parco sempione
“Fuorisalone” is the most important event in the world related to the topic of design.
The term is used to define the events and exhibitions that animate the entire city of Milan during the week long “Salone del Mobile” which happens in April each year.
Together the ‘Salone del Mobile’ ( fairgrounds trade show ) and ‘Fuorisalone’ ( city wide ) together define Milan’s Design Week, premiering the latest trends for the forthcoming year and heralding a tidal wave of events, exhibitions and presentations.
A totally unmissable extravaganza.
The new design season kicked off in Milan with more visitors than ever attending the FuoriSalone around Milan, with more satellite districts popping up around the city to vie for their attention.
The fun and spontaneous part of Design Week is FuroriSalone, during which the neighborhoods of Milan host outdoor exhibitions, becoming small galleries and places for creativity.
With design events scattered throughout the city, the Fuorisalone recognizes the Historic City Centre Precinct ( around the Duomo ) as well as 3 x main Design Districts and 4 x Strategic Design areas where the majority of happenings are concentrated:
FuoriSalone Design Zones =
1) Central City Precinct = Historic Heart of Milan
2) Design Districts:
Brera Design District – The chic Brera offered everything from art installations in cloisters to massive furniture showrooms
Tortona Design – once the renegade is now an established neighborhood for industrial design and winners of corporate-sponsored design contests
Ventura Lambrate – Milan’s gallery district, is the place to go for fascinating and even controversial surveys of student work from international design schools
3) Strategic Design Areas:
Zona Sant’Ambrogio
5Vie
San Babila
Porta Venezia incl San Gregorio Docet
Even though they are all a part of the same design event, these key areas promote different design concepts. As such, they are set up to attract specific visitors. Each area targets a specific audience, more or less.
Central City Precinct
Leonardo Da Vinci Exhibition at Palazzo Reale
In the year of the Expo 2015, the Palazzo Reale in Milan celebrates the genius of Leonardo da Vinci with the largest Da Vinci exhibition ever organised in Italy.
The exhibition curated by Pietro C. Marani and Maria Teresa Fiorio, highlights Da Vinci’s ability to combine scientific thought with creative talent, art and technology
It includes paintings, drawings, sculptures and manuscripts, brought together from the finest museums in the world, amongst which the British Museum in London, the Uffizi in Florence, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York
The Vitruvian Man by Da Vinci around 1490, was on display, one of the most famous drawings in the world on loan for 1 month from the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice and only occasionally shown to the public
Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan contributed to the exhibition with over thirty drawings from the Atlantic Codex.
Musée du Louvre in Paris has allowed three Da Vinci paintings to travel to Milan, all of which are masterpieces: St. John the Baptist, the Annunciation, and La Belle Ferronnière ( below ), which has just been restored.
Design for Life @ Palazzo Reale
“Design for Life” at Palazzo Reale ( until 24th May 2015 re Expo Milan ) is an exhibition curated by the editors of Elle Decor Italia, sponsored by the city of Milan and carried out with the support of Automobiles Citroën DS Bredaquaranta
The exhibition related to the concept of the Milanese Design for Life and presented, with a cinematic eye, 25 years of interior design as told through contemporary atmospheric editorial coverage of houses photographed everywhere for Elle Decor Italia from 1990 until today
Atelier Clerici @ Palazzo Clerici
Situated in one of Milan’s most distinguished palazzi, Palazzo Clerici, brought together designers, companies and institutions experimenting with new forms of living and making.
A diverse array of installations, micro-exhibitions and events organised by some of Europe’s most renowned designers and institutions animated Palazzo Clerici each day for the duration of the Salone.
From young practitioners to established actors in the field, Atelier Clerici cuts a cross-section through the most forward-thinking work in social design, material and technological innovations, maker culture, education, independent publishing, and international platforms for design curation and research.
FAVILLA – To Every Light a Voice @ Piazza San Fedele
“FAVILLA – To Every Light a Voice” is an installation-event designed to celebrate 2015 –proclaimed the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies by UNESCO.
Curated by architect Attilio Stocchi supported by the Municipality of Milan and the Salone del Mobile in synergy with Euroluce, “FAVILLA – To every light a voice” showcased the science of light.
Attilio Stocchi has previously curated two highly successful collateral events for the Salone, The Arbour (2011) and Skybook (2012).
“FAVILLA. To Every Light a Voice” attracted more than 10,000 visitors who entered a black box theatre and experienced every “manifestation” of light together with a sound association
It examined light through an immersive experience that highlights the way light moves, how it is seen by the eye, and how it allows people to discover new shapes.
Favilla translates from the Italian as “spark” — a word synonymous with both light and the internal combustion engine.
Through skilful manipulation these light shapes gradually become more recognisable until the display achieves a cohesive form and takes shape as the sculptural Ford GT super car.
James Irvine
James Irvine: an Englishman in Milan – A tribute to the designer and to the relationship with Milan.
The exhibition was shown at the Museo Del Novecento, located in Milan’s historical center, overlooking Piazza del Duomo
This project is a well deserved homage to the designer James Irvine who died suddenly and unexpectedly, in Milan in Feb, 2013
World Design Week Conference @ Museo del Novecento
Also at the Tokyo Design Week hosted the second annual World Design Week Summit on April 16th at the Museo del Novecento, Milan
Initiatives developed included — launching a global event database with Design Weeks around the world, creating a global network with international creators, and establishing the World Design Week Award Grand Prix.
The first gathering, which launched the World Design Week network, was held last April during Milan Design Week 2014, with more than 20 Design Events’ representatives in attendance, leading to the organization of 1st World Design Week Network Summit, in October 2014, in Tokyo.
Swarovski Designers of the Future 2015 Award @ Museo del Novencento
The winners of the Swarovski Designers of the Future 2015 award were announced during Milan Design Week, at a glamorous lunch event overlooking the famous Duomo in Milan
The award was established in 2006 and recognises young designers and studios working with new processes and materials.
Organised by Design Miami / Art Basel, a large group of excited design media, design experts and previous winners gathered to hear who had been chosen
Hong Kong’s Elaine Ng Yan Ling and London-based Tomás Alonso and Studio Swine scooped up the prestigious prize, which will see the young talents collaborate with Swarovski to produce works for the 10th anniversary edition of Design Miami/ Basel (16-21 June).
Nendo Works @ Museo della Permanente
Nendo Works 2014-2015 presents a single year’s worth of work undertaken by the studio’s founder Oki Sato at Milan’s Museo della Permanente.
Widely known and celebrated in the design community for its highly intuitive, functional and minimalist design philosophy, the prolific studio’s output spans experimental furniture, architectural fixtures, lighting, tableware and more speculative objects.
Japanese studio Nendo is exhibited over 100 products designed over the previous year for 19 brands as part of a solo exhibition in Milan, including previously unseen pieces.
The exhibition encompasses key collaborations with manufacturers including Glas Italia, for whom Sato created a furniture range based on the forms inspired by folding paper and shadows, as well as a tableware collection made with traditional Japanese artisans, various domestic door designs and various models for food designs such ice-cream cakes and textured chocolate.
It’s All About Meal @ Chiesa San Paolo Converso
The recently opened CLS factory space hosted the installation “It’s All About Meal” by Massimiliano Locatelli ( CLS Architetti ) which explored the concept of a new conviviality in domestic spaces
Locatelli exhibited a series of glass tables ( set under a beautiful hanging art piece of glassware ) in front of the high altar of the Chiesa San Paolo Converso, a 16th-century former Baroque church – and around the back a series of displays of dining tables and tableware, as well as presenting a collection of new seating and tables.
With the new series “Specchio di Venere” ( = Mirror of Venus ) tables, the wine glasses physical properties evoked a strong sense of transparency and reflection of light, similar to water, to symbolise the creation of life.
These elements which can construct and deconstruct, become fluid , touching, chasing, and escaping, and remind us of the myth of Narcissus and the reflective water which was his demise.
The Key FuoriSalone Design Districts
Brera Design District – The chic Brera offered everything from art installations in cloisters to massive furniture showrooms
Tortona Design – once the renegade is now an established neighborhood for industrial design and winners of corporate-sponsored design contests
Ventura Lambrate – Milan’s gallery district, is the place to go for fascinating and even controversial surveys of student work from international design schools
Brera Design District
Every year more than 300.000 visitors embark to visit the Milano Saloni and Fuorisaloni, of which over 150.000 visit the central Brera Design District.
