Set within the city’s High Fashion District, the industrial club has plenty of interesting things to look at, not the least of which is the 01, a compact crossover plug-in hybrid featuring a 177-horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine and an 80-horsepower electric motor. Though it’s available for purchase, the main appeal of the 01 is Lynk & Co’s monthly subscription service, which grants you use of the vehicle whenever you need it without worrying about things like insurance and maintenance. The car can also be borrowed for shorter periods. It’s designed to appeal to a broad range of tastes, and it offers all the functionality most people need in an urban vehicle.

A partnership between Chinese company Geely and the Swedish Volvo, Lynk & Co knew that people curious about renting or borrowing the 01 vehicle would want a chance to see it in person, but they didn’t want it to feel like visiting your neighborhood Toyota dealer. They decided to bring the car to the people who will use it most — those located in large cities — instead of opening a larger public facility in a more suburban location.

Designed in collaboration with Gothenburg-based studio New Order Arkitektur, the company’s Milan location is the tenth such club to open in the past few years. The interiors repeat some motifs like a cocktail bar and a signature mustard yellow sofa, but it also boasts elements that are distinctly Milanese. A neon “whirlpool light” wraps around a column in the center of the mostly concrete space, which is also outfitted with stylish furniture, a curving lamppost sculpture by local brand Seletti, and the Lynk & Co 01 set under a skylight.

The Tarot Room offers guests a chance to look into the future, and the Candy Shop Toilet encloses sweets within glass tubes, with everything else in the restroom painted a lurid pink. The company’s commitment to sustainability is also on display in the form of recycled materials and objects for sale that hew to the same vision (like Triwa watches with recycled plastic straps). A wood-clad meeting room is lined with reproductions of famous Milanese art. Runways also weave through the space, paying homage to Milan’s reputation as a center of the fashion world.

Previously, Lynk & Co opened a second club in Barcelona designed by Masquespacio. That space was designed to evoke “a world of utopias,” drawing in curious passersby on the well-trafficked Paseo de Grácia with big, colorful sculptural elements visible through the front windows. Other clubs are located in Gothenburg, Antwerp, Rome, Berlin, and Amsterdam, with a new location coming soon in Dusseldorf. Lynk & Co seems to be focused on Europe for now, but CEO Alain Visser has said the company sees market opportunities in U.S. states like New York and California.

“Being present in Milan means not only being part of a beautiful city that renews itself on a daily basis, but it also means entering a fabric where the community that lives there pulsates with ideas: with our club and the events we will organize here,” says Visser. “We want to give space to all those people who want to change their concept of mobility and lifestyle. It’s important to have fun while driving towards a more sustainable future.”

The post Lynk & Co’s Milan Club is a Sustainable Hub for Creative Car Lovers first appeared on Dornob.

What will characterize our own time on Earth? Sadly, it seems like the most enduring thing we’ll leave behind is trillions of plastic particles that will still be present in every corner of the globe 1,000 years from now. London architecture firm Vatraa makes this point in vivid fashion with “The Plastic Monument,” a roughly 21-foot-tall Stonehenge replica standing in a plaza in southern Milan. Winner of National Geographic’s 2019 “Planet or Plastic” design competition, the sculpture is made out of 16,000 recycled plastic bottles.

“Taking the form of a trilithon, one of the oldest forms of structure inherited from our ancestors, the monument draws the attention to the consequences of our actions in the long run, to the fact that what we are doing today might stay on Earth forever,” say the architects. “The installation poses a stark contrast between a single-use, disposable material and the eternity of the trilithon. Made of pressed PET bottle bales — the raw material for the plastic recycling plants – it educates the public into the recycling process by illustrating its first steps, just before the material is shredded, washed, and melted into new bottles.”

Thousands of crushed bottles are held together in three stone slab-like rectangular shapes made of wire mesh, making it clear that the “monument” is made of single-use plastic trash. It sits on two solid steel blocks as a foundation and stands just slightly smaller than the real Stonehenge. That enables it to stand up to strong winds — and be disassembled for display in other cities in the future.

“When we think of what our ancestors left to us, we think of real assets made of brick or stone, like the pyramids, the Colosseum, or Stonehenge,” says Bogdan Rusu, founding partner at Vatraa. “But part of our legacy to the next generation might also be plastic waste…Hundreds of years down the line our great-great-great grandchildren might find disposable plastic items that we just got rid of today because it was so convenient to us.”

If you find that to be a depressing thought, then the monument has done its job. Whether our actual contemporary architectural creations someday become their own “ancient monuments” may not matter. Even if humanity survives the coming climate catastrophe, future generations will likely think of us in terms of the pollution we contributed to the planet rather than our more admirable achievements.

The Plastic Monument will remain on display in Milan until next October, when Vatraa hopes it will embark upon a world tour to spread awareness about the consequences of our collective actions.

