The Salone 2015
edition is now completed, giving us the best of the
best yet to come from the design industry and beyond. The biggest design
event of the planet, presenting and influencing all areas of the design process,
from scratch paper to business plan , from initial idea to production line,
from seller to buyer, from the design team to final user end, from closed
studio walls to the public. Great things
did happen this year, as expected, keeping the standards as high as ever,
introducing new design forces, reassuring the design established,
re-discovering the old and interesting by heading to the new and promising.
Here are some of the highlights, (according to the
A4D-D4A design gospel), focus points and brands who really make an impact this
year, with a complete and interesting exhibit package:
Euroluce, the international lighting
exhibition key stands:
Llum Democratic Design sl, (also featuring Omio), Spain
Spain seriously hit a chord this year, being
entirely present with a strong core of exhibitors all over Salone, but in lighting design they were some more-than-pleasant surprises,
like the ceramic hanging lights by Omio,
attracting the eye, among many others in the company’s catalog, with their memorable eco-feel , their
exquisite form and intelligent technical orientation. A very noticeable
manufacturer and a design team evolving the Mediterranean lighting design
tradition to a whole new different level. Lights with beauty and brains.
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| Hanging lights by OMIO |
Michael Anastassiades Ltd, UK
Prodigious
designer and engineer, Michael Anastassiades
chose to showcase his lighting ventures this year, raising again the
eyebrows of the design community by his perfectionism, his philosophy and his ability to translate our very basic
existential equations to lighting objects. A true designer by definition , explores
entirely the contemporary possibilities of artificial lighting, in a
wonderfully executed wooden space-stand in Euroluce, and the result is captivating. Real,
so –close-to-natural -lights ,designed for human beings.
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M.Anastassiades' space at Euroluce
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Artemide Architectural, France
It’s
impossible to visit the Salone and ignore corners like the Artemide Architectural space. A team of the most prestigious
designers and architects unite with the high-tech savvy and the most innovative
technical deliberation by far. The science of light resides here, together with
exclusivity in design and state-of-the art production and manufacturing. The
collections, the corporate projects, the open discussions, the lighting objects
themselves- everything races literally under light speed. Fascinating,
invigorating, embracing the new, Artemide
is a company of the world. Sigh and respect.
www.artemide.com
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| Jean Nouvel creates for Artemide Architectural |
Ingo Maurer GmbH, Germany
Last, but
not least, an exhibitor’s space which really left its mark on this current
edition of Euroluce
2015, very cleverly situated as a welcome-point, at a strategic spot
, next to the entrance of pavilion 15 (the first to visit from the west gate of
Milan Fiera). Ingo Maurer is a legend, but he can also be extremely up-to
date. The company’s team in the
reception , the visitor’s transparent navigation throughout the stand, the
presentations of the fascinating lights in the space and in the catalogs, all
possible aspects were celebrating unpretentiously
the ideas and the products of this
unique designer- brand name. Fair to declare the most relevant and dominant design figure of the Euroluce show.
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| Campari Bar table lamp - Ingo Maurer GmbH |
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| Ingo's Light "dining table" at Euroluce |
Parallel event: FAVILLA
This year the Salone del Mobile.Milano wanted
to leave its luminous trace on the city again, with the event “FAVILLA. To Every Light a Voice”, dedicated to
Milan and to all the visitors to Design Week. The installation, signed by
architect Attilio Stocchi, is a homage to light, celebrated this year by the
biennial Euroluce exhibition at the Salone
del Mobile, but also by UNESCO, which
has proclaimed 2015 the International Year of Light
and Light-based Technologies. The narrative
illustrates the characteristics of light movement, through a series of images
from nature, in a very poetic and deeply philosophical way. The construction of
the dome hosting the projection was curated by Ford
Design.
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| Favilla: The Black shell (the entrance) |
Workplace 3.0, the international
workspace exhibition key people and elements:
The world of work unveiled many different
possibilities for workspace design this year. A turn to generate creative
productivity at work: new materials or new uses for old ones , bold color
schemes and shapes, economic solutions and ergo-“green”-omic ideas, put the
puzzle of the industry together. Noted stands-exhibitors , among many, Habic-
Asociatión Cluster del Sector del Hábitat, Spain and Swedish Design Goes Milan 2015, Sweden.
Key event: THE
WALK- LA PASSEGGIATA
The remarkable project by architect Michele De Lucchi, “is a huge event born from the incomparable
sensitivity and vision of the architect
, a stunning interpretation of work charged with a new and deep emotion. A
journey, or rather a walk, through the style and art of life, the quality of
living”, (Roberto Snaidero,
President of Salone del Mobile.Milano).
M. De Lucchi bridged the industrial with the artisan, the
homely with the avant-garde , the traditional with the contemporary ,
showcasing the potential of a continental, fluid workspace for the next
generations to come. His organic perception includes nothing that can turn a
human unhappy anymore in the actual environment, most accused to cause
discomfort to the majority of our fellow citizens: our work place. Love, creativity and work are no longer
unabridged or distant notions between each other.