As one of the oldest in the city of Milan and Brera Art Gallery and the Academy of Fine Arts, the city center near the Brera area has been its rich artistic atmosphere and a variety of design, distribution center and famous fashion brands.
Brera Design District – the artistic heart of Milan is in the heart of Milan’s creative and commercial area
Stretching from the Bastions of PortaNuova in via Broletto, away from Legnano and towards Via Montenapoleone, it is one of the most refined areas of Milan.
Brera Design District, three words capable of gathering over 140.000 people.
Projects, installations, meetings with designers, parties: that’s how the Fuorisalone turns an entire district into the beating heart of creativity, while design is the common thread connecting all the events.
Actually, design is what makes it happen.
2015 saw the 6th annual exhibition of the Brera Design District at Fuorisalone, but it has already became one of the most interesting spots to visit during Milan Design Week.
This year’s Brera Design Distict was again rich and inspiring ! In comparison to previous years, this time its borders have widened even larger to accommodate an ever-growing number of installations, international design events, exhibitions, and cocktail parties.
At Brera, in the heart of Milan, more than 80 permanent design stores are located, along with workshops, art galleries, stores, museums, the Fine Art Academy, the Painting Gallery, the Scala theater, and several artistic and cultural venues.
The Garden of Wonders. A Journey Through Scents
The green heart of Fuorisalone – the Orto Botanico (Botanical Garden) – is tucked away in the Brera Design District.
The Botanic Garden hosting “The Garden of Wonders. A Journey Through Scents”, a sophisticated interdisciplinary project exhibition coordinated by Ferruccio Laviani and includes works by Tord Boontje, Dimore Studio, Jaime Hayon, Piero Lissoni, Nendo, the Campana brothers and Jean-Marie Massaud
This exhibition was designed to be shown at the upcoming EXPO 2015 in Milan, but had a sneak preview for Milan Design Week visitors
Here design meets the world of perfume in ten golden pavilions that narrate the past and predict the future of a product of fine craftsmanship
Each one is a reinterpretation of the brand identity of a historic perfume house that no longer exists – 10 fantastical perfume bottle prototypes and an olfactory experience that allows the public to immerse itself in fragrances of the past, from ancient Egypt to the 1990s.
Perfume, a precious antique product with an artisanal heart and a global profile, with an almost alchemic product, perfume is the result of a deep-rooted expertise and amazing handicraft production.
The Garden of Wonders is inspired by the history of perfume and the history of raw materials from all over the world; each perfume represented a real and imaginary journey of goods and cultures making them of their time, globally distributed products
Confronting the Masters
A hop, skip and a jump away is the majestic Sala Napoleonica in the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ( Art School ) where the exhibit Confronting the Masters brings together the most recent projects by the last ten winners of the prestigious Belgian Designer of the Year Award, to mark the 10th anniversary of the prize.
Mindcraft
Now in its 8th edition, the 2015 exhibition on Danish design Mindcraft, ( winner of a Milano Design Award 2015 ) was curated by the Italo-Danish designer duo GamFratesi was held at the picturesque setting of the Chiostro Minore di San Simpliciano.
Mindcraft is an annual event – selected 14 new works from 19 of the most important creative figures of Denmark – using Danish craftsmen – sponsored by the Danish Arts Foundation and the Danish Agency for Culture.
The theme of the 2015 Mindcraft the two designers chose was “In Between” which reflects the fact that Danish craftspeople and designers work in a field of tension in between mind and craft.
These are housed inside black metal cages on top of the mirrored floor or hung from temporary supports in the covered walkways that wrap around the space.
LaTenda
For the upcoming Expo Milan 2015, the La Tenda Fashion Group chose its boutique on Via Solferino, in the heart of the Brera, as the location to preview its’ La Tenda Experience Fashion and Art – a series of events, running from May 5th to Oct 31st
For this special occasion, a beautiful showcase by Paola Lenti who created an outdoor entertaining area in front of La Tenda’s boutique as well as a beautiful window display environment – which ran for the duration of the Salone and beyond
The presentation of a series of carpet pieces were drawn from Paola Lenti‘s 2015 Tappetti collection by architect Renato J. Morganti.
The showcase, saw the designs applied to the window backdrops of the store and the creation of creation of an exclusive rug for the charity auction of the Dynamo Camp to be held at the end of the 6 month Art Program.
Studio Dimore
Sollos – Good News From Brazil
“Good News from Brazil ” – Sollos the innovative Brazilian company returned for the second year in a row, launching a capsule interiors collection of international appeal designed by the award winning 33 year old designer, architect, and engineer Jader Almeida
The beautiful installation created by Jader Almeida at Spazio Solferino ( a 400 sq mtr gallery space ) showcased around 50 pieces of furniture, lights and furnishing accessories, the fruit of diverse techniques and material that attest the excellence of Sollos products.
Sollos blends cutting-edge techniques with traditional craftsmanship while adopting eco-friendly practices to safeguard the environment, the perfect complement for Jader Almeida’s designs that combine timeless aesthetic with technological know-how.
Automobiles
Lamborghini Huracan
mazda
More than an event, the district is a territorial marketing operation that turned the oldest district of the city in a State-of-the-art melting pot between galleries and showrooms.
Smells and tastes, the exaltation of diversity as a core value of the Brera Design District and its’ traditions
Zona Tortona
The Zona Tortona district is the neighborhood where the FuoriSlaone broke away from the Salone Fairgrounds some 15 years ago – where once again design invaded the streets, backyards, shopping and wonderful post-industrial spaces of the Neighbourhood surrounding Via Tortona
It is one of the most vivid spots of the FuoriSalone, the exhibition venues are housed inside former warehouses and industrial buildings, many of them converted to design offices and showrooms.
The area is located in the south-western part of Milan and throughout the year the home of the Italian fashion industry. The industrial buildings, many of them normally used as photo studios, in these days host the best of the worlds design scene.
Tortona Design Week is a marketing and communication project, organized by the Tortona Area Lab association and funded by Milan City Council.
Tortona (Zona Tortona) was originally the industrial powerhouse of Milan on the edge of the canal around Porta Genova. However over the past decade, it has gradually developed into a world-recognized creative zone.
In this area of criss-cross streets, full of large and small galleries, design studios, bookstores and various art spaces have flourished
This Fuorisalone event offers a broad range from furniture to electronics, from interactive installations to art performances, from big collective shows promoting young talents to the top global brands from the industrial design scene.
The area of Tortona brought together international brands and young talents in more than 60 industrial spaces.
Historically a major design hub for young up-and-coming designers and one of the biggest satellite events outside the gigantic fairground at Rho, Tortona is now also home to a number of more established brands.
Now known spaces for exhibits and events, from Ansaldo steel plants at Superstudio Più, passing through all the countless neighborhood locations, this year again became a pilgrimage destination of a large number of fans in the industry.
For 2015 FuoriSlaone Tortona was expanded by the renovation of the long warehouses in the ex Ansaldo industrial complex and by the opening of the Museo delle Culture (Museum of Culture aka Mudec )
Ex-Ansaldo Design Complex ( ex Pirelli steelworks )
This year the Ex-Ansaldo Design Center (via Tortona, 54) building saw a particularly diverse selection from France, Japan and the UK as well as the newly opened Murdec
Both France Design and Tokyo Design Week stood out as offering interesting perspectives on the current state of design in France and Japan respectively.
France Design
France Design is a co-production by VIA with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Industry & Digital Affair. Its aim is to bring together in a single event major players of French design in order to guarantee best visibility among the off-site shows programmed during the Milan furniture fair week.
France Design, offered two exhibits within the ex-Ansaldo Design Centre
1) Via Design 2015 – featured 14 prototypes created by 12 emerging designers. The continuing presence of VIA in Milan has already enabled a long list of French designers to start collaborating with Italian makers and to win international renown.
2) Talents & Economy – for the 2nd year a vast panorama exhibition of 80 everyday objects that reflect on the place of design and its role in creating added value in terms of functionality, aesthetics and emotional connections.
All the displays represent collaboration initiatives involving national and regional institutions in France whose role it is to promote advanced design and accompany firms in their innovation and creation strategy
There was also space for a giant vegetable sofa over 7 meters long, entirely made with poor materials and recyclable and covered by 60 metres of sedum proposed in Lugano to green.