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This concept was recently brought to new life with the collaboration between Italian architect and designer Gaetano Pesce and the uber-luxe Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta during their SS23 collection showcase at this year’s Milan Fashion Week. Pesce and his team hand-crafted a whopping 400 technicolor chairs specifically for the event.

The chairs’ aesthetics are as unique as Faberge eggs, each one a rainbow-colored dream of swirling colors. While some of the seats evoke stoic marble and mountains of multicolored candy, others are decorated with hand-drawn designs depicting Bottega Veneta accessories — all one-of-a-kind objet d’art meant not only to be admired, but to be an integral part of the fashion show.

Entitled “Come Stai?,” the collection served as actual seating for the show’s attendees, themselves an active contrast to the swirling shades of the floor beneath. And like fashion itself, the chairs serve a multi-layered purpose. Meant to highlight the underlying theme of diversity in fashion, Pesce’s colorful handmade chairs make a powerful statement on mass production, and how devastating carbon-copy furniture reproductions can be to a piece’s individuality.

As Pesce explained during an on-set conversation, “We are all originals, and this is one of the themes to my design.” He also emphasized the importance of flow and change in design as opposed to the stagnation that can result from commercial reproduction, adding, “as a designer, I make originals, not standardized series.”

“Form, function, and thought are necessary for design and art,” Pesce said before unveiling the first of the 400 “Come Stai?” chairs. The collection will go on to find new life in an exhibition at Design Miami 2022, and the individual chairs will eventually be made available for purchase.

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The poetic vision of Studio noa* treats the library like a modern Garden of Eden wherein knowledge may be found. The look of the library from afar is meant to be almost like a mirage, too strange and beautiful to be real. Passersby in the park are tempted to approach and see what this unusual building is all about, drawing them into a world of books in the process. The lushly vegetated library design seamlessly blends into its parkland environment, and although the facility features a total of nine floors, all are accessible via a ribbon-like walkway that leads from the ground level all the way up.

The library is crowned by a circular study room for 300 people with a 360-degree view of Milan. To reach it, guests ascend an elevator contained within a glass tower of books, rising from the building’s layered levels into the open air before reaching the ring-shaped floating element. This ring is flanked on either side by billowing structures resembling trees or giant mushrooms. All around them, green roofs undulate, segueing into both open-air outdoor spaces and protected interiors.

“The project’s starting point was the research into the meaning, usage, and features of a 21st-century library,” the firm explains. “Studio noa* reimagined it as a hub of creativity, aiming to create a stimulating environment for freeing the mind and acquiring new knowledge. As a prerogative, a relaxed and quiet atmosphere, as an added value, the possibility of moving in a hybrid environment breeding new ideas, where the line between inside and outside becomes blurred. Therefore, the design of a complex architectural structure was flanked by the creation of the natural landscape, which permeates all spaces.”

“It feels like climbing a tree after having walked through a lush garden. And not by chance, since the archetype that inspired the team of architects is the Garden of Eden, where the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil grows. The biblical episode linked to it is perhaps one of the narratives philosophers have drawn on most to portray humanity. According to Hegel, by eating the forbidden apple from the Tree of Knowledge, Eve was the first person to stand apart from the animals, acquiring consciousness and intentionality in doing. When Eve became interested in the unknown, paraphrasing, libraries found their raison d’être. On the roof of the BEIC, Studio noa* wanted to recreate an earthly Eden, where to celebrate the beauty of knowledge and continually encourage people to reach out to unknown worlds.”

Check out more visionary projects by Studio noa*, including a geometric modular building system, a stunning modern bed and breakfast in Italy, and a theatrical spa in the Alps.

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Below are some of the top design trends to keep an eye on in the coming months, all courtesy of Milan Design Week:

Sustainability Stars

As mentioned above, one of the major themes of Design Week this year was sustainability, a trend that’s already been big in the design world for some time now. And just like we’ve seen sustainability emerge as a major concern in both the fashion and architecture spheres, we’re now beginning to see a similar shift in focus in the world of interior design. From the RO Guiltless Plastic initiative showcasing emerging artists who turn “trash into treasure,” to top talents such as Martino Gamper and Dimorestudio focusing on greener production processes and an awareness of longer-lasting and more eco-friendly materials, sustainability was definitely the star of the show this year in Milan.

Taking It Slow

The next big trend is complementary to a focus on sustainability, and it’s a further reflection of the industry’s desire to examine its own habits. Dubbed “slow living” or “slow homes,” it’s an offshoot of the slow living movement. Here too, the focus is on interior design. With an eye toward promoting more eco-conscious consumption, this trend is causing brands to rethink their materials, production processes, and overall lifecycles of the products they release— a less consumption = less waste credo in direct response to an environmentally destructive throwaway society. This year, TAPIS Studio nailed this trend with a lovely rug collection made from recycled biodegradable fibers.

