2018 Milan Design Week is now underway, a festival which this year is expected to attract over 300,000 visitors. Every year, Milan Design Week brings together a wide range of practitioners and design companies resulting in unusual yet fascinating collaborations and installations.
05. Fifth Ring | MAD
“Fifth Ring” seeks to create a new dimension inside the courtyard of Milan’s 16th century Seminario Arcivescovile. A circular ring set inside a square courtyard, the installation demonstrates mankind’s continued search for perfection and acts as a fifth façade when viewed from above. When viewed from below, the illuminated circle frames the sky, acting as a “portal to a fifth dimension” in a move that seeks to open up a dialogue between the observer and the infinite universe.
Date: 16th – 28th April 2018
Location: Milan
04 Cells | Filippo Taidelli
“Cells” investigates the relationship between technology, nature, and architecture in the hospital of tomorrow. Situated in the courtyard of the University of Milan’s Ca’ Granda, a former hospital founded in 1456, the installation explores the evolution of the world of healthcare by placing the visitor in an immersive, sensory experience. “Cells” consists of two glass structures, equal in size but with differing characteristics, placed at opposite corners of the courtyard to symbolize two perspectives on the future of healthcare.
Date: 16th – 28th April 2018
Location: Milan
03 Future Space | Peter Pichler Architecture
The Ca’ Granda also plays host to “Future Space,” an installation consisting of a symmetrical structure inspired by the Renaissance proportions of the historic hospital. The project explores the potential for timber as a sustainable future material, investigating the spatial experience transmitted by wood. The installation is constructed of over 1600 wood sticks, creating a cave of three separate wings gradually changing in height. The perforated structure filters light, facilitating a “playful game of light and shadow.” The caves’ three openings serve as an entrance and two framed views across the university courtyard towards other installations.
Date: 16th – 28th April 2018
Location: Milan
02 REVERSE ROOM | Foscarini & James Wines | SITE
“REVERSE ROOM” consists of an overturned black box, challenging the viewer’s reactions to a disruptive, abnormal spatial condition. The installation serves primarily as a vehicle for “The Light Bulb Series,” a collection of objects by James Wines which seeks to “blur the boundaries between art and design” using the light bulb as a subject. The installation includes five interpretations of the bulb; “Black Light” which inverts the functions and parts of the object, “Candle Light” which sees a merging of tungsten and flames into a new ambiguous object, “Melting Light” which consists of a bulb halfway between solid and liquid, “Plant Light” which shows a bulb overrun by nature, and “White Light” which sees a matrix of all exhibits.
Date: 17th – 22nd April 2018
Location: Milan
01 Microliving & Temporary Housing | Containerwerk
German startup Containerwerk has designed “Microliving” and “Temporary Housing” to explore the possibilities of high-quality life in a small space using purchased sea cargo containers. “Microliving” uses a single container to unite all essentials for comfortable living, through a marriage of technical sophistication and creativity. Meanwhile, “Temporary Housing” manifests as a two-container unit inviting visitors to question the growing fusion of professional and private life, and the efficient use of existing spaces.
Date: 17th – 22nd April 2018
Location: Milan