Tokyo Design Week
Tokyo Design Week was on display at the Visconti pavilion within the Ex-Ansaldo Design Centre
The space was subdivided into thirteen different areas presenting the most promising designers from Tokyo – showing Tokyo Creativity from Milan to the World with this years theme : Edo ( old) x Harajuku ( contemporary ) focussing on the quality of cuteness in Japanese culture, creativity and technology.
Tokyo Design Week presented their second consecutive participation as part of the Salone – an eclectic collection reflecting upon current Japanese muddling of old and young – covering virtual reality with ‘Mind Universe’ by Jins Meme to a collection of traditional Kawaii Harajuku Fashions curated by Zipper Magazine
SuperStudio
This year, ‘Superstudio’ , the location that launched the Tortona district ( under Guilio Cappellini’s foresight ) celebrated its 15th anniversary with a special edition that saw its’ 10,000 square meters of display space, taken over by big-name brands, famous architects, new talents and designers 2.0. under the theme ‘Open your mind’, expressed through selected objects and various large and small happenings.
The transformation of Superstudio for the Superdesign Show was also new this year.
Gisella Borioli, the mind behind the SuperStudio creative space says that the format was conceived as a way to move beyond the Temporary Museum for New Design.
Cotto
Cotto the bathroom ware and tiling company, showed in a beautiful old courtyard which was entirely mirrored on one side, creating an incredible Piero Lissoni designed setting for the presentation of their stone slabs.
Antonio Marras
antonio marras showroom salone milan 2015 featuring paola lenti outdoor umbrella and furniture
The first chapter exhibitions between fashion designer and stylist Antonio Marras and Segno Italiano occured during the Salone 2014 when the ” Volo a Planare ” capsule collection of Atestine ceramics designed by Marras
The second capsule collection was launched this week and this time around it is dedicated to Sardinian crafts hand woven baskets, with Marras envisioning a veritable domestic Sardinian scenario
Segno Italiano ( = Signs of Italy ) cooperated with the best craftsmen of Southern Sardinia to present a collection of baskets in cane river, Myrtle and olive tree with the neck in willow
Antonio Marras reinterpreted these baskets by weaving into them fabrics from his own collections, and presenting these bags for sale throughout the week, as an icon of the 2015 Salone.
Rahi Rezvani @ Moooi
This is the third consecutive year, Moooi presented Unexpected Welcome in their 1,700 sq mtr space on Via Savona, this time using large scale art photography by Rahi Rezvani as oversized background to their furniture.
This year Moooi launched a new company called Moooi Carpets, with an inaugural collection of photo-realistic designs by various talented creatives
Two years ago Moooi featured images taken by Erwin Olaf, and last year’s showcase included architectural and interior photographs by Massimo Listri.
A selection of 39 artistic photographs by Rahi Rezvani were exhibited with towering heights of 4.5 meters, thus generating an emotional trip into the mysteries of the human soul, image by image.
rahi rezvani at moooi 2015
Automobiles
As always, there was a strong presence of car brand throughout Tortona, eager to capture the imagination of the design circuit goers.
Mini – Urban Perspectives
Mini teamed up with Spanish designer Jaime Hayon to present ‘Urban Perspectives’ – an installation that presented visions of tomorrow’s urban mobility in the form of an imaginary world.
The focus of the installation was the Mini CitySurfer concept – a flexible electric kick scooter.
Lexus – A Journey of the Senses
Lexus presented – A journey of the senses – an immersive sensory walk-through exhibition created by Philippe Nigro in collaboration with the Japanese chef Hajime Yoneda. Its aim: to offer an amazing experience combining the pleasures of travel, beauty and taste.
The interactive installation was a series of rooms, each one based on a different sensory theme – starting with ‘rain’, moving to ‘tree’ and ending with ‘earth’ – where the interior of each room matched the food we were given to sample to complement the experience.
On display were also the 12 finalists projects of Lexus Design Award.
Peugeot
Peugeot showcased the ‘food truck’, a real restaurant on wheels that delivered high-quality food on the go, aiming to offer a new experience for street food.
Designed by Peugeot Design Lab, the vehicle, dubbed ‘Le Bistrot du Lion’ headed to the French pavilion at the World Expo after Milan Design Week, where the theme is ‘Feeding the planet, Energy for life’
Inside the Piano Peugeot Design Lab for Pleyel created a unique experience, with the presence of three pianists and an extraordinary dynamic light show incorporating 36 sq mtrs of plexiglass blades ( some 5,000 in qty ) that swayed with the music
Hyundai
Moving beyond its first project, ‘Sculpture in Motion’, where 12,000 translucent spheres acted collectively as a screen occupying 1,000 square meters, the second part of Sculpture in Motion – Helio Curve – adds a breath of life to the Salone, as Hyundai’s design philosophy is reinterpreted in natural flow and energy.
This collaborative art work of Californian kinetic artist Reuben Margolin and Hyundai Motor Design Center, celebrated the beauty of continuous movement of the ‘living form’; how the way ‘movement of motion’ takes ‘tangible’ form while still retaining its natural energy and movement.
Mudec ( Museum of Cultures )
The MUDEC which was opened in March 2015, started life as an operation of archaeological recovery in one of the most lively districts of Milan, the Tortona area.
The project for the Museum of Cultures originated in the 1990s when the Municipality of Milan acquired the former industrial area of Ansaldo to give it over to the cultural activities.
The disused factories, which are true monuments of industrial archaeology, have been transformed into workshops, studies and new creative spaces.
In this scenario the municipality of Milan is designing a multidisciplinary hub dedicated to the various testimonies and cultures of the world, an exhibition site for the Civic Ethnographic Collections.
The very architecture of the building mirrors the many spirits that dwell in the Mudec.
The building features blocks of squared off forms clad in zinc and a crystal structure – lit around the clock – that bursts geometrically upon the area hosting it and appears very different from the adjacent rooms.
The Mudec sets itself apart by its central hall in a free and organic shape which generates an internal courtyard with a characteristic “flower” shape, a covered piazza, a meeting place between cultures and communities.
Within the building various spaces are laid out that offer the visitor and the city a multiplicity of cultural proposals and services, spread over 17,000 sq. mt.
David Chipperfield famously disowned his building (as The Independent reported) following a row over the flooring material used
Ventura Lambrate Design District
Ventura Lambrate is a former industrial district in the Northeast section of Milan that becomes a temporary design hub every year for Design Week
It provides a stage for emerging designers, studios, and students from around the world. It is one of the most beloved parts of Design Week.
Ventura Lambrate 2015 highlights the theme of Unite and Connect, one of Ventura Lambrate’s core values.
While some buildings host the work of local craftsmen, most of what can be seen at Ventura Lambrate comes from Northern Europe, especially the Netherlands.
There’s also a strong presence of art and design academic institutions – possibly one of the reasons why many believe Ventura Lambrate is where all of the most innovative designs are exhibited during Design Week.
The 6th edition of Ventura Lambrate will focus, as usual, on experimental design and new brands are able to think outside the box. It is the real “young and alternative” part of Milano Design Week and strives to give a platform for up and coming designers as well as a space to envision cross-overs between design, technology and science.
Many of their projects required long periods of research and experimentation yielding products that amaze not just for their aesthetics but also for how they creatively use technology.
It makes you wonder if you are seeing the future of design in these shows that often blur the line between art and design.
The Ventura Lambrate neighborhood unfolds into a variety of spaces that become home to the lighting, furniture, fashion and conceptual products (and much more).
This area was put on the map thanks to the initiative of the Dutch firm Organisation in Design and the Italian architect Mariano Pichler.
The largest exhibition area of Fuori Salone, edited by the team of Organisation in Design, seems to turn with even more conviction to explore the interconnections between cutting-edge technological innovation, research and new conceptual design report.
Very strong participation of design schools, including a high rate of sensationalism is the collective “Eat Shit of the Design Academy Eindhoven, which this year ushered in the activities of its new Food non-Food Department.
The unconventional materials are at the heart of many explorations.