Surrealist Savvy

In recent years, popular interior design trends have emerged that highlight our need to create homes that are not only livable and comfortable, but that promote an escape from reality (think emotional decor and “alternative realities” design trends). While this may be a response to pandemic lockdowns and an increased blending of work/home realities, the desire to escape our reality and disconnect from the outside world is manifesting itself in a number of aesthetics now.

At Milan Design Week, this came in the form of surrealism. Think dream-like, sometimes absurdist objects; bright, vivid, and outside the norm pop culture color palettes; and a riotous, carefree mix of fabrics and patterns — in short, whatever makes you feel good. For inspo, see Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari’s giant, huggable cat dubbed “Pet Therapy,” and CHROMATIK HOUSE’s vivid creations that look more like candy than furniture.

The post These 3 Trends Took Milan Design Week 2022 By Storm first appeared on Dornob.

Located on the Via Dell’Orso in Milan, the plain white exterior belies the vibrantly painted scene inside. Sticking with the chain’s pool-changing-room aesthetic, the design company’s co-founders Christophe Penasse and Ana Hernández contained the subway-style tiles to small segments of the walls, filling in the remainder of the roughly 1500 square feet with chunks of daffodil yellow, mossy green, ballet pink, and luxuriant lavender.

Although the colors aren’t as bold as the studio’s norm, the firm explains that “this time …the palette is a bit less splashy, to give it a more mature look and adapt it to the historic (Brera) neighborhood where the new Bun is located.”

The architectural details begin with decorative arches that frame each dining booth, creating cozy eating compartments with seatbacks made of upholstered circles, and wooden tables trimmed in gold.

“Goldish touches are one of the elements that make it more sophisticated,” said co-founder and marketing director Christophe Penasse. “We used dry plants for this space to add this more mature touch.”

Terrazzo tiles shift in color across the floor, following the flow of the rooms, while playful portholes in the booths echo the globe lighting throughout the diner.

This is the second Bun burger location that Masquespacio has tricked out for the company. The artists created a swimming pool-esque feel for the first (Located on Milan’s Viale Bligny) through a mix of olive and lilac tiles.

Masquespacio’s designers took the pool room idea one step further with this build though, creating an entire eating space encased in iridescent mirroring on the ceiling and top half of the walls, and gray subway tiles below. A pool ladder mounted on the wall completes the impression. “The outcome became a place to discover where a mirrored effect recreates the feeling of being surrounded by waves of water,” their website says.

Penasse adds that “while you can find an evolution of the swimming pool concept we used previously… here has a completely new approach for which we try to recreate the waves and blurry effect of being under the water.”

The restaurant’s serving bay is delineated from the rest of the restaurant by its green walls, counters, and floor. Mirrored tiles cover the ceiling here too, casting green above patrons as they choose their smashed-style burger of choice.

The collaboration between Bun burgers and the Valencia-based designers has been so successful that they’ve already announced plans for a third partnering for a branch in Turin.

Masquespacio (Spanish for “More Than Space”) was founded by Hernández and Penasse over a decade ago and has since won numerous design awards for projects in locations around the world. Most recently, the company was named “Young Talent of The Year” in 2020 by Elle Decoration International Magazine and awarded “Interior Designers of The Year” in 2019 by the Spanish edition of The New York Times’ T Magazine. Their continued mission is to “draw a smile on your face and make you feel excited every time we present a new creation.”

The post Bun: Italian Burger Joint Serves Up Stunning Pastel Interiors first appeared on Dornob.

The collection marks 10 years of collaboration with Nilufar and its founder, Nina Yashar, and presents new pieces alongside older works. Crystallizing the various cultural influences that inspired the designer, these lamps, cabinets, desks, headboards, and other objects are rendered in curvaceous glass, wood veneer, and CNC-milled aluminum.

Pondering how the pandemic has led many people to feel a deepened appreciation for their personal spaces, Wood uses the visuals of the British Aesthetic Movement and Art Nouveau to translate the intimacy and sensuality of a woman’s boudoir to each piece. Describing the boudoir as a “private space for both spiritual contemplation and physical cultivation,” Wood invites the viewer to “travel through her mind’s eye” to past travel destinations like Europe, Mexico, California, and East Asia to see the colorful textiles, ceramics, and glasswork that inspired her.

“Quite often, a man’s collection of wooden spoons is somehow seen as a more legitimate collection than a woman’s collection of jewelry,” Wood told Dezeen. “But jewelry has, in the past, been one of the key ways for women to show a point of view and identity and embrace a political standpoint. So I like the idea of taking those small elements off the body and using them as an anchor point to create ‘jewelry’ for larger architectural spaces.”

