During Milan Design Week, architectural landmarks, museums, showrooms and shops in every neighborhood welcomed visitors with challenging, creative installations. Here’s a look at some of the immersive environments.
Photo: Gaggenau
The Gaggenau installation (above), “Presence,” was situated inside the glass pavilion at the gardens of Villa Necchi Campiglio. Drawing on Italian Modernism and classical antiquity, it used rhythm, proportion, light and material to shape the visitor experience of the new Vario Cooling Expressive Series and the Minimalistic collection.
Photo: Cosentino
Inside Casa Manzoni (above), Cosentino teamed up with Tom Dixon for “AXIS,” a multispace installation outfitted with the designer’s material-driven furnishings and the brand’s Éclos line of zero-crystalline-silica surfaces. The Reflection Gallery (shown) deconstructs the geometry of the collection through mirrored installations and modular compositions that reveal its structural logic.
Photo: Grohe
At the Piccolo Teatro Studio Melato (above), three connected sanctums, each reflecting a distinct state of being, illustrated Grohe Spa’s understanding of intertwining ritual, craftsmanship and refined design to achieve wellbeing through water. Rather than focusing on individual products, the experience presented a holistic interpretation of cohesive bathroom design, demonstrating how water can shape spaces that cleanse, rejuvenate and relax.
Photo: Kohler
Kohler, in partnership with Richard Christiansen, founder of Flamingo Estate, presented a multi-sensory installation in the courtyard of the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea (above). The exhibition was anchored by a bold brutalist bathhouse that sheltered an enameled cast iron bath shrouded in copper. Nestled throughout the surrounding garden were four one-of-a-kind pollinator baths that extended the installation narrative of reciprocity between human craft and the natural world, acting as sanctuaries for birds, bees and other pollinating species.
Photo: Duravit
To celebrate the launch of the Balcoon collection of sinks, tubs and furniture by Patricia Urquiola, Duravit invited the designer to create a dialogue of form, material and space at the Gran Meliá Palazzo Cordusio (above).
Photo: Common Archive – Salone del Mobile.Milano
The ADI Design Museum (above) held guided tours of iconic objects representing over 70 years of Italian design, from 1954 to the present. The collection demonstrated the evolution of design and society, offering visitors an informed perspective on the role of design in everyday life.
Photo: Common Archive – Salone del Mobile.Milano
In Brera, the Gae Aulenti Archive (above) was opened to guests. Consisting of her home on one side of the building and her studio on the other, a dialogue is generated between private and professional life, each drawing inspiration from the other.