Eat Shit by Design Academy Eindhoven
Design Academy Eindhoven presented “Eat Shit” at the Salone del Mobile – the first exhibition of the new department Food Non Food, directed by Marije Vogelzang
The food design course ( 18 students and teachers ) is still in its infancy, with its first batch of students just 6 months into the Foof Non Food course after completing their first year at DAE doing the compulsory General design year before selecting a more specialised stream of studies.
The Food Non Food department moved as one to Milan for the whole Salone week setting up its exhibition / work & living headquarters in Zona Ventura, where a large workshop gathered a faceted and ambitious exploration of food policies under the single provocative title “Eat Shit” = part exhibition, part public laboratory format.
The Faculty shared their projects concerning contemporary food culture, and also explored the necessary relationship between education and exhibition.
Eat Shit is designed to showcase the ethos of the Food Non Food program, the world’s first undergraduate bachelor of arts degree program offered in food design, which, “so far has little to do with cooking and everything to do with systems, rituals and materials,” notes DAE’s creative director Thomas Widdershoven.
“Half the world is underfed, half the world is overfed,” added Widdershoven. ” Those really obvious things make you want to think about food again and work on it.”
Crowdy House ( pop -up shop )
Beyond New Manifesto by designer Hella Jongerius and theorist Louise Schouwenberg.
One of the main talking points of this year’s Salone del Mobile was Beyond the New, a strongly worded manifesto critiquing the design industry, written by designer Hella Jongerius and theorist Louise Schouwenberg that challenged the state of contemporary design.
Hella Jongerius (NL) is an industrial designer and art director. Louise Schouwenberg (NL) is head of the master’s programme Contextual Design at Design Academy Eindhoven.
Schouwenberg and Jongerius argue forcefully that industrial design has become stagnant, with genuine innovation replaced by too great a reverence for commercialism and the production of new products for newness’ sake.
Beyond the New suggests design has become “an empty shell, devoid of meaning and substance” and deplores “the obsession with the New for the sake of the New”.
The manifesto was published and distributed during the Salone by Design Academy Eindhoven (where Schouwenberg is a course leader) and Z33 ( at Palazzo Clerici )
Zona Sant’Ambrogio – ( incl Triennale / Cardona )
The Sant’Ambrogio Area, is a new cultural Design Area for FuoriSalone 2015. It is one of Milan’s most important sectors from the point of view of history, art and culture:
Now in its second edition, with its historical testimonials (the Basilica of the Patron Saint, Santa Maria delle Grazie, le Vigne di Leonardo) and some strategic location (the Triennale Milano, Museo della Scienza e della Tecnica, la Fondation Studio Achille Castiglioni and Franco Albini), the backdrop to a circuit of exhibitions and events involving the showrooms, shops and restaurants in the neighbourhood.
Involved in this latest project are also the Bicycle Bistro and the historic bar Magenta, not to mention Spazio Rossana Orlandi, the Museum Archaeology and many other excellent presentations in the district of Zona Santambrogio.
The district connecting the Ambrosiana Art gallery with the Archaeology Museum and includes the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, on a path made by museums, churches, cloisters, archaeological sites and courtyards.
The aim is to unite the strength of the history of this area to the experimentation of the ‘ innovation.
The Piazza Sant’Ambrogio, became a central place to relax and provided information for visitors, info-point from where start the guided tours the historic beauty of the area.
The main event in the headquarters area Santambrogio was DO UT DESIGN in Via San Vittore 49: a collective of Italian and international designers: exposure welcome design products, from digital to food, the car-manufacturers at startup, from the world nonprofit enterprises.
Hidden in a large garden of 3000 sqm with century-old trees, a group of Italian and international emerging designers exhibiting their works, offered ample space to issues of self-handling, with a focus on “Smart” objects, and special attention to the theme of food
Triennale di Milano
The Milan Triennale is situated in Milan’s Palace of Art, designed by Giovanni Muzio and built between 1931 -1933.
Designed as an extremely flexible space, it is a multifunctional, innovative building for the era in which it was designed.
Arts & Foods. Rituals since 1851 @ Triennale
The first ‘pavilion’ to open its doors to the press was the group show ‘Arts & Foods. Rituals since 1851’ at the Triennale
Arts & Foods. Rituals since 1851, runs to November 1, 2015, ( the end of EXPO Milan 2015) and was the first section of the EXPO 2015 to open, as well as the only thematic area of the Expo located in the center of Milan.
The exhibition, inspired by the main theme of the EXPO Milan 2015, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, is aimed to investigate the manifold relationship between food, its rituals and different means of artistic expression over a long period
The show (co-curated by Chiara Spangaro) is an encyclopaedic exhibition ranging from 1851, the year of London’s Great Exhibition, to the early 2000s, with over 2000 works from the fields of art, design, architecture, fashion, music, and television spread over 7000 square meters (ca. 7,000 sq mtrs).
“The goal of the exhibit is to bring the public closer to the complexity of history from 1851, the year of the first world Expo in London, to today’s Expo 2015, where the theme of food is explored through all possible languages: photography, cinema, literature, paintings, sculptures, designs, so that the public may understand the full picture of the intellectual work that evolves around food,” exhibition curator Germano Celant said
The exhibition was widely critised by a heated wave of polemics around the extraordinary – at least for Italian parameters – curatorial/managerial fee of 750.000 euros granted to Germano Celant and his staff, out of an overall budget of over 5 millions, mainly provided by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, a joint-stock company 80% of whose share capital is owned by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finances.
The investment of so much public money on a single exhibition project, in an era of severe cuts and budget starvation for most museums, brought into sharp relief the problem of distribution of resources at times of paucity, somehow evoking the infamous ‘Let them eat cake’.
According to Internazionale magazine, last year the meals served in the soup kitchens of the city amounted to over two millions, while the number of Italians queuing up for free meals increased by about 23% from 2008 to 2013.
Kitchen Invaders @ Triennale
Curated by Germano Celant, the eighth edition of the Triennale Design Museum, which coincides with Expo Milano 2015, is entitled Kitchens & Invaders, will remain on display until 21 February 2016.
Taking up the theme of Expo Milan 2015, Feeding the Planet: Energy for Life, it tells the story of a dynamic, ever-changing and as yet unexplored visual and sensorial universe.
It is a story about food – and it is yet intentionally created without food, and without the objects normally associated with food and eating.
Kitchens & Invaders covers an area of about 2,000 square metres, with a selection of 350 works from the Triennale Design Museum’s permanent collection.
Museums, companies, public and private institutions, as well as Italian and international collectors and designers, have also offered their expertise, together with works from their collections, for the creation of this ironically disturbing technological landscape, which is both alien and familiar.
The Art of Living @ Triennale
For the second year in a row, The Art of Living exhibition was held at Triennale di Milano.
The Art of Living showcased a “house-theater” in which a series of domestic settings were created in “open” rooms. Every room exhibited a different feel, where a collection of digital wallpaper designed by 35 international designers and architects were displayed.
Trame – Copper Crossings @ Triennale
The Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, showed a special loaned exhibition for the Triennale on “Technology and Materials” of which a number of items were supplied from the earlier “Trame ” exhibition ( design / art / material / technology ) held at the Sceince Museumat the end of 2014.
Many of the pieces in the Trame show are on loan from the major museums, galleries and private collections in Italy and Europe.
Nilufar Depot
Nina Yashar is Milan’s top design dealer and her Nilufar Gallery in Via della Spiga has pulsed as the epicentre of mid-century gems and the hot contemporary designs for the last 15 years.
Her vast collection has been gathered and stockpiled over the last 30 years, in a 1,500 square metre warehouse north of the Garibaldi train station. Up until now, the ex-industrial space was used just for Yashar’s own sourcing purposes.
“Nilufar Depot ” is a three story treasure trove featuring 3,000 pieces of historic and contemporary design, conceived by many of the young designers that Yashar has championed over the years.
CLS Architetti created a design inspired by the Teatro alla Scala in Milan: imposing metallic structures, solid yet harmonious, accommodate the dignified irregularity of Nilufar’s aesthetic sense.
Inside the structures there are units in which small design scenes are arranged by Nina Yashar herself, and cutting-edge design finds its place alongside iconic pieces by Albini, Perriand, Parisi and others
Taschen
To co-incide with the Salone 2015 – Taschen opened its first Italian flagship store during Salone, in the historic center of Milan at Via Meravigli 17, ( Corso Magenta District ) opposite the now famously Prada owned, Marchesi cafe.