It’s hard to choose the most compelling pieces from the lot, especially since they’re all so unique and unusual, further cementing Wood’s personal artistic aesthetic as one-of-a-kind. The “Ornate bedhead” is a standout, however, with its assemblage of metallic squiggles, alongside matching Ornate sconces. The two Meisen cabinets, large and small, began as a way to equate furniture hardware to jewelry, but later morphed into undulating ripples of hand-painted veneer inspired by the Ikat weaving seen in Meisen kimonos.

The floral Wisteria sconce, made with hand-dyed PVC, drips with blooms in shades of blue, purple, and red. A series of more abstracted floral lamps, like “Bon Bon” and “Criss Cross-Bloom,” were designed as part of a commission by Design Miami Basel Designer of the Future award, and inspired by a need to slow down foot traffic to elevators at the W hotel Mexico. Wood imagined that sculptural sconces in the long hallways and staircases resembling the graphical displays of flowers seen in Mexican folk art might inspire people to pause and examine how the colors of the glass change when viewed at different heights and from various angles.

Known just as much for her iconic personal style as for her work, Bethan Laura Wood founded her multidisciplinary design studio in 2009. Artisan collaboration, investigation of materials, a passion for color, and location-responsive design enrich her vision of everyday objects as cultural conduits and instigators of emotional connections.

The post Bethan Laura Wood’s Boudoir-Inspired Furniture Celebrates Feminine Ornamentation first appeared on Dornob.

Resting on a bed of orange sand to mimic the feel of being in the desert, five organically shaped “houses” set the stage for the new Hermés collection, along with a selection of objects and fabrics by other designers. A team of set designers working for La Scala aided frequent Hermés collaborator Charlotte Macaux Perelman in the creation of an immersive environment that makes you feel as if you’ve traveled to remote places to discover finely crafted treasures.

The designers took inspiration from traditional cultures that build their vernacular architecture out of earth, lime, or plaster and paint the exteriors by hand. Checkerboard patterns, diagonal lines, plaids, and other motifs commonly found in Hermés designs enlarge graphic design to the scale of architecture, begging the question of why we’ve collectively gotten ourselves into such an artless contemporary architecture rut. The structures envision a new trend in which organic materials are complemented by modern prints on all sorts of exteriors.

But of course, this little village is just the beginning of the experience. As a custom soundscape plays softly in the background, visitors navigating the space duck into each house to view objects emphasizing connections between materials: the softness of an armchair made of paper-based microfiber, and a white cashmere blanket contrasting the solidity of a chiseled stone table. Among these is an organically shaped chair by Studio Mumbai with a hand-varnished and hand-painted wooden frame, described by the brand as “robust, sensual, and totemic.”

Other items in the collection include Sialk table centerpieces crafted from copper foil and colored with stenciled enamels, colorful Phi boxes arranged to echo the proportions of the golden ratio, vases, trays, stools, and porcelain dinnerware. Those of us who didn’t get to the event in person still won’t get a sense of the physicality of the objects, of course, but the exhibit marks a desire to find a balance between the digital and the tangible.

“This year, materials continue to be a major focus for the new home collections,” says Hermés. “Through their intrinsic characteristics, they determine the shape of a line, a type of motif, a creation. They are vibrant and express something that is built up, that “demands” a transformation and encourages new uses. The new collections play on raw and natural materials, incorporating unique fields of know-how.”

They add that “oscillating between tradition and innovation, know-how is a fundamental part of the creative process. Pushing back their limits and reinventing unique know-how by working with leather, textiles, metals, and stone while ensuring precise lines: the inquisitive soul of the artisan dreams of useful objects that transcend time. The new collections embrace the simplicity of an elegance that gives way to refinement and comfort.”

The post Hermès Creates a Hand-Painted Indoor Village for Milan Design Week 2021 first appeared on Dornob.

As part of “Missed Your Call,” Design Academy Eindhoven’s graduate exhibition at the annual Italian showcase, Latvian native Santa Kupča presented her “Decrypted Garments” on three large screens, highlighting “how the virtual world is forever morphing fleeting images around us.”

Kupča says on her website that as she designed during the pandemic, she realized that even the digital world is not without restrictions. As she encountered errors, bugs, and “server not found” messages, the online platform felt like its “own kind of lockdown.”

“I feel a sensation of being in an abandoned paradise, and the only way to reside there is to adapt,” she explains. “I created a digital runway for a fashion show that embraces these glitches and exists as monument for lockdown fashion. In absence of a human body, eight garments seem to live their own life in this virtual realm.”

Using clothing, shoes, and bags from her own personal collection, the Amsterdam-based artist generated 3D scans of eight different getups. She then tweaked color schemes, patterns, and outlines with the help of modeling software.

