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Milan Design Week 2018: Exhibitions Around Town

By Carla Zimmermann & Megan Dinius - April 24, 2018

Villa Borsani in Varedo This year, for the very first time ever, Villa Borsani opened its doors to the public. Made possible by Design Miami co-founder Ambra Medda, this sumptuous 50s villa located some 12 miles south of Milan mixed architectural brilliance and Italian craftsmanship with pieces from Italian manufacturer Tecno's historic catalogue. 1 of 47

Villa Borsani in Varedo One of the most photographed parts of the villa was perhaps the staircase in the entrance hall – and for good reason. With its carefully sculpted handrail, eclectic detailing and modernist glass railing it very much typifies the design tastes of the Borsani brothers. 2 of 47

Lasvit, "Monster Cabaret" Set in the beautiful Gerolamo Theatre, Lasvit not only took the opportunity to showcase their more traditional products but also took a bold risk to set up what it called the Monster Cabaret. Spread out on the upper balconies of the small theater, 17 artistic collaborations were presented to the public, ranging from Maarten Baas' colorful creatures to darker interpretations of the topic – from star shaped sex-toys by Fabio Novembre to asymmetrical statuettes of Lenin designed by Maxim Velcovsky. 3 of 47

Lasvit, "Monster Cabaret" Also by Czech designer Maxim Velkovsky, was the Cabaret's 'central' installation; a pillar made up of many crystal-covered screens, playing looped news footage. 4 of 47

Interni, "House in Motion": Filippo Taidelli, "Cells"
At the University of Milan, the former General Hospital inside the ancient Bathing Courtyard Filippo Taidello from studio FTA presents an installation about the future of healthcare.
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Interni, "House in Motion": Filippo Taidelli, "Cells"
In conversation with the other, the mirrored cell represents the opposite trend in healtcare future: healthcare becoming virtual. An artificial window in the inside, designed by CoeLuxÒ reproduces the effect of natural sunlight and enhances the virtual atmosphere.
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Interni, "House in Motion": Filippo Taidelli, "Cells"

The second scenario of healthcare in the future - an interior design that develops more and more into a domestic space, focusing primarily on the well-being of the patient – is represented by a completely transparent cell that should integrate nature into the patient's life.
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Konstantin Grcic for Magis, "Chess" Magis and Konstantin Grcic presented their new drawer units in a playful way to break with the strict and robust office-like typology of the furniture. Offered for the moment in two contrasting colours, the redesigned units were humorously set up through the space as pieces of chess. 8 of 47

Konstantin Grcic for Magis, "Chess" Created in close collaboration with Italian metal furniture company Fami, Grcic made careful alterations to the units; lifting them with a deep-set oak base plinth and tactile oak handles to make them better suited to a domestic setting.

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Calico Wallpaper & Lindsey Adelman, "Beyond the Deep" Both based in New York, Adelman and Calico discovered by chance that they were both working on a similar topic, so they decided to join forces for an exhibition, exploring the chemical reaction of salt with different surfaces. The lights from Adelman and the Wallpaper from Calico come together to a symbiosis of light and interior design. 10 of 47

Dutch Invertuals, "Mutant Matter" Titled Mutant Matter, Dutch Invertuals presented their group exhibition sharing the common theme of material exploration. 11 of 47

Dutch Invertuals, "Mutant Matter": Zwartframe design collective, "Conflict" Conflict, two works by design collective Zwartframe worked on the different dilatation coefficients of steel and HDPE, physically putting the two materials into conflict, resulting in open-ended designs. 12 of 47

ECAL x Formlabs, "Digital Market" Located in their habitual Spazio d'Orso 16, the ECAL university hosted a Digital Market. Together with Formlabs and many well-known designers they presented 3d-printed accessories – to be printed, exhibited and sold in-situ.

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ECAL x Formlabs, "Digital Market" Ranging from a tape dispenser by Industrial Facility to cufflinks by Alberto Meda, the designs on offer at the Digital Market were all produced non-stop by a group of Form 2 SLA printers. 14 of 47

Vitra, "Typecasting. An Assembly of Iconic, Forgotten and New Vitra Characters"
Organized in communities based on different characters—Communals, Compulsive Organizers, Slashers, Dreamers, Beauty Contestants, Dating Site Encounters, Spartans, Restless, Athletes—Vitra showcased 200 objects carefully chosen by curator Robert Stadler from their archives and catalog. 15 of 47

Vitra, "Typecasting. An Assembly of Iconic, Forgotten and New Vitra Characters" The Sofa "Lake" by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, a prototype from 2018 for Vitra was showcased as part of the 'Communals' group. 16 of 47

Vitra, "Typecasting. An Assembly of Iconic, Forgotten and New Vitra Characters" Also shown as part of the selection were molds and prototypes such as the "La Chaise Mould" by Charles & Ray Eames from 1989/90, which is part of the Vitra Design Museum Collection. 17 of 47

Damn & Mosca Partners, The Litta Variations: 4th Edition Skeleton of a chair by Brazilian furniture company Sollos. 18 of 47

Damn & Mosca Partners, The Litta Variations: 4th Edition ABCD seats by Takeyari and Faye Toogood for Japan Creative 19 of 47

Damn & Mosca Partners, The Litta Variations: 4th Edition The visitor gets invited to the rooms of the Palazzo upstairs by the dynamically shaped motorcycle "Samotracia" designed by Mario Trimarchi for De Castelli. 20 of 47

Damn & Mosca Partners, The Litta Variations: 4th Edition "Le Sfere di Gino Sarfatti" belongs to the collection FLOS with Sarfatti – a collaboration between Astep and FLOS that is a tribute to the leading Italian light designer Gino Sarfatti.
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WeWork x Hay x Sonos at Palazzo Clerici Pastel-colored room dividers highlight different furniture arrangements set out for dining, working and living. 22 of 47