This is an area within Milan that is known for its independent bookstores
Founded in 1980 by German bibliophile Benedikt Taschen, the publishing house is a household name known for ambitious and accessible publications across the disciplines of art, architecture, design, fashion, film, travel, pop culture and risqué subjects.
With over 120 square meters of museum like space and spanning two floors, the store presents the complete Taschen catalogue
Spazio Rosanna Orlandi
Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Milan is more than a design shop. It is an experience. This year, during Milan Design Week, it hosted a panoply of micro-exhibitions by designers including Nika Zupanc, Piet Hein Eek and the Arita pottery collaboration.
During Milan Design Week, each space in the building – which wraps around a scenographic central courtyard filled with unique pieces under a verdant canopy – is taken over by small exhibits.
For the first time, the upstairs retail space—normally a shopper’s paradies for design lovers—was turned into exhibition space where unmarked projects sat side-by-side with design items for sale.
With her unchanging ivory hair, smoky-lens specs, black attire and inventive accessories, she is an icon of Milan—a city equally synonymous with design and fashion.
Her steadfastness is, in a way, reflective of the city today as it reinvents itself with a new world expo, grows its profile in the design world whilst losing its way in fashion.
Orlandi regularly hosts designers for residencies in which they produce clean slate designs with total freedom—the arrangement has helped turn the space into a destination and it’s often where designers have made their best work.
Craft was still the focus of this year’s exhibition and there were a handful of unique objects that were worth seeing including BCXSY’s collaboration with bespoke wallpaper manufacturers Calico, Germans Ermics’ wonderful mirrors, Alissa + Nienke’s 3D wallpaper and Sander Wassink’s programmed ceramics collaboration with Olivier van Herpt.
This year, Nika Zupanc was the star of two shows: one featuring her new Mad Men–inspired collection for Sé, and the other devoted to her other works, including a super-feminine Murphy bed and a soaring writing desk.
Design Area
The theme for 5Vie in 2015 was the idea is to revive the craft of excellence.
The neighbourhood that stretches between Ambrose and Cordusio – called 5 Ways – first joined the FuoriSalone in 2014 and for the 2015 edition it promised to replicate, bringing design to its’ historic buildings and green hidden courts.
Shops, monuments, courtyards and historical palaces inside the 5Vie area will host a lively program of events, located between via Santa Marta, via Santa Maria Podone, via Santa Maria Fulcorina, via Bocchetto and via del Bollo
Some of the best new design was to be found in Milan’s oldest neighborhood, an ancient crossing of narrow, winding streets, where artisans ply age-old crafts and young designers are setting up a creative hub.
The 5vie ” art + design quarter” was founded by the Milan Cultural Association with the basic aim to stimulate the local community through dynamic exhibitions and activities, engaging the participation of creative professionals and organizing opportunities in which to build a strong network amongst members of the district — from its past to the future.
5Vie boasted a remarkable line-up of events, scattered throughout the district’s various locations — from Spazio Sanremo to the newly revamped Residenze Litta, from Piazza Affari to the Giardino del Terraggio.
Matter of Prerception @ Palazzo Litta
Palazzo Litta was built in 1648 ( the period of Spanish rule of Milan ) and was the place where Napoleon stayed whilst in Italy
A matter of perception in Moscow & Partners with DAMn° Magazine at Palazzo Litta, an invitation to experimentation aimed at international designers such as Fernando & Humberto Campana, Michele De Lucchi, Andrea Branzi, Emmanuel Babled and Mario Trimarchi.
Aesthetics of Misery @ Palazzo Litta
“Aesthetics of Misery” presented 16 beautifully wrought models of the kind of architectural environments – among them Naples slums and Brazilian favelas, refugee camps, makeshift structures under highways or bridges and other forms of temporary shelter and burnt out and bombed out houses—that are rarely discussed around Salone time
Organised in collaboration with Oikos ( colour and matter for sustainable architecture and design ), during the Salone “Aesthetics of Misery” was born as a result of a postgraduate experimental workshop at the Politecnico di Milano, overseen by Francesca Balena Arista and Marco De Santi, during which students were asked to take on the theme of misery, almost always excluded from aesthetics design.
Misery is not to be meant in a negative sense, it’s more the simplicity of living with less in a world that likes to have more.
De Lucchi said .. “Misery is not a disease but a condition that also belongs to reality.”
“At the beginning we thought it would be quite a strange experience for us as teachers, because we didn’t know what would come out,” says De Lucchi. “But our intention was just to give the students questions that are not conventional questions for designers. Poverty is something we’re all touched by in society.”
Residenze Litta
Residenze Litta, an alley of long-shuttered opulent homes, featured a series of shows throughout its newly renovated townhouses.
A treasure within the 5vie art + design district is the residenze litta — a cluster of houses positioned within the historic and prestigious Palazzo Litta — that has been recently renewed by Italian architect Michele de Lucchi.
For milan design week 2015, five apartments within the estate opened up and become major exhibition spaces for designers and their projects. The units are comprised of quadrilateral boxes, supported by iron rod frames which are enhanced by a range of vintage wallpaper graphics that have been uniquely developed and printed directly onto the plywood structures.
Nude 3D printed Shoes @ Teatro Arsenale
Dutch brand United Nude presented an exhibition of technological design proportions by debuting five unique 3D printed high heel concepts conceived by Ben van Berkel, Fernando Romero, Michael Young, Ross Lovegrove and Zaha Hadid.
Realized in partnership with 3D systems, the ‘re-inventing shoes’ exhibition pushed the boundaries of 3D printing as an application for rendering fully functional footwear.
Max Lamb @ SanRemo Garage
A major highlight of the 2015 milan design week 5vie programme saw British designer Max Lamb takeover Spazio Garage Sanremo in via zecca vecchia, 3.
Organized by Federica Sala, the british designer’s solo monographic exhibition ‘Exercises in Seating’ presented a wide selection of historic pieces, characterized by a sophisticated research into materials and production techniques – encompassing a nearly 10-year window of work.
The exhibition takes its title from the artist’s degree thesis at the royal college of art and spans a large selection of pieces, ranging in type — stools, benches, chairs — style –rough, refined, crudely sculpted — and material — aluminum, oak, marble.
Each of Lamb’s more than 40 seating objects was contextualized by photographs, videos and illustrations, referencing different points of the design process.
His works incorporated amonst many materials used – hand-crafted plaster carved with stone masonry tools, man made marble, bronze, aluminum, and dowel.
Lamb tours the site describing the process in creating — for example — flexibility for his leather and ash ‘campaign chair’, the fragility of the ‘lost wax ceramic stool’ and his thinking behind his 2008 ‘Mclean’s cypress tree’.
Max Lamb travelled to China, Australia, the Catskills in New York, and closer to home—the beaches of Cornwall, England—to source materials for his one-of-a-kind furniture pieces.
Whether forging chairs from solid Chinese granite, crafting tables from sheets of steel, or casting pewter stools in sand, in an age-old technique that entails digging into the beach and filling it with molten metal, Lamb’s methods are often labour-intensive and deeply entwined with his materials.
Knoll celebrates Harry Bertoia @ Piazza Bertarelli
Knoll has once again collaborated with OMA, the studio co-founded by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, and “Inside Outside” founder Petra Blaisse, to create its showroom display at the Piazza Bertarelli.
As a tribute and as a way of renewing its own history, this year Knoll celebrates the centennial of the birth of Harry Bertoia ( 1915 – 1978 )
The Piazza Bertarelli presentation celebrated Harry Bertoia with a probing gaze from one of the most interesting and highly acclaimed studios on today’s architecture scene; it is a true in-depth exploration of this eclectic designer—through all his art forms, from sculpture to jewellery and from monoprints to the master’s celebrated Knoll furniture products.
The celebration of the centennial is not just an opportunity to pay homage to a great artist but also and above all a chance to discover the versatile character of his work. An eclectic designer, he ranged from drawings to sculptures, jewelry engraving to music, with his “sound sculptures.”
Different disciplines, approached with a spirit of experimentation in techniques and constructive methods, with a personal vision of art as work that can be industrially produced, in the spirit of the technologies of the time, and therefore inseparable from the approach and goals of design.
Seletti @ Piazza Affari
Seletti & Toilet Paper hosted a bumper car fun-park in front of Milan’s stock exchange on Piazza Affari.