“The garments are inspired by renaissance silhouettes, setting an interpretation of modern gothic with robust and rough structures,” Kupča says. “Each piece in the collection is fragmented and asymmetric to emphasize how errors and distortion can often lead to unexpected beauty.”

Her inspiration for this collection of cyber-fashion stems from childhood memories of online games and communities like like Habbo and Habia World. “The theme appeared when I got my first computer at 11 years old and found out about [online] chatrooms like Habbo,” Kupča told Dezeen in an interview. “It was a lot about changing your clothes and making your home. I would dream about owning these virtual dresses and think I must have them in my own wardrobe.”

It’s no wonder Kupča drew so heavily on the gaming world for the aesthetic of her Decrypted Garments pieces, which she animated for their Milan Design Week showcase to make them look like they were being worn by invisible models strutting down a runway. The outfits sway and move in hundreds of accentuated pixels, even showing off dance moves in some scenes. She adds that “visually it has connections to Minecraft. It’s about glitches and errors, the shapes could become anything.”

The fashion designer was never interested in reproducing ultra-realistic looking digital clothing for this project. “It’s interesting to see how you can recreate fabric from the real world but maybe there’s a different kind of fabric in the digital world. It’s similar with art; centuries ago, people would recreate an apple in a painting exactly how an apple looks,” Kupča says. “The beginning of digital fashion is quite similar, brands are trying to mimic fabric, but we could go crazy with it.”

Kupča studied at the Riga School of Design and Art in Latvia before moving to the Netherlands to continue her education at the Design Academy Eindhoven. She tries to allow society as a whole to inform her work. She says: “I look forward to finding the essence of certain social phenomena and culture differences in trends and what connects us all, and to expand upon it with my perception.”

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Furniture artists from the Tokyo-based Nendo Inc. were one of 18 international creative groups invited by Dior to reinterpret the Medallion chair as part of a special exhibition at this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan.

Some covered the chair in surprising fabrics, while others deconstructed it and grafted it back together with extra materials. One group even made it look like it was being sucked into the vacuum of space.

Nendo was one at the few studios with a truly novel take on Dior’s famous design. According to the company website, the team decided to reinterpret the chair with “state-of-the-art technology in continuation of the vision of our founding, ‘graceful fusion of modernity and tradition.’” The traditional Medallion chair is a simplified version of the classic Louis XVI dining seat with a signature oval back and square upholstered seat. The artists at Nendo used these shapes to invert the design, effectually creating a stencil of the chair.

The Nendo artists stripped the chair down to its essence, leaving behind only its most recognizable feature. “The oval cutout in the back of each one conveys the impression that the Medallion chair’s most notable characteristic is floating delicately in midair,” they explain.

Since it’s made from a transparent sheet of 3’ x 6’ chemically hardened glass, the Nendo Chaise Medallion 3.0 might be invisible if not for the missing egg-shape where the original’s back support would be. Constructed using a newly developed method, the curved shape that forms the legs, back, and seat piece was submerged in potassium nitrate molten salt at over 800 degrees Fahrenheit before being allowed to cool and solidify. This process creates an incredibly strong material even at just 3 mm thick. The chemical hardening also provides the chair with more flexural strength and scratch resistance.

Christian Dior created the original Medallion Chair back in 1946 when he founded his design house and was in need of seating for his first fashion shows. In his memoirs, he said he wanted the observers to sit on something that felt “somber, simple, and above all classic and Parisian.” Naturally, he pared down the Louis XVI model, added his own signature fabrics and prints, and furniture history was made. The Medallion has since been featured in many iterations of Dior boutiques over the years and has inspired several of the company’s cases and perfume bottles.

Perhaps that connection to perfume containers is part of the vision behind Nendo’s glass seating offering. In addition to the fully transparent seat, the group also produced one in frosted glass, one in pink ombré, and one in opaque black. The minimalist chairs almost look like a lineup of fragrance vessels, with their delicate shape and striking hues.

Nendo was founded in 2002 by CEO and chief designer Oki Sato, an architecture graduate from Waseda University. Since then, the company has added an office in Milan and grown to over 50 employees. They have won numerous international awards, including being named “Designer of the Year” by Ell Deco International Design.

The Chaise Medallion 3.0 was on display at Milan Design Week 2021 from September 5th through 10th in the Palazzo Citterio.

The post Nendo Gives Dior’s Iconic Medallion Chair a Transparent Minimalist Makeover first appeared on Dornob.

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite pieces from this year’s event to give you a glimpse of the excitement taking place at the festival of furniture:

Oasi Kitchen

On display at the Rho Fiera Milano exhibit, this creative free-standing kitchen by ARAN Cucine and Stefano Boeri Architetti has a live lemon tree at its center. The self-contained kitchenette was designed to foster both sustainability and sociality. “As you grow the tree will grow itself, like a family, until the kitchen turns into something new, following the dynamism of the people linked together under its branches,” the company says. Cooking scraps can be composted right on site for the tree’s fertilization needs, and an irrigation system is integrated into the kitchen for watering. “Oasi” also features a cooktop, oven, sink, Corian countertops, extendable tables for dining, and wood cabinets for storage made from reclaimed wood from the Venice lagoon.

