"Progetto Millennio" was started in 1996 by Bruni Glass SpA, a leading company in the sector of the manufacture and marketing of glass containers, with the aim of answering a specific market need: containers that fulfil certain aesthetic requirements, without neglecting functionality, and which can thereby support sales by conferring greater "appeal" to the product, and optimally expressing the contents through their shape. Hence the ever more pressing need to develop new professional figures in the packaging sector, who are specifically trained and specialised in the sector of industrial glass.
To accomplish this aim, Bruni Glass SpA launched "Progetto Millennio", a design competition that is unique of its kind, and which looks to schools of design around the world for the conception of new glass shapes.
The drafting of the academic programme, the evaluation of the aesthetic aspects and the complexity of design have required, from the outset and for each edition, the presence of two important points of reference, who can assist the students throughout the year of research and study: on the one side the design schools which, by their very nature, are able to guide the development of creativity, and on the other side the production experts who contribute to the teaching programme by explaining and documenting the production constraints, the complexity of the continuous cycle and all the limiting factors on creativity which exist within the industry of mechanical hollow glass production.
During its 10 years of existence, "Progetto Millennio" has succeeded in reaching all its objectives: it has fostered the development of new professional figures, strengthened the links between education and industry, and helped provide a pathway, within the training sphere, to facilitate the difficult transition from the academic world to the working world. The students who took part had to confront real-world market problems, and were called upon to express their creativity as best as possible whilst complying with production constraints, and adapting their work to business imperatives. And finally, they had the opportunity to test-run their integration into the working world.
This website contains the "historical archives" of the "Progetto Millennio" - a chronicle of its 10 editions, all of which have been vibrant and successful thanks to the dynamism of Bruni Glass SpA and the spirit of inquisitiveness and innovation which characterised all the participants, schools and students alike. Each project has been an important experience for all involved, as well as an opportunity for emerging young talents.
The short-listed projects are showcased at the biennial SIMEI trade fair, one of the premier events of the international wine industry, which is held in Milan, Italy, generally at the end of November, and where the visitors - all industry operators - are invited to view the exhibition and vote for their favourite design in each of the competition categories: wine, oil-vinegar and spirits-distilled products and jars.
This is followed by the closing ceremony of the competition and the presentation of prizes for the winning projects.
The competition is open to schools of design and to universities with specific design and industrial design faculties from around the world, upon express invitation by Bruni Glass SpA.