Piazza Affari becomes an amusement Park with the Premium event, which presents a new version of the Souvenir of Milan by Maurizio Cattelan
SodaStream Alchemy Lounge @ Teatro Verscae
Debuting within Teatro Versace, in Piazza Vetra, Sodastream showcased the Yves Behar designed Alchemy Lounge – a futuristic pop-up bar located in the oval-shaped mirrored hall at the Teatro Versace in the center of Milan.
The futuristic diamond shaped bar with symmetric geometry expressed in different materials: copper, plywood, steel rods and Mylar – housed SodaStream MIX devices and laboratory tools, while the bar exterior provided guests with 360° of service.
Mixologists ( led by Ariel Leizgold ) were transformed into flavor scientists and were able to experiment with the freedom to fizz any creation
The production included a cooperation with the Campari group and professional sessions with leading bartenders from the Campari Academy, a party for 1,400 guests with Wallpaper magazine
mueum of design at palazzo Mezzanotte
San Babila; Durini, Monforte, Quadrilatero
It is a world-famous area dedicated to fashion design.
San Babila Design – where mixing fashion and creativity
The district develops in the historic centre of Milan, in via Durini, corso Monforte and the Quadrangle. Areas rich in history where events and presentations will take place continuously throughout the duration of the exhibition.
/
STATALE
The 18th Edition of the Exhibition-Event organised by Interni for the FuoriSalone 2015 was named “Energy For Creativity” takes place in the Courtyards of the University of Milan, from 13 April until 24 May.
“Energy for Creativity” is closely linked with the topic of energy for life launched by EXPO2015 in order to reinforce a vocation for sustainability in the new millennium and to focus all the creative energy of designers and manufacturers on constructing spaces increasingly oriented towards individual and collective well being.
The Exhibition-Event offers a space of experimentation with large scale installations, capable of activating disciplinary synergies; alongside the display of models and prototypes, micro-architectures, indoor and outdoor pavilions, luminous installations, video projections, there are also theme exhibitions, performances, conferences and encounters.
/
/
paola lenti
The 2015 Paola Lenti collection was again launched at the beautifully serene Chiostri dell’Umanitaria as part of Milan Design Week
In the Centre of Milan, behind the courthouse, in a former Franciscan convent of 400 AD, divided into four Renaissance cloisters and a former refectory – the Hall of Frescoes – you can enjoy a variety of indoor and outdoor environments
During 2015 Milan Design Week in Milan (14th-19th April 2015), Paola Lenti presented her new rug / carpet collections at the Chiostri della Società Umanitaria
Going beyond colour to discover the discreet, invisible vein that gives new form and concreteness to the creative gesture, which thrives on interweavings, balances and vibrations that unexpectedly lead to the perfection of the finished object.
The all-enveloping weave of the colours creates reflections that accentuate the harmony of the forms in a play of chromatic modulations.
“Going beyond” is the true hallmark of Paola Lenti’s company, the life force that makes her constantly seek beauty that is never banal, never repetitive but emerges from experimentation, from keenly observing other artistic forms and different skills that express original codes, styles and forms.
“Going beyond colour” in order not to stand still, in order to go beyond the limit established by the ordinary, in order to capture even the flickering light of the fireflies that often eludes us.
The original fabrics and technological sophistication of the materials in the collection of furniture and rugs are the result of this line of research, of this way of thinking aimed at bringing to the surface the sound and harmony of different voices.
In the frenzy of Design Week, this was one of the few places around Milan where visitors could retire for a few hours and take in the splendour of the truly special Paola Lenti experience of Beyond Colour.
In a succession of integrated interior & exteriors, Paola Lenti created a series of diverse installations, which saw Paola Lenti again collaborating with artists, designers and different brands.
Thanks to Paola Lenti’s participatory philosophy, all the design pieces were available to all to be touched, tested and experienced: swings, lamps, beds, furniture, umbrellas, armchairs, chairs and textiles.
Beyond Colour was the theme chosen to emphasise the visionary designer’s quest to go beyond the enveloping spell of colours towards a vision of outdoor and indoor living.
Beyond Colour is a vision centered on furniture intended as a functional and elegant product, simple and at the same time able to redesign the “togetherness”
Beyond Colour is the true marker of Paola Lenti, the life force that makes her constantly seek beauty that is never banal, never repetitive but emerges from experimentation, from keenly observing other artistic forms and different skills that express original codes, styles and forms.
Paola Lenti’s creations reveal careful study of materials and their composition, together with the continuous dialogue with natural materials needed to host a welcoming space for Salone visitors.
It is a chance to relax and unwind after a tiring day getting around the Salone
Paola Lenti invited LAN ( Laboratorio Architecture Naturali ) to construct a natural setting using just bamboo and synthetic rope – to creatively display Paola Lenti’s beautiful Taiki outdoor lamp
LAN removes itself from the captivity of the boundary, the compulsion to repeat, gaining continuous filament from interweaving his life force, the exchange of energy between man and nature that provides a dreamed lightness.
LAN is the brainchild and research of architect Francesco Poli for the use of natural materials, recycling plants and applied to architecture, design and art.
Going Beyond Colour in order not to stand still, in order to go beyond the limit established by the ordinary, in order to capture even the flickering light of the fireflies that often eludes us.
Seeing Beyond, glancing over the boundaries, underpins Paola Lenti‘s vision, because the Company has always believed in imagination becoming thinking and thinking becoming object, geometry of forms, play of balance and colour, an idea of living capable of capturing all senses.
Going Beyond Colour to discover the discreet, invisible vein that gives new form and concreteness to the creative gesture, which thrives on inter weavings, balances and vibrations that unexpectedly lead to the perfection of the finished object.
In this revolutionary series, Paola Lenti sees beyond the boundaries of her daily work to create something that thrives off of the imagination.
The company believes that thinking is what translates into objects with its geometry of forms, play of balance and a design capable of captivating all senses.
OIKOS colour and matter for sustainable architecture has always been at the forefront of experimentation and innovation
Oikos has based its research on recovery and re-use building materials that combine sustainabilty and design.
Oikos = Recovery, re-use of matter for sustainable architecture
At the Salone 2015, OIKOS again reaffirmed its strong presence in the national and international architectural scene, becoming a key organisation in the construction and development industries, creating with their colors a role in the area of architecturally sustainable textured paint finishes
A production achieved through vertical, horizontal surfaces, high-quality three-dimensional perception and sensory capabilities : a path between heterogeneous materials where colors, light, sound, touch, smells intersect in a unique atmosphere that makes part of the visitor in an exciting journey.
The fusion of matter and colour, between substance and design: an unpublished and original mix that gave birth to 33 new colors.
/
Until 24 may you can visit the exhibition-event Energy for Creativity at the University of Milan in via Festa del Perdono.
Stated goal of 2015 – no less than the 18th promoted and organized by the magazine Interni, recovering from celebrations for his sixty years in business – creating a bridge with the great themes of Expo, primarily the goal of environmental sustainability that is supposed to mark the coming millennium, experimenting new solutions for indoor and outdoor architectural and exhibition type.
Of particular importance, the project presented by Annabel Kassar International Architects, Clear Room, where you can experience firsthand experience in an internal Lebanese House, the so-called Liwan or stay, thanks to an installation that celebrates life and craft styles between France and Lebanon.
Also interesting Future Flowers, installation in the courtyard pharmacy that Daniel Libeskind has designed for the Oikos: metal bent panels and decorated with the new cut color palette designed by the American architect.
/
The Marni showroom at Viale Umbria 42, turned into a colourful fruit market, the Marni Mercado de Paloquemao.
Inspired by the market of Bogotá in Colombia, Marni executed an installation where the main protagonists were the bold colours of the exotic fruits from a faraway land, their shapes becoming the platform for the interpretation of the product.
This installation presented unique home-ware pieces released in several colours – the fruits became sculptures in metal and plastic, used as either containers or decorative items. The convivial set-up around large and long tables was enriched by the shapes of exotic fruits displayed on tin plates hand-painted with Marni’s archival motifs.
This limited edition of objects and furnishings, was entirely handmade in Colombia, involving a group of women who have found their independence and emancipation through their work.