Shaped by Fire

Artist/designer Katerina Krotenko has created a unique collection of containers called “Shaped by Fire,” forged using a 1960s Finnish wood imprint technique. The glass is set aflame while positioned between two hollowed-out pieces of already-burnt firewood. The results are breathtaking, with stunning organic textures and patterns from top to bottom.

Design by Nature

From Swedish studio Front and Italian brand Moroso comes a new line of furniture titled Design by Nature, comprised of sofas that resemble natural forms from the outdoors. “We wanted the pieces to create the feeling that someone had lifted a whole glade from a forest with a gigantic shovel and moved it to a home,” says Sofia Lagerkvist, co-founder of Front. And it appears they were extremely successful in that goal, with their amorphous mossy seating blending perfectly into the forest from a distance. Another settee mirrors a boulder on the seashore, complete with cushioned “mussels” attached on top.

Pan

These playful coat racks by Sapiens Design are made entirely from salvaged steel. Designer Alessandro Mattia used industrial laser processors to cut geometric shapes all over the panels, infusing them with an organic essence inspired by Pan, the ancient Greek deity of the forests. The steel sheets are sized at different heights and protrude at unique angles, too, making for a distinctive mix of furniture and art in one.

Natural Capital

In addition to furniture and other interior design elements, Milan Design Week includes original art installed around the city. One of the coolest this year is an installation in the Brera Botanical Garden called “Natural Capital” by energy company Eni and Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA). In an attempt to educate visitors about the essential role of plants in providing us with oxygen, data bubbles have been placed over a variety of photosynthesizing species that display just how much CO2 each removes from the air. The bubbles range in size based on the amount of carbon dioxide stored by each plant and are juxtaposed with a giant sphere on the ground, demonstrating how much the average human breathes out each year.

If you’re hungry for more of Milan Design Week, you can check out the event’s website for updates and product details.

The post Our Favorite Finds from Milan Design Week 2021 first appeared on Dornob.

In a Kickstarter campaign that’s already garnered six times its original funding goal, the Milan-based Krill team is planning to mass produce small lamps made mostly from food waste, specifically the peels of two Sicilian oranges.

“We wanted to create a special piece, beautiful and useful as well as sustainable, so everyone can have something unique in their home that not only decorates the room but tells a story of revolution,” says product designer Victoria R. Schön in an official campaign video.

That revolution is the circular economy idea gaining steam with companies all around the world, with the eventual aim of recycling and reusing all product waste. Founded in 2018 by Ivan Calimani and Yack H. Di Maio, Krill Designs is a company dedicated to combining the need to recycle waste and the need to create new products through material research, design, and innovation. The Krill team hopes the Ohmie will be one step in changing paradigms so that “’sustainable’ will stop being an adjective and will become the norm.”

“We [didn’t] just want to make a change in design. We wanted to make this change beautiful and meaningful,” says Krill co-founder and CEO Calimani. “We have been developing biomaterials for almost three years, helping corporate be more sustainable and crafting eco design products for them. It’s time to use our expertise to make a product just for you.”

To make the petite and visually intriguing lamp, the designers at Krill obtained discarded peels from the food industry, dried them, and ground them into a powder. After being blended with a plant-derived biopolymer, the mixture was squeezed into a filament and fed into a 3D printer in a continuous spiral-like movement. This technique, called “vase mode,” gives the Ohmie its distinctive ribbed texture.

The final product is a 9-inch tall, 5.3-oz table lamp that has the feel, color, and even smell of an orange. It also comes with a USB-plug power cord, a dimmer switch, and an LED bulb with an output of 70 to 90 lumens.

Thanks to the many variations in natural orange color, the Krill team says that each lamp’s particular hue will be different depending on its organic origin. “Every Ohmie will be a completely unique piece,” the campaign page says. And since they’re all made of organic material, the Italian company also says the shape of each lamp could actually change slightly over time.

Closing the production waste loop, if an Ohmie ever breaks, the lamp body is compostable, allowing the majority of its mass to return to Mother Nature to be used again in another form.

With 9 days to go before its Kickstarter deadline of August 5, the Ohmie project had already attracted 347 investors who had contributed over $37,000, far surpassing the original goal of $3,500. Those purchasing the early-bird special got a 30-percent discount off the original price, paying $85 with an expected delivery date of November 2021.

The post Italian Designers Turn Orange Peels Into Compostable Lamps first appeared on Dornob.