“The situation necessitates a re-look at how and where
office work is done creating new opportunities for the design of our work
tools, the composition and humanization of our work environments and most
importantly to re-think how all of this will ultimately influence and change
the regeneration and growth of our urban development”. (Michele De
Lucchi, Nicholas Bewick).
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| The Walk from the top |
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| The Walk: a section view |
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| The Walk: a shortcut |
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| The Walk: a side view |
Design-Modern-SaloneSatellite: Important features
Japan Furniture Industry Development
Association, Japan
The Association
presents three exceptional companies in Milan this year: Hida Sangyo Co. Ltd, Karimoku
Furniture Inc. and Shirakawa Corporation. Karimoku New
Standard exhibition propels the principals of traditional Japanese
furniture design to a whole new level, creating a modern, flawless, final
product and a mesmerizing effect. Karimoku re-invents
home
furniture DNA, as Japanese design does the last 65 years, setting
the trends for the Salone future editions and offering serious food-for
-(design)-thought. Destined to be worshiped by the public and instantly becoming
an icon for the western design world.
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| Karimoku Chairs x 2 |
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| Karimoku dining space |
VITEO GmbH, Austria
Great
outdoor furniture, home furniture or both? Austrian design can be perceived as plain
German design with a twist, only that in certain companies, this is not
necessarily the case. VITEO embraces everything that good, joyful design can
be, focusing on the dual nature of outdoor furniture, making it even more
attractive for the user-client. Very
clever applications and patents allover the design process and execution, underline
a quality company, with flair, taste and solutions. Certainly a distinguished ,
smart stand , fierce among some major players.
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| VITEO: chill corner |
A LOT OF brasil, Brasil
This year
A LOT OF brasil (Alessandro Mendini, Borek Sipek, Fernando and
Humberto Campana, Fabio Novembre, Nika Zupanc, Paolo Ulian,Pininfarina, Karim
Rashid, Vico Magistretti, Pedro Franco)collaborates with Campana brothers studio (Estudio
Campana) in a space designed by Brazil’s most famous design-dynamic duo. The
result is a super interesting series of metallic furniture, The Estrela Collection, exhibited in
the space and of course a direct contact with the spirit and the very essence
of Brazilian design: alternative materials, cutting edge technology,
craftsmanship in mass production, affordable, sophisticated design with a
“sustainable heart”, made in Brazil.
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| The Estrela Collection: 3 pieces |
Vitra International AG,
Switzerland
Vitra’s exhibition point in Salone 2015 edition was a feast, a design festival ,
packed with hearty people , ventures and talks, coming from every possible
corner of the globe. A media magnet and right so, Vitra explored every possibility to communicate adequately and
overachieved in effort to engage the visitor. Success guaranteed. A great Salone
shortcut , with a collection called Novelties
2015- older designs of larger-than-life designers revisited (such as the Eames plastic side chair and armchair in
new height and colours- available from June 2016), Vitra was declared unanimously the Design Republic of the Salone, a
real D-emocracy .
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| Vitra: a perspective view of the space |
Kartell, Italy
The name Kartell is synonymous of a certain
Status Quo, reflecting the design choice of a social elite. In the Salone 2015
series Kartell assembles again the
golden team of international design services (Antonio Citterio, Patricia Urquiola, Philippe Starck, Ferruccio Laviani
and Ron Arad among others) ,
creating a fusion of objects, styles and aesthetics. Its voluptuous space leaves a vivid impression, with a corporate
feel and an overflowing, intense energy.
A master manufacturer of molds, the company incorporates five individual
sectors-catalogs (Home, fashion, tableware, fragrances and bathroom: alias.Kartell by Laufen), all illustrious. Glamour equals Kartell.
Complimentary event >IN ITALY: The space and The App
The country’s best, the “sacred cow” of Italian design numbers 62 companies participating in this project. There was an App to help discover them all
with just one click. IN ITALY has brought together a group of visionary
entrepreneurs for the first time to tell the world about themselves and their
professional achievements in Italy’s diverse design and manufacturing sector.
Where was China
in the Salone del Mobile 2015?
There was no Chinese representation in the Salone
del Mobile 2015. The reason is very simple. European design biggest
competitor and replicator throws the 21st International Furniture Expo in
Pudong, Shanghai, on September 2015. Its moto? “Sourcing for the Best Value from 3000 exhibitors”. Under current economic
turbulence, China re-addresses budgets
and promises reduced costs on the basis of a so-called “fair-trade platform”
for the whole furniture industry chain. Interested? Online Pre-registration
Access on:
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| Furniture China 2015: the exhibition poster at the Rho Fiera Metro |
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE 2015 EDITION OF SALONE DEL MOBILE.MILANO? PLEASE DO
NOT HESITATE TO ASK ANY INFORMATION YOU NEED! MANY MORE RELATED NEWS WILL
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UNTIL NEXT YEAR…
ENJOY?-))
