otto » Milan Design Week 2009

Eye Candy: Bird’s Eye View of Established & Sons in Milan

otto — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:00:49 +0000

Here are some pictures of the Established & Sons‘ space in Milan from a bird’s eye view. Read more on the exhibit here.

Photography by Twin Room. American Tulipwood supplied by American Hardwood Export Council.

Milan 2009: Eye Candy, Maison Martin Margiela

otto — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:27:23 +0000

Fashion house Maison Martin Margiela‘s first venture into interiors in Zona Tortona.

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Milan 2009: VIA Creation Assistance 2009

otto — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:49:33 +0000

For the eighth year running the French organization VIA (Valorization of Innovation in Furnishing) exhibited at the Magna Pars Gallery in Zona Tortona, exhibiting prototypes financed by its annual Creation Assistance program:

VIA Carte Blanche to architect/designer Philippe Rahm: a climate-related performance installation to “naturalize” indoor space.
Thirteen VIA Creation Assistance Grants to reveal fifteen young designers.
A new renewable material developed by designer François Azambourg and DCS.

Carte Blanche Grant by Philippe Rahm

New material by François Azambourg and DCS

Carte Blanche Grant by Philippe Rahm

Twin chairs by Philippe Nigro for Ligne Roset

Unit bookshelves by Itamar Burstein

Milan 2009: Eye Candy, Veuve Clicquot

otto — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:11:49 +0000

Tom Dixon‘s piece for Veuve Clicquot‘s exhibit Out of the Box.

Milan 2009: Toshiba Overture

otto — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:31:04 +0000

The Japanese were on a roll this year in Milan with the Senseware and Japan Design Selection exhibits in the Triennale Design Museum. Down at Zona Tortona, the Toshiba LED lighting exhibit, Overture, elicited gasps of awe. Take a look. The water-filled bulbs grew brighter and eerily pulsated as people walked towards them.

Milan 2009: Established & Sons

otto — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:44:27 +0000

Launched in 2005, Established & Sons has made a splash in the design world as the company that assembles “established and emerging design talents” into hit collection after hit collection. This year was no different with names such as the Bouroullecs, Sam Hecht, Maarten Baas and more. The company that is credited for putting British design back on the map debuted its newest collection in Milan last week and included pieces that ranged from the forgettable to the extraordinary. Hecht’s Table, Bench, Chair falls in with the latter as a breathtaking study of multiple seating solutions in one piece of furniture.

Rivaling the furniture for attention was the package in which the collection was presented – a splintered maze of wood that hid and revealed new and current designs with every step.

Punch by Alexander Taylor

Quilt by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Flatliner by Jason Brugges

Table, Bench, Chair by Sam Hecht/Industrial Facility

Milan 2009: Moooi

otto — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:26:35 +0000

Dutch design company Moooi‘s large space in Superstudio highlighted the company’s insuppressible charm with quirky pieces from newcomers Freshwest and Nika Zupanc along with Raymond Puts. Also contributing were Moooi regulars Studio Job, Front and founder Marcel Wanders, who also acted as art director to the space, which included surreal art photography incorporating pieces from the collection.

Lolita lamp by Nika Zupanc

Brave New World by Freshwest

Raimond LED Lamp by Raimond Puts

Milan 2009: Philips Lumiblade

otto — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 13:00:27 +0000

We saw Philips Lumiblade exhibit at Superstudio made of OLED lights designed by rAndom international with software developed by Chris O’Shea. We took pictures, but found this great video that demonstrates much more accurately what the installation is like in real life. Scroll past the video for pictures we took of the piece, including the really cool back side.

The back

Milan 2009: Alcantara Design Museum

otto — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:39:38 +0000

Giulio Cappellini served as the art director for the Alcantara Design Museum exhibit in Superstudio. The exhibit highlights the versatile material in several different applications and includes designer/manufacturer collaborations such as Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez with Matteo Thun & Partners, Philippe Nigro with Ligne Roset and Patricia Urquiola with Moroso.

Beach on Alcantara by Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez

Confluences by Philippe Nigro for Ligne Roset

Volant by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso

Milan 2009: Zona Tortona

otto — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:00:11 +0000

Zona Tortona is a maze of streets and courtyards in downtown Milan where you can find the latest and greatest in international design during Milan Design Week. It is home to Superstudio, a temporary design museum that plays host to more than 50 spaces filled with the most interesting design in the world today, from Tom Dixon to Foscarini to Moooi. Exploring Zona Tortona makes for a long day filled with amazing design.