WeWork x Hay x Sonos at Palazzo Clerici
Pastel-colored room dividers highlight different furniture arrangements set out for dining, working and living. 23 of 47

WeWork x Hay x Sonos at Palazzo Clerici: The Hay Kitchen Market Mette Hay and Frederik Bille Brahe picked pieces for a kitchen collection deemed useful for today's kitchen. Parts of this collection were shown in beautiful arrangements throughout the palazzo's rooms. 24 of 47

Doppio Firma: Erik Spiekerman and Silvio Antiga Villa Mozart opened its doors this year to play host to the third edition of Doppio Firma – exhibiting the collaborations between the best Italian artisans and 13 international designers. 25 of 47

Doppio Firma: Philippe Tabet and Sergio Boldrin Some collaborations played with more traditional Italian typologies such as Philippe Tabet's reinterpretations of Comedia dell'Arte masks, produced together with Venetian mask maker Sergio Boldrin. As a reference to their 'medical' symbolism, Tabet integrated air filters into the mask, surpassing its decorative function. 26 of 47

Lexus Design Awards 2018
This year's Lexus installation, designed by Sota Ichikawa, focused on the visitor's senses, choosing the prefix "Co-" as the main theme. They presented their new LF-1 concept car and the 2018 nominees for the Lexus Design Awards. 27 of 47

WonderGlass, "Kosmos": "Through the Clouds" by Fornasetti
For this year's Salone, WonderGlass presented its exhibition Kosmos at Spazio Krizia. The highlight was Atelier Fornasetti's installation "Through the Clouds", specially designed for WonderGlass. Inspired by a daydream the blown glass clouds float in front of a handmade metal and mirror structure. 28 of 47

WonderGlass, "Kosmos": Alcova collection by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec designed a collection of handcrafted geometrical glass objects.
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Plusdesign Gallery, "U-Joints. Equations of Universal Lifestyle"

In the beautiful industrial location of Plusdesign Gallery in the east of Milan a Salone must-see was shown—an exhibition examining a designer's most pressing issue: joints. The curators Andrea Caputo and Anniina Koivu showed 50 prototypes, acquisitions and products surrounding the large topic of joints. 30 of 47

Plusdesign Gallery, "U-Joints. Equations of Universal Lifestyle"

Traditional Chinese brackets and assembly systems used for temple roof corners. 31 of 47

Plusdesign Gallery, "U-Joints. Equations of Universal Lifestyle"

From handmade knots to industrial joints and designer's experiments—the exhibition showed a broad variety of binding pieces. 32 of 47

Nendo, "Forms of Movement" One of the many cabinets filled with prototypes for Nendo's movement-based research. 33 of 47

Nendo, "Forms of Movement"
Furniture elements from Nendo's "bouncy layers" furniture collection for Chinese manufacturer KUKA. 34 of 47

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Wallpaper* Handmade, "Wellness & Wonder": Fruit Altars by Gabriel Tan Studio
This year's Handmade edition was a commissioned collection around the topic of well-being. 36 of 47

Wallpaper* Handmade, Curtain of Calm by Paco Rabanne & Office Kersten Geers Often seen this year were room dividers like the Curtain of Calm—a theatrical interpretation of a room dividing device. Made of metal, it is designed to shield you from everyday stresses.

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Wallpaper* Handmade, Disco Gufram collection Going back to its playful roots, the night-life inspired collection by Gufram comprises pieces of Atelier Biagetti and Rotganzen that create a funky experience.
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Wallpaper* Handmade, "Le Roi" by Marc Ange for Sunbrella
This year's Marc Ange presentation uses Sunbrella's dark blue fabric in an regal installation to launch his new Refuge lamps. 39 of 47

Google, "Softwear" at Rossana Orlandi
The debut of Google at the Milan Design Week was imagined by Ivy Ross and curated by Lidewij Edelkoort who envisioned a similar technology scenario similar to this in 1998. 40 of 47

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Kvadrat x Really, "Circular by Design"
The raw fibers from one of the recycled materials by Really was an acoustic textile felt. 42 of 47

Kvadrat x Really, "Circular by Design"
The raw fibers from one of the recycled materials by Really was an acoustic textile felt. 43 of 47

Design Academy Eindhoven, "Not for Sale": "Piazza Morbegno, 5 (Not for sale.)" The Design Academy Eindhoven, together with its new director Joseph Grima and co-curator Tamar Shafrir, placed a selection of their student's designs in different shops along Via Pietro Crespi. 44 of 47

Design Academy Eindhoven, "Not for Sale": "Piazza Morbegno, 5 (Not for sale.)" Embedded in the local environment, the student's creations make a bold appearance. The Monade Capsule by Alice Bleton sits on top of the local market hall, enhancing the architectural qualities of the before then unused space. 45 of 47

Dassault Systemes, "Design in the Age of Experience": Kengo Kuma, "Breath/ng" More known for their engineering and modelling software, Dassault Systemes used this year's edition of the Salone to tackle the topic of air pollution. One of the selected solutions was a large origami sculpture, designed by Kengo Kuma. Entitled Breath/ng, this installation was made out of special air-purifying fabric. 46 of 47

Alcova: Nilufar Gallery x Odd Matter, "Guise" Located in a former Panettone factory in the northern disctrict of Milan, Alcova, a new space for design, opened its doors to a mix of galleries, designers and artists. 47 of 47

Many people we spoke with during this year's edition of Salone del Mobile in Milan said this year was the busiest yet, and they may be right. With new locations popping up, Villas opening their doors to the public for the very first time and mega-exhibitions held in honor of a select few lucky designers, there was more than enough for everyone to experience. Here are but some of the many highlights from this past week.