The installation Marni Mercado de Paloquemao won the “Best Impact” prize of Milan Design Award 2015
Founded by Fernando and Maddalena De Padova, the brand is composed of distinct furniture pieces and decorative objects to transform homes and offices with aesthetic appeal.
Since 1965, the showroom on Corso Venezia has displayed the De Padova collection of furniture and accents within its 2000 square space ( which George Nelson referred to as “the world’s most beautiful store ”
For 2015, DePadova, released collections which embody sophisticated comfort, natural materials and aesthetic research.
DePadova ( a symbol of Italian design ) took part in the official SALONE for the first time, and brought its’ design icons and new products to the Salone Fairgrounds
The De Padova space at Corso Venezia 14, as usual, offers an updated setting during Design Week in Milan.
This years theme is that of natural materials: raw wood, cowhide, fabrics, inspired by the animal and vegetable worlds.
The new products become installations on islands in gray painted wood, where raw beech panels ideally divide the space, and wings and canopies in white metal screen generate a play of shadows, an evocative, theatrical effect.
/
For many, it’s ‘the chair’.
25 years after its’ debut, De Padova is celebrating with a new version.
A way to commemorate the collaboration between the company and Vico Magistretti ( 1917 – 2006 )
This is how SILVER was born, entirely in aluminium, light, elegant, strong.
A single model, the one with armrests, shiny and sophisticated, to light up our living spaces.
Vico Magistretti based its design on the proportions of the legendary Thonet chair, for a seat in polypropylene and aluminium that is comfortable, light, versatile and sturdy.
Originally an architecture student, Magistretti turned to product and furniture design in the late 1940s during Italy’s post-war drive of reconstruction.
Typically, he took an existing object as his starting point and then rethought it by assessing whether it could be improved with the use of modern materials and production processes
Vico Magistretti’s Silver chair, is an homage to a classic design by Marcel Breuer from the 1920’s.
In Vico’s rendition, Breuer’s wooden frame has been replaced by aluminum; the seat and back of woven cane have become perforated plastic.
T-Mag party @ Villa Necchi Campiglio
Last night in Milan, T Magazine ( part of the New York Times ) toasted the launch of this year’s edition of Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the world’s pre-eminent furniture and design fair — and of T’s own 2015 Spring Design issue — with a festive outdoor cocktail party at the Villa Necchi Campiglio.
Villa Necchi is a beautifully preserved mansion, designed in the 1930s by the architect Piero Portaluppi, provided much of the setting for Luca Guadagnino’s sumptuous 2010 film “I Am Love.”
On hand to help T’s editor in chief Deborah Needleman and design editor Tom Delavan celebrate were a bevy of luminaries from the worlds of design, art and fashion.
The Italian food design studio Arabeschi di Latte created an interactive installation for the event – a giant totem tree, decked out with thousands of pieces of lucious fruit, created as an homage to the suddenly everywhere ’80s Milanese design collective ” the Memphis Group ” .
Audi
caeserstone https://vimeo.com/125590512 palazzo serbelloni
/
In the heart of the Milan-to-drink and most anticipated week dedicated to design, comes a new destination of Fuorisalone: San Babila Design District.
The neighbourhood combines the best of show-room design. But it is not alone. The announcement is the fourth edition of edit, the designjunction exhibition in collaboration with the new partner specializing in business-to-business company, MONOQI.
During milan design week 2015, leading manufacturer of premium quartz surfaces, Caesarstone, presented ‘movements’ — an interactive installation that combines an eight-piece swing-set and a collection of handmade planters conceived by Philippe Malouin
Positioned within the historic Palazzo Serbelloni, ‘movements’ is divided into two parts, each of which explores the unexpected application of the Caesarstone material, and its distinctive textures, in process-based design.
The first part is an eight-piece swing set inside the grand hall of the Palazzo Serbelloni.
The swing seats are made from the 2015 new surface designs from Caesarstone, hung from a frame, transforming the opulent hall into a playground.
/
Tom Dixon Cinema
At DesignJunction Edit Milan, Tom Dixon took over a 400m² abandoned theatre within Casa dell’Opera Nazionalle Balilla.
The set designs proposed by Brit Tom Dixon during Milan Design Week are always stunning.
In 2010, he set up a factory in Zona Tortona to show the steps and the process of production of his plays.
In 2012, he did a Luminosity exhibition at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan (MOST)
In 2013, again exhibited in the Museum of Science among skeletons of dinosaurs and theories of Leonardo da Vinci.
In 2014, Tom decided to set up in Main Fairgrounds for the first time
Exhibiting at the Salone Fairgrounds is great for the business, in terms of contacts, but is very limited in terms of scenery. I’m always in search of interesting places and new adventures to share with my partners, friends and customers.
Inside The Cinema, Tom created an entertainment show highlighting his latest designs through a series of extraordinary installations and light shows.
” I try as much as possible, do different from the others. Many brands are presenting their work in amazing palaces, but this abandoned cinema was a good alternative because it can better control the space and by being darker, is great for display fixtures. In addition, the Italian palaces are beautiful and end up calling more attention than their own releases “
So now in 2015, Tom has launched his latest collections in a unique interactive entertainment show at ” The Cinema “- in the abandoned theatre of the Casa dell’Opera Nazionale Balillain the heart of Milan city.
Tom transformed the derelict theatre with a headline presentation, calling on the building’s historic roots of a 1970s cinema to highlight his latest designs through a series of installations.
Milan – Design Entertainment Capital
By Henrietta Thompson
Telegraph UK
Taking the entertaining theme to new design heights, Tom Dixon decided to literally put on a show at his exhibition space, a converted cinema.
With Bezar-founder Bradford Shellhammer (on vocals), publisher Robert Violette (on drums), Dixon on bass and his studio’s “Steph from accounts” as a Blondie-comparable star turn on keyboards and vocals – the newly-formed Rough’s debut gig was a resounding success.
For 2015 Milan has really become a party town like never before.
Dixon and friends are simply acknowledging that the Salone del Mobile – once a B2B furniture fair which was mainly about servicing the Italian export industry – has evolved into a global carnival, attracting 400,000 people (a lot for a relatively small city).
“Those people are not there to buy wholesale furniture, they’re there to get up to date on trends and enjoy a corporate holiday,” Tom Dixon comments. “The reality is people are there for fun. We felt we might as well acknowledge what’s really going on here and try to entertain people.”
When you’ve got 2,000 brands in Milan all doing jazz hands and competing for attention, it is harder and harder to get people to pay attention to your message. “So the idea of the cinema is about saying, come into a darkened space where we can control your experience a bit more, and add depth. I think it’s good to wake and shake people up a bit, to get them to spend a bit more time and open their ears, noses and mouths.
‘
Edit designjunction Milan is the epicenter of the new design district that takes place across the entire surface of the corpus in the National Opera House (via Pietro Mascagni, 69), a building of 10000 square meters, built in the 30 ‘s that once housed a school and a theatre.
There are 30 major global design firms taking part in this version the main lounge satellite of London, offering not only temporary outlets, but also installations and active bar offering opportunity to meet visitors.
Designjunction edit Milan Edition this year includes: Jaguar, Tom Dixon, Furniture, Houses, Nyta Beyond Object, Colè Italy, Luke Irwin London, New Works, H Union Furniture, Native, Sub Watches, Punkt., Frame Store, UKTI and others.
It is no coincidence that it is precisely the area of San Babila in hosting the event. Via Durini, via Borgogna and Corso Monforte, is there that focus several historical showroom: B&B Italy, Cassina, Cappellini, leek, Rimadesio, Artemide, Bulthaup, FontanaArte, Fornasetti, Molteni&C and many others.
jasper morrison :a book of things
designjunction offers the possibility to move in these streets, browsing even within these showroom that would otherwise be excluded from the usual routes of the Fuorisalone.
Porta Venezia in Design
Porta Venezia in Design was back for the third consecutive year, weaving a link between contemporary design and architectural heritage of the neighborhood (with focus on Italian Liberty style)
It is hard to pin down a single common thread between the different themes explored in the exhibits spread out all over the Porta Venezia and San Gregorio area.
Since 2012, the Porta Venezia project connects design, art and Liberty architecture, the Italian version of the Art Nouveau style, typical of this neighborhood.
The historic neighborhood is home to important companies in the furnishing sector, professional studies, historical buildings and monuments, as well as art galleries and cultural centres.
