Tom Dixon discusses the parallels between nationality and creativity at the 2012 Milan Furniture Fair. In the latest video from Nowness experts Carlo Lavagna and Roberto De Paolis the British industrial designer talks of his likes of Lee Broom, La Chance, and Noé Duchaufour Lawrence. Watch the video here.
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With not long to go before Milan Salone del Mobile our inbox is swamped with news on exhibitors at the coveted yearly show. The latest is an interesting competition by drinks giant Heineken who has challenged a group of young designers to create a collaborative nightclub based on the theme changing perspectives.
The 19 designers from Milan, New York, Sao Paulo and Tokyo, chosen from a range of different disciplines, will create a pop-up club at the fair – the conclusion of a year of discovery between these emerging designers, Heineken and input from clubbers.
The venue will feature a flexible, origami-influenced structure, accommodating the flow of guests and an interactive bar. Lighting will be a key feature – responsive surfaces and spaces at the venue will react with different lights to give a multitude of perspectives, encouraging social interaction between guests.
Meet the design team
The club will be at Via Privata Gaspare Bugatti 3, Zona Tortona, Milan from 17-20 April 2012. For more visit Milan Salone del Mobile. Read our reviews from Milan in 2011 here.
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The global design community descended on Milan last month to celebrate creativity as established and new voices presented their latest innovations at the coveted Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the international furniture fair.
We have reported on some of the highlights including Zaha Hadid and Mini in Mutant Architecture & Design, Royal College of Art’s Intent and BMW, Flos and Paul Cocksedge’s Sestoseno. Here are some of the best of the rest.
Hadid’s polished aluminium Z-Chair, 24 of which have been created in collaboration with small Italian firm Sawaya & Moroni, is bold and sculptural and very much representative of the architect’s style.
Other notable highlights included another British designer Tom Dixon’s Multiplex (pictured), a pop-up viewing theatre, broadcasting centre, restaurant, shop and gallery – based on his London HQ – displaying a collection of lighting and furniture by the British designer.
The exhibit included a simple sturdy chair by the name of Cast whose disassembled parts are shipped in a small flat pack, and Etch, a series of digitally manufactured lampshades.
Dixon also collaborated with luxury maker of cars Aston Martin to create a bespoke Cygnet – the firm’s new small city car – in the designer’s signature Fluoro Orange colour as part of the Wallpaper* Handmade Edition.
Additionally, Aston Martin presented its own range of home furnishing that echo the marque’s lean and elegant cars. Designed by Mirko Tattarini and Emanuele Canova, and manufactured by Formitalia, the sofa and chaise longue are finished in leather, wood, carbon fibre and steel – materials that form the interior of these luxury cars.
Orbital (pictured) is a table designed by Italian consultant Pininfarina, renowned for its work with the likes of Ferrari and Maserati. Here the firm worked in collaboration with technical studio Calligaris to developed an ingenious opening mechanism for this table that, once opened, can accommodate ten seats.
Inspired by Disney’s Tron: Legacy Italian furniture firm Cappellini exhibited an impressive range that includes an armchair by the same name interpreting the jagged angular landscape of the film’s electronic interior world.
On the installation side, Studio Giangaleazzo Visconti and Italian digital firm Your Voice presented a surreal one called In-pulse (pictured). Created by artist and designer Rolf Sachs, the sensory work is inspired by the motion and sound of breathing, and the beating of the human heart.
The collection of individually crafted objects – with names like ‘watch this pace’, ‘light breath’ and ‘on the pulse’ – can form part of your everyday environment yet will continually surprise and awaken the viewers’ senses. They certainly delivered on the latter front.
Another interesting sensory experience came via JamScape (pictured) and its audio experiment in the emerging Ventura Lambrate design district. Developed in partnership with industrial designer Yves Béhar and his creative agency Fuseproject and Dezeen, the installation centres on the idea of liberating and unleashing sound.
The mood was a little more decadent over at Palazzo Morando and French lighting firm Baccarat‘s exhibit. Highlights is a rather beautiful collection of lights designed in collaboration with a host of international stars that include Philippe Starck, Jaime Hayon, Eriko Horiki, Yann Kersalé, Arik Levy, Michele de Lucchi and Moatti & Rivière.
The designers have manipulated LEDs to create lights that range from contemporary reinterpretations of Baccarat’s classic chandeliers to complete free-ranging design variations. Japanese designer Horiki (pictured), for instance, worked with washi paper, studded with crystals and LEDs. The exhibit sure added a touch of glamour to the show.
Read our other reviews from the show: Mutant Architecture & Design, Royal College of Art’s Intent and BMW, Flos and Paul Cocksedge’s Sestoseno.
See an interview with designer Yves Béhar on JamScape in collaboration with Dezeen.
Design Talks | 5 – 25 Scrutton Street | Old Street | Shoreditch | London | EC2A 4HJ?W | UK | www.d-talks.com | Bookshop www.d-talks.com/bookshop | Published by Banksthomas
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