Carlo Ratti Designs Essential Torch for Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

Carlo Ratti, curator of the upcoming 19th Venice Architecture Biennale (opening May 10), has designed the Olympic and Paralympic torches for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games. The torches, named Essential, were commissioned by Eni and developed with Versalis. Ratti's studio, Carlo Ratti Associati, partnered with Cavagna Group for production. The design strips away superfluous elements to highlight the flame, with a vertical slit revealing the internal mechanism—a first in Olympic torch history. The flame is powered by bio-LPG from renewable sources including waste cooking oil and agro-industrial residues. The torch's color shifts via a PVD coating, appearing white against snow and blue at night. Made primarily from recycled aluminum and brass, each torch weighs 1,060 grams (excluding cylinder) and can be refilled up to ten times, limiting production to 1,500 units. Ratti presented the torch at Expo 2025 Osaka, where the Italian and Japanese pavilions share a design ethos of clarity and sobriety, echoing the torches of Tokyo 1964 and Sapporo 1972. The flame will depart Olympia on November 26, 2025, arriving for the Games from February 6–22, 2026 (Paralympics: March 6–15, 2026).