As you might imagine, that story is all the more dramatic in a 17th-century building in Milan’s Porta Magenta, a central district known for amazing landmarks like the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which itself contains Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper mural. Architect Vincenzo de Cotiis bought and transformed an apartment there to serve as his own residence, and he found that the most visible veneer was just the latest of many, each one representing a certain era of interior design styles.

Most of it wasn’t pretty, but under what he describes as “years of paint and paper, false ceilings, and ugly moquette floor coverings” was a wonder of Italian history waiting to be restored to its original glory. Allowing the apartment to shine while retaining all the patina and signs of age that made it special became de Cotiis’ primary goal. Standing behind gates on a quiet street just 10 minutes from the touristy center of the Duomo, the old palazzo had fantastically textural plaster walls, soaring tray ceilings, and the remains of centuries-old gilded stucco.

“While emphasizing the preexisting, I worked out what my contemporary intervention would be,” says de Cotiis. “I enriched some surfaces that contrast each other to create something visually very exciting while at the same time respectful. After stripping back the wall coverings, I choose to leave the walls untreated, so there is a bit of plaster dust if you brush against them. In every room the colors are different. For example, pink frescoes in the library, blue in the bedroom, and ocher in others. Within that framework, I’ve mixed mostly furniture pieces that were custom-designed by me along with a few other contemporary examples of collectible design.”

The result is nothing short of incredible. Nothing had to be changed about the bones of the apartment, which thankfully had never suffered any regrettable structural renovations over the decades. Many of the original elements are also still in place, like the sculptural doorways. New paint here and there is allowed to contrast with the aged surfaces, and the architect’s contemporary furnishings end up looking like works of art in an exceptionally warm and livable museum.

The architect adds that “since I’ve been here during quarantine, the natural light entering has surprised and inspired me. It looks different and changes the colors of the entire space. There’s always classical music filling the rooms, and my wife, Claudia, and I have also made sure there are fresh flowers every day. They symbolize a new beginning and spring. Almost every year I like to change my home. I have new ideas on how to change different rooms to give them a fresh look. But no matter the changes and alterations I make, this place is my island of peace. I’m a very lucky man.”

The post Milan Palazzo Regains Its Sense of History in This New Renovation by Vincenzo De Cotiis first appeared on Dornob.

That iconic logo is emblazoned all over the new Versace Home flagship store, and with the same sought-after style, visitors will likely be bewitched all over again – this time by the brand’s furniture and decor offerings.

Located in the heart of Milan’s “design street,” Via Durini, the new retail edifice was designed by Italian atelier Vudafieri Saverino Partners to look and feel like a real residence. During Milan Design Week 2021, Versace Home’s Vice President of Licensing Brenda Brasso said that the showroom facilitated a unique shopping experience where “you don’t feel like you are entering a furniture store, it’s like walking into a luxurious home.”

The scale of the project is in keeping with something the late designer once said: “Comfort is very important to me. I think people live better in big houses and in big clothes.” Its massive 5,400 square feet of real estate boasts multiple bedrooms, living rooms, dining areas, an entrance hall, and even a garden courtyard all dressed in Versace furniture and designs from floor to ceiling.

Although primarily famous for its upscale ready-to-wear clothing and leather accessories, Versace has been in the home decor market since 1978, creating savvy furnishings for homes and hotels in the four decades since.

Launched in partnership with Italian interior design firm Interni Spa, the new Home store is laced with the Greco-Roman themes associated with Versace, with Greek busts and key patterns in almost every room. The iconic yellow, black, and white color scheme also takes center stage. The gold leaf motif synonymous with the brand is featured on accent pillows and bedding throughout the store, recalling another Gianni Versace quote: “Glamour is back, but with a minimalist touch.”

For the opening, the concept home is highlighting the company’s latest furniture collection, designed in collaboration with furniture-maker Lifestyle Design. That includes the new Venus chair, an asymmetrical ode to Versace’s leather fashion complete with a gold zipper running up the back. It’s featured in the store in shades of pink, red, and black.

The Stiletto cabinet is another new addition, with door faces that can be covered in either a vibrant sea star and shell motif or the Versace Medusa logo in black and gold.

In one sitting room, the new Goddess sofa gets prominent exposure. With both black and white options, its tall-fluted backing is striking to say the least.

More stylistic details add art and opulence to the space. Instead of curtains, most of the windows in the Home store get a decorative metal grate treatment, hinting at Versace’s bold experimentation with textures. Glass doors lead out to an enclosed courtyard where lush palm fronds shade the giant Versace-print floor cushions and stone seats adorned with sculpted Medusa heads.

Basso told WWD that the Milan store is the first of at least six planned Versace Home sites. She said that later this year “a unit will open in London and possibly in Miami to coincide with Art Basel in December, followed by Paris next year, then Los Angeles and New York.”

