The breezy spring weather added to the festive ambiance around town during this year’s Milan Design Week. Many of the products on display focused on the importance of sustainability and circular design, with furnishings brand Andreu World previewing the Circular Design Challenge in their showroom—an effort to kickstart a design revolution for the entire industry. Other trends at the show included the integration of AI into kitchen appliance technology and the use of immersive installations to tell product stories in a compelling way. Here are a few outstanding installations, collaborations, and product introductions presented by brands at Salone del Mobile and throughout the city.
EARTHIC LAB by Formafantasma and Cosentino
The immersive Earthic Lab installation took place inside Teatro Gerolamo, an architectural gem built in 1868 for puppet shows. Cosentino and Milan-based design studio Formafantasma used ethereal music and lighting, video presentations, and piles of raw materials to create a lunar landscape inside the theater to preview the Earthic by Silestone XM collection. Described by the designers as the start of a journey toward sustainability, the surfacing is composed of premium minerals and recycled materials with significantly less silica than traditional engineered stone.
Coccoloba – Brazilian Exhibition
Curated by Brazilian designer Bruno Simões, the Coccoloba exhibition at the Università degli Studi di Milano was part of the Interni “Cross Vision” program, the largest exhibition in the Fuorisalone circuit. Organized by ApexBrasil with support from Abimóvel, the exhibition of 53 up-and-coming Brazilian designers was inspired by the Coccoloba gigantifolia, a tree species discovered in the Brazilian Amazon with gigantic leaves. The exhibition explored inventive but simple solutions that embody the new Brazilian aesthetic using wood and other certified materials, including natural fibers, leathers, weaves, and organic fabrics.
Read more on aninteriormag.com.
