just a way of building,” says Massimo Perotti, Executive Chairman of Sanlorenzo. “Milan Design Week offers a unique moment to share this perspective, and to reflect on how our approach continues to evolve.”

Sanlorenzo’s presence at Milan Design Week 2026 also forms part of a wider cultural programme celebrating the tenth anniversary of Sanlorenzo Arts, the brand’s platform dedicated to art, design and creative dialogue. Over the past decade, Sanlorenzo Arts has developed into an international programme encompassing exhibitions, institutional collaborations and site-specific installations, reinforcing Sanlorenzo’s vision of yachting as part of a broader cultural ecosystem.

As a global platform where architecture, design and culture converge, Milan represents a natural setting for Sanlorenzo to explore new ideas and perspectives, positioning yachting within a wider creative conversation.

For enquiries on Sanlorenzo’s global art initiatives, or yacht availabilities, please connect with the team at

sanlorenzo@sanlorenzoapac.com.