The post Shoppers Can Lap Up Luxury Living in Versace’s New Flagship Home Store first appeared on Dornob.

Built in 1950, the 26-story Pirellino Tower hosted the headquarters of Italian tire company Pirelli until 2015, when it was abandoned over concerns about its ability to withstand earthquakes and its environmental performance. The site itself, set in a prime urban location, is currently underutilized and not very pedestrian-friendly. Boeri’s plan aims to revive the area, creating a new hub for events and exhibitions.

While the Pirellino Tower’s renewal champions the value of reusing old buildings rather than demolishing them, it will also become a cultural symbol for a new era of architecture and development that prioritizes meeting current and future environmental and social emergencies over all else. The two towers will be connected by a stunning multi-story glass bridge stretching over the Via Melchiorre Gioia, one of Milan’s busiest roads, and act as an extension of the nearby Biblioteca degli Alberi, a public park and botanical garden.

Stefano Boeri’s residential timber tower will be quite a sight with its layers of trees and shrubs contrasting with the glass and steel of the older tower beside it. Covering a surface area of more than 18,000 square feet, that vegetation will change colors with the seasons, absorb 14 tons of carbon dioxide, and produce nine tons of oxygen every year. It’ll also be covered in nearly 30,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels providing at least 65 percent of the building’s energy needs. And since the tower’s design is predominantly made from wood, another 3,600 tons of carbon dioxide will be saved during the construction process.

The regeneration project, helmed by development firm COIMA, will be the first in Italy to align with the new post-COVID Next Generation EU guidelines to meet the highest standards of sustainability. The collaborative design was chosen from a shortlist of 70 concepts as the winner of a 2019 international architecture competition. While it’s just the latest of many Italian projects for Stefano Boeri, Pirelli 39 represents Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s first time working in the country.

“As much of our work focuses on the future of cities, the Pirelli 39 project presents a great opportunity to develop a new model of mixed-use development and sustainable urban growth,” says Elizabeth Diller, partner at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, adding that “the project combines the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings with environmentally-responsible new construction, and a vibrant ‘living’ cultural destination devoted to the art and science of plants.”

“In such a difficult period, this project relaunches the vision of a forward-looking Milan and bravely faces the great challenges of the climate crisis,” says Stefano Boeri.

The post A New Stefano Boeri Vegetated Tower is Coming to Milan’s “Pirelli 39” Site first appeared on Dornob.

But across the Atlantic, in Milan, Italian TikTokkers are doing things a little differently. “Defhouse” is a 5,380-square-foot penthouse decked out in colorful Memphis Design-style decor. Currently housing eight up-and-coming social media stars between the ages of 16 and 20, Defhouse was created by the digital company Web Stars Channel Group (WSC), which specializes in strategic marketing for influencers.

“The Collab Houses all around the world have a very similar style: very soft, very enlightened, with a few objects and a few colored elements, making the social connection to the person and not to the space,” says Giuseppe Greco, artistic director of WSC. “We wanted to do the opposite: we put in a lot of color, and a lot of elaborate patterns that maybe create confusion, but make the contributions unique.”

There’s nothing subtle about Defhouse. Virtually every surface is splashed with vivid contrasting patterns and eclectic objects, from neon ghosts above the beds to calligraphic glow-in-the-dark hallways. Cloud-shaped lighting hangs above the retro mishmash of the living room. Doodles are scrawled across the surface of every drawer and cabinet in the kitchen, where residents walk on a mural of the sky while gazing up at another mural of vegetables. Some of the patterns seen on the walls come straight from the work of Ettore Sottsass, founder of the design collective Memphis Group.

Does this mean Memphis Design, the postmodern Milanese movement that began in 1981, is popular with teenagers? Not necessarily, though it is making a comeback in the wider world of design. Art director John Pentassuglia says the concept was borne from the idea that young influencers are “children of pop,” and WSC wanted to take some of those jarring, offbeat, and irreverent influences and reinvent them for a new generation. The result feels a little frenetic, reflecting the fast-paced nature of digital content and viral fame, but Defhouse residents seem to love it.

“The house is our paradise, is tailor-made for us,” 20-year-old influencer Simone Berlini told Domus. “Every wall and object can be used as a background and as props: we can use any element to get an idea for a video. It’s another life for us, having all these possibilities.”

Defhouse is meant to be both a stage and a talent incubator, set apart from American collab houses in a way that’s visibly Milanese. It’s not a reality show, says WSC. The house’s young residents go about their normal lives while living there, though they’re also being trained in subjects like acting, diction, and sustainability and expected to generate content on a regular basis. They’re “working,” and while that work often looks like partying, it can be very lucrative. Some of the highest earning TikTokkers bring in $5 million a year.

The post Milan’s TikTok Collab House Takes Cues from the Memphis Design Movement first appeared on Dornob.