A Compasso d'Oro is not a design award you can buy your way into

MDF Italia sofa in a corporate lobby

MDF Italia has spent thirty years in front of the toughest jury in Italian design. The Yale sofa by Jean-Marie Massaud won the Compasso d'Oro in 2011; Minima, Tense and Vita took special mentions, and Random, NVL by Jean Nouvel and the Universal Collection were selected across 2008, 2022 and 2024.

For a US executive floor that has to look considered rather than expensive, this is the useful kind of pedigree: an independent jury, over decades, on the same values. La Mercanti sources those pieces from Italy for American projects — the boardroom table, the lobby sofa — and handles the freight, the paperwork and the installer, so the award-winning piece arrives as one.

FAQ

What materials does MDF Italia work with?

Often something borrowed from architecture. MDF was among the first to use Cristalplant and UHPFRC lightweight concrete — a material that until then lived in buildings, not furniture — along with spread cements and marbles for surfaces. The company runs both industrial and artisanal processes and picks by result rather than by convenience.

Is MDF Italia part of a larger group?

Yes, on both sides. The Cassina family acquired the brand in 2007, and in 2019 MDF Italia itself acquired Acerbis — an Italian house with more than 150 years of history, relaunched with the Remasters collection under Francesco Meda and David Lopez Quincoces. For a buyer, that means a company with continuity behind it, not a start-up with a good catalog.

Bringing an Italian design brand into a US project without drama

For designers and facility leads: what actually decides whether Italian design lands well stateside.

Start with the rooms that get photographed

Boardroom, lobby, executive floor: this is where a restrained brand earns its keep, not in the open plan.

Measure the route, not just the room

Freight elevator, corridor turns, door width: with large-format design pieces the building decides what is possible.

Judge the surfaces in person

MDF works materials borrowed from architecture; they behave nothing like laminate. The sample cost is credited in full at order confirmation.

Plan the uncrating before the ship date

Design pieces travel crated and are assembled on site: agree who receives, unpacks and removes packaging.

Keep one contact for the whole file

La Mercanti handles sourcing, freight and installer coordination from Italy, so one person answers for the project.