Following its 2025 debut, Cantori Design Challenge: From Land to Sea returns for a second edition. Promoted by Cantori in collaboration with Cantiere delle Marche, the project was created to bring the world of residential interior design closer to that of yacht design. Officially launched on 12 May 2026, the new edition confirms the Marche-based company’s commitment to encouraging dialogue between different yet increasingly interconnected design realms: the home, hospitality, outdoor living and yachting.
Coinciding with Cantori’s 50th anniversary, the challenge once again goes beyond a simple stylistic exercise, inviting participating studios to engage with a scale, a technical framework and a culture of living that are all highly specific to the nautical world. The aim is not merely to transpose a domestic design language onto a yacht, but rather to rethink the vessel as a complex living environment where comfort, representation, functionality and identity coexist in balance.
Founded in 1976 in Camerano, in Italy’s Marche region, by Sante Cantori, the company has built its identity on the encounter between metalworking craftsmanship and design vision. From its first brass beds to today’s collections for the residential, hospitality and contract sectors, Cantori has developed a distinctive language rooted in manufacturing excellence, material research and a constant balance between artisanal heritage and innovation. Now led by the second generation, Federica Cantori and Marco Cantori, the company works internationally alongside architects and interior designers, offering bespoke solutions shaped by a deeply Italian culture of design, detail and timeless quality.
For this second edition, Cantori renews its partnership with Cantiere delle Marche, one of the international benchmarks in explorer yacht construction, reaffirming a dialogue based on a shared commitment to craftsmanship, customisation and the relationship between design and manufacture.
The projects will be assessed by a jury composed of Vasco Buonpensiere, Founder and CEO of Cantiere delle Marche; Désirée Sormani, Managing Director of The One Yacht & Design; Alessandro Valenti, Editor in Chief of elledecor.it and About; and Arianna Bionda, architect, researcher and director of the Executive Master in Interior Yacht Design at the Politecnico di Milano.
All of the selected practices—each taking on the nautical sector for the first time—will be asked to reinterpret selected areas of a Flexplorer 146 through the aesthetic and material language of Cantori products. The challenge will focus on three owner areas on board—the Owner Cabin, Main Saloon and Main Aft Deck—and will begin with an exclusive visit to the shipyard, designed to introduce the studios to the specificities of yacht design before the development phase, which will conclude in mid-July 2026.
The participating studios
The studios selected for the 2026 edition bring together a broad range of design sensibilities and backgrounds, from high-end residential interiors and hospitality to scenography, product design and multidisciplinary architectural research:
- Annabella Nassetti – A London-based interior architect, product designer and contractor with 25 years of experience creating high-end homes for private clients, investors and entrepreneurs. Her work today sits at the intersection of built environment and human experience, with a strong focus on the emotional and personal dimension of living spaces.
- b-arch – Founded in Florence in 2000 by Sabrina Bignami and Alessandro Capellaro, b-arch moves fluidly between architecture, interiors, craftsmanship and narrative. The studio is known for projects that combine sartorial detail, layered atmospheres and a contemporary sensibility across residential, hospitality, retail and corporate settings.
- Dainelli Studio – Established in 2007 by Leonardo and Marzia Dainelli, the Tuscany-rooted studio brings together product design and interior design in a refined, recognisable language shaped by material research, artisanal culture and a strong command of proportion, form and finishes.
- De.Tales – Founded in Milan by Igor Rebosio and Giuseppe Varsavia, De.Tales specialises in high-end interior architecture and design across hospitality, residential, office and landmark projects. Its approach revolves around creating bespoke “design tales” for each client, where storytelling, innovation and visual impact are central.
- Gascón Group – Led by Gabriele Gascón and based between Lugano, Montreux and Milan, the studio focuses primarily on the hospitality world, with particular expertise in high-end hotels and clinics. Its work is defined by a cultured, sensitive and highly tailored approach aimed at creating spaces that generate value, emotion and identity.
- Giò Forma – Founded in Milan in 1998 by Cristiana Picco, Florian Boje and Claudio Santucci, Giò Forma is a multidisciplinary practice spanning design, art and architecture. Internationally recognised for iconic projects, immersive environments and large-scale scenographic productions, the studio brings together architecture, cultural experiences and global events.
- Giuseppe Tortato Architetti – A multidisciplinary architecture and interior design practice whose work ranges from private and corporate commissions to urban and landscape interventions. The studio’s design vision is rooted in sensory experience, sustainability and the integration of nature as a catalyst for wellbeing and emotional connection.
- GMS Studio Associato – Founded in 1999 by Margherita Süss, Marco Montani and Ruggero Guanella, GMS combines architecture and engineering with experience spanning public lighting, UNESCO heritage sites, high-end residences and healthcare projects. Its interior work stands out for highly customised environments and meticulous material and furniture detailing.
- Paolo Frello & Partners – A Milan-based architecture, interior design and communication studio active internationally for over thirty years. Known for its integrated approach, the practice combines architectural rigour, bespoke interiors and a strong attention to identity, with projects ranging from private homes to hospitality and cultural installations.
The concept chosen for the 2026 edition draws inspiration from the world of music, understood as both a narrative device and a design imaginary. Four iconic figures—each belonging to a different historical period and expressive language—become the starting point for the development of the concepts: Ella Fitzgerald, embodying harmony, freedom and refinement; Ennio Morricone, capable of translating storytelling into emotional tension and sonic architecture; Pink Floyd, interpreters of an immersive, perceptual and dynamic understanding of space; and Eminem, emblem of a contemporary language shaped by rhythm, introspection and authenticity. Each studio will choose one of these figures as the cultural and emotional matrix for its project.
Working with a musical imaginary shifts the focus away from the object itself and towards a perceptual landscape—from pure formal composition to a broader idea of spatial experience. This is where the contest finds its specificity: not in simply adapting a residential interior to a different setting, but in constructing a vision capable of engaging with the owner’s identity, the relationship between interior and exterior, the theme of movement and the temporal dimension that is intrinsic to life on board.
As in the first edition—which awarded Nick Maltese Studio, Progetto CMR, Spagnulo & Partners and Studio Marco Piva—the final ceremony will once again take place during the Monaco Yacht Show, scheduled from 23 to 26 September 2026.
With the second edition of Cantori Design Challenge: From Land to Sea, Cantori continues to consolidate a project that is gradually establishing itself as a platform for research and exchange between disciplines, fostering new contaminations between interior design and yachting, between the culture of living and the design of the sea.
