ADI Design Museum-Compasso d'Oro was born from the recovery of a historic site from the 1930s, used as a depot for horse-drawn streetcars and as an electricity distribution plant, around the Historical Collection of the Compasso d'Oro award, born in 1954 from an idea of Gio Ponti to enhance the quality of made-in-Italy design, to preserve and enhance what has been collected over the decades of the award's activities.
Glass objects that won the first editions include Flavio Poli's "Large Blue Glass Vase," in 1954, produced by Seguso Vetri d'Arte; Vinicio Vianello's "Colored Vases," in 1957, produced by Vetreria Galliano Ferro; and Salviati & C.'s "Marco" series of flower holders, in 1962, designed by Sergio Asti.