Ideas & the city

For one week, the city opens up and becomes a container of creativity. In a dimension of celebration and urban exploration that has become a hallmark of Milan Design Week. From museums to secret addresses, an Ariadne’s thread that traverses and reinvents urban spaces

by Umberta Genta

1 | CONSTANCE GUISSET STUDIO

Institut Français Milano, corso Magenta 63

Famous for her ergonomic and delicate creations, the French designer invites the public to discover and try out objects in a scenographic surprise party.

2 | DUSON GALLERY SEOUL viale Emilio Alemagna 6

6 side tables by international designers (in the photo Fiore Fossile by Marcel Wanders) reinterpret the oriental tradition of mother-of-pearl in the exhibition “Mother-of-Pearl Tables”.

3 | CLAIRE FONTAINE via Bergognone 34

The conceptual artist illuminates the spaces of the ground hall at Base with an immersive installation, articulated on large LED phrases that present questions and provocations.

4 | STORIES OF ITALY viale Molise 62

Milanese design studio presents Broken Charm, an eccentric installation made up of a chandelier-jewel and an outsize bracelet in Murano glass and brass.

5 | CRISTINA CELESTINO via Arimondi 15

In the project “Clay Court Club”, the designer gives a new and timeless look to a jewel of Milanese architecture from the 1920s: the Milano Bonacossa Tennis Club.

6 | DOPPIAFIRMA corso Magenta 24

24 partnerships between design and highly-skilled artisans. In the photo Esther Patterson, founder of blown-glass lighting brand Curiousa, working with designer Adam Nathaniel Furman.

7 | LOUISA WOLF via Bergognone 34

In the project Botanical Role Play, Rotterdam-based designer identifies similarities between the world of plants and gender studies. To be discovered in the “Temporary Home” section.

8 | DRAGA & AUREL via Matteo Bandello 14

The multidisciplinary design studio presents the transparent Ray lamps, elements that form part of a scenographic installation installed at Rossana Orlandi’s gallery space.

9 | RE;CODE

Tunnel 44, via Sammartini

The Korean sustainable fashion brand brings together 9 groups of Asian designers who engage in recycling and upcycling generating curious and unexpected designs.

10 | GLO largo Treves 1

The brand collaborates with artist Agostino Iacurci, inviting visitors to imagine the planet of the future, immersed in the colours of the installation Dry Days, Tropical Nights.

11 | GOOGLE via Archimede 26

Together with artist Lachlan Turczan, Google Design Studio have designed Shaped by Water, a sensory installation articulated around water as an inspiration for design.

1 | PAOLA NAVONE via Tortona 31

A fun initiative around the idea of a circular economy, the free lottery Take It or Leave It offers an eclectic collection of objects belonging to the designer.

2 | CASA ORNELLA via Conca del Naviglio 10

Designer Maria Vittoria Paggini opens the doors of her home-gallery: her creations (in the photo the Sandro e Raimondo table), are merged with a group exhibition of emerging designers.

3 | ISOLA DESIGN GALLERY via Pastrengo 14

A space dedicated to collectable pieces made by designers and independent studios with a focus on Dutch design curated by Wisse Trooster.

4 | CAMPO BASE viale Orobia 11

9 Italian architecture practices describe different concepts of domestic intimacy. In the photo, the project Ammonite by Giuliano Andrea Dell’Uva. Curated by Federica Sala.

5 | FFERRONE via Villa Mirabello 6

The collection of glasses by the American brand glows in an atmospheric staging in Yves Klein blue, “Still Now. The dinner”, created with vintage tableware.

6 | FORUM8 via Tortona 27

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1 | MASTERLY - THE DUTCH IN MILANO piazza dei Mercanti 2

The tables in brass, stone and nickel by designer Nancy Torreele shine in the new location of the exhibition-event given over to Dutch creativity.

2 | SLOWHAND DESIGN THAILAND BY DITP via Tortona 27

The best of Thai design based on the reuse of industrial materials stands out among the most significant Asian presentations in the exhibition “Asian R-Evolution”.

3 | THE NEW RAW viale Molise 62

The Rotterdam-based studio of research and design presents a collection of playful and tactile chairs covered by a continuous thread of recycled plastic sculpted in 3D.

4 | MAISON MARCOUX MEXICO via del Gesù 5

The maison presents the collection Heritage, fruit of the synergy between the ancestral skills of Mexican craft and a contemporary approach to design.

5 | VOLUMEUNO X GIO TIROTTO viale Molise 62

The new Italian kitchen brand Volumeuno tells its story through a series of live performance that depict “dwelling volumes” that are flexible, enveloping and customisable.

6 | BUDAPEST SELECT viale Molise 62

The Hungarian brand makes its debut at design week with collections by 37 designers, linked by expressive research that celebrates harmony between tradition and experimentation.

7 | PIERO LISSONI / SANLORENZO via Festa del Perdono 7

Installation that animates the exhibition-event by Interni in the courtyards of the Statale. La Macchina Impossible reproduces a series of elements of boats from the future.

8 | HANA KARIM via Santa Marta 18

The Slovenian designer reassembles remnants and fragments of crockery; new combinations suggest the value of imperfection, displayed in the collective “Prendete e mangiate”.

9 | FLUENTE E UNUSLAB via Tortona 27

The vision of ceramicists (Fluente) meets manufacturing expertise (Unuslab): giving rise to an outdoor collection in recycled stoneware, based on experiments with 3D printing.

10 | THIRD FLOOR via Tortona 27

The London-based collective lands in Milan with a playful collection entitled Objections. In the photo, a sculpture in terracotta by Israeli artist Adì Adivani.

11 | ASSAB ONE via Privata Assab 1

Designer Giacomo Moor worked with young people from the slums of Mathare, Nairobi to create the furniture featured in the exhibition “Design For Communities”, presented by the NGO Liveinslums.

1 | YAMAHA DESIGN LABORATORY via Maroncelli 14

The design studio of this prestigious brand has come up with a range of furniture and accessories specially devised for musicians to facilitate their practice.

2 | NATHAN YONG

Casa del Pane, Bastioni di Porta Venezia

The designer brings the work Bended onyx to “Future Impact”: a look at Singaporean design orientated towards sustainability, curated by Tony Chambers and Maria Cristina Didero.

3 | EXHIBIT via Bergognone 34

A research platform that identifies democratic design as its focal point. Curated by universities, multidisciplinary collectives and emerging talents.

4 | THIS IS DENMARK viale Molise 62

A dive into the history of of Danish design through the stories of 15 products and companies, protagonists in an experiential exhibition that recreates an evocative natural landscape.

2 | GALERIE PHILIA

San Vittore e Quaranta Martiri, viale Lucania 18

A deconsecrated church hosts Desacralized, an exhibition that explores the meaning of desacralisation with a series of all-white works by around twenty designers.

6 | CENGIZ HARTMANN viale Molise 62

The poetry of the essential: welcome to the world of Cengiz Hartmann, one of the protagonists of the contemporary craft movement, that fills the spaces of a former slaughterhouse.

by Salvatore Peluso