The 4th edition is dedicated to design intended as creativity applied to all sectors.
Italian Liberty heritage in Porta Venezia
One of the most important Milanese neo-classical buildings, the Royal Villa, was built in 1790 by Leopoldo Pollak. It has been the residence of Napoleon and Josephine and also of Eugene Beauharnais and the General Radetzky
A privileged network between design and art, under the auspices of the Liberty suggestions that have always been the pride and joy of this corner of Milan.
Porta Venezia In art nouveau Design continues to drive forwards in favor of beauty – all too often denied – of Milan, and develop and build a network between exhibitions, shops and tours that are able to enhance the identity of the neighborhood and the initiatives that animate.
Palazzo Castiglioni, Milan
Louis Vuitton @ Palazzo Bocconi
When you enter the courtyard you will immediately be pulled into the timeless and romantic feel of this show by Maison au Bord de l’Eau (The House by the Water), which is a nomadic vacation home that can be completely disassembled and reassembled.
Charlotte Perriand originally designed this home down to the smallest detail in 1934, but it was never built, until two years ago.
Once inside the main building you will see Louis Vuitton’s new Objets Nomades collection.
The items in the collection are transportable, foldable, easily disassembled and reassembled; they include travel accessories, experimental prototypes, one-offs and limited edition products.
The nine designers of this collection (Atelier Oï, Barber Osgerby, Nendo, Patricia Urquiola, the Campana Brothers, Gwenael Nicolas, Raw Edges, Damien Langlois Meurinne and Maarten Baas) drew heavily from the traditional craftsmanship of this French fashion house when creating their own highly evocative objects, as you can see from their use of leather and animal skins.
Droog @ Ferramenta Hardware Store
At via Castaldi, Droog presented the “Construct Me! Hardware Collection” for the Salone del Mobile 2015
“Construct Me” is the smallest exhibition that has ever been in Milan shows.
The collection of 210 hardware items was presented in their natural habitat, the ordinary Ferramenta Hardware Store.
Droog focused on the smallest parts of furniture, functional elements that are usually not noticeable and often invisible.
Their screws, hinges, nuts, nails, brackets and other hardware are super functional – in some cases even extended in their function – but also add value, character and a richer narrative.
In the created collection, you will find nails that reduce the risk of hitting your finger, two way tie wraps, fancy hinges and screws that smile at you.
They give flavour to simple DIY work, revive existing furniture and challenge the designer.
Airbnb @ Palazzo Crespi
Airbnb, the world’s leading community-driven hospitality company, partnered with Fabrica, to create ‘Housewarming’, an experiential installation at the magnificent Palazzo Crespi, Milan for the 2015 edition of Salone del Mobile.
Airbnb and Fabrica’s partnership celebrated the connections that guests and hosts experience through sharing a home, and how these unique relationships begin with a simple welcome.
Hosted within the grandeur of Palazzo Crespi, a residence built between 1795 and 1805 (which is also home to two paintings by renowned Italian painter Canaletto), it was the location itself that proved the main draw of the exhibition with the design projects on display proving charming but generally conceptual in nature.
Intrecci Italiani @ Marco Beretta Studio
Vittorio Bonacina presented ”Intrecci Italiani” ( = Italian Connections ) in the temporary Salone showroom in Via Melzo 3, normally used as the photographic studio of photgrapher Marco Beretta
Vittorio Bonacina, the historical company synonymous with rush and wicker products, presented its collections alongside the recently released publication of Italian style icon Marella Agnelli, entitled “I Cultivated my Garden” published by Adelphi editions.
Spheres. Perspectives in Precision & Poetry for BMW
The BMW Group took on the theme of future mobility by engaging non-automotive designers in the dialogue.
BMW contributed its own installation art piece entitled “Spheres. Perspectives in Precision & Poetry for BMW designed by Alfredo Häberli.”
Häberli worked closely with the team at BMW to unravel a range of scenarios that address driving in the future. It was an inspiring study of how we could move from place to place – of our relationship with driving once the car becomes an autonomous object.
The display addressed mobility in a much wider context, taking on the vessel, road structures, architecture and city planning.
Bar Basso
Bar Basso is the Unofficial watering hole for design insiders during the Salone
Maurizio Stochetto & the Bar Basso created a cocktail glass called Chelsea Boy, in James Irvines’ memory to honour the legendary friendship that was formed – in the wee hours of the morning, over a Negroni or 2 !!
James Irvine was acknowledged by many as the design world’s ” Unofficial cultural attaché in Milan ”
Michael Young designed a gin & tonic tumbler glass ( James’s drink of choice ) in memory of his good friend, who died unexpectedly in Feb 2013 aged 54
This was a wonderful opportunity to toast James’s brilliance in the city he called home
SAN GREGORIO Docet
San Gregorio DOCET, also known as “Distretto ristretto” (the restricted district) returned for the second year during Milan Design Week 2015.
This “restricted district” grew around the Via San Gregorio, between Porta Venezia and Central station and welcomed international reality of great quality and cutting-edge design and art.
San Gregorio Docet – contains a selection of international brands and designers who were invited to revitalise the area and exhibit in spaces that had been long abandoned.
The area was instigated by Claudio Loria, founder of Leclettico, with strong support by Wallpaper* magazine
Wallpaper* Handmade
Wallpaper * Handmade, combines the excellence of design and craftsmen in a collection of strictly handmade products
Wallpaper* invited the American Hardwood Export Councill, together with Danish/Swedish architects Kolman Boye and furniture-makers Benchmark to create a towering structure of food plates as part of the Wallpaper* Handmade 2015 exhibition.
The brief was to design a candy-store concept for handing out free savoury biscuits from local bistro T’a Milano.
It’s huge at over 3.7m in diameter and the same in height, more a structure, than a piece of furniture.
The installation articulated the technical and aesthetic qualities of American cherry, combines an interest in traditional woodworking techniques and the photographic documentation of silent buildings by Bernd & Hilla Becher and Ole Meyer, creating a functional sculpture within the walls of a gallery.
As architect Victor Boye Julebäk said “Something really strong was needed for the huge venue… but maybe we went a little over the top!”
Department Store by Lee Broom
British product and interior designer Lee Broom transformed a row of 3 disused shops in Milan to create ‘The Department Store’, a designer take on the traditional establishment department stores of London and his largest exhibition to date
“ The reason for using this kind of theme is that the collection is separated into kind of mini-collections, I was trying to think about a kind of show that would present them in an interesting way. We always try to do more with the theatrical experience than just a general presentation.” said Lee
“I’ve never been the type of person to just put products on plinths and let people make their own mind up, when I’m designing the pieces, even at that point I’m thinking about how they’ll be displayed and creating more of an experience rather than just an exhibition.”
lee broom ladies accessories
With “The Department Store” Lee invited visitors on an immersive journey through a cinematic pastiche of a store across two floors.
The British designer plunges us into a surreal theatrical world in which grey curtains serve as a background for 20 new products, manifestations of what inspires and interests the designer.
Lee, who has a background in theatre and fashion design, themed each space in the exhibition around a different shop department.
Upon arrival, visitors encounter windows dressed with new products in a scenographic style. It’s an incredibly accurate reconstruction of an ideal (and surreal) department store, divided in sections such as millinery, beauty, perfumery, bookstore, wine shop, accessories and so on.
lee broom in the millinery department
Elita Bar @ Navigli
One of the key hang-outs for the Salone’s trendy design crowd, Elita has been a staple of the Navigli district since it opened in 2013.
The Elita bar mixologists created a number of innovative cocktails in addition to their famous gin and tonic, and on the weekend of the Salone you could find people spilling out of Elita and neighboring Ugo Bar into the streets and around the canal talking, enjoying their drinks, and showing off their style.
benjamin dementine at elita bar 14th April 2015
Conclusion
But in amongst all of that, there was also work to make them think, to make them question their assumptions and hopefully to inspire them for another year.
In short, Salone was Salone.
It is too unbelievable to recount, and too painful to recall, the thousand-and-one insanities, hassles, and surprises that can befall the visitor just getting from the subway to the fair to an internet café and on to a dinner function.
Maybe one day they’ll work out the kinks around here and create a design fair that actually feels like somebody designed it.
On the other hand, what would be the fun in that?
Hello,
Where can I find paper guides to events and showroom of the design week 2016