Serena Confalonieri's 'Bouquet' colours Piazza Schiavone in Milan

Bouquet is Serena Confalonieri's new urban art project that gives colour to Piazza Schiavone, a crossroads between the districts of Bovisa, Dergano and Affori, in the northern area of Milan: the project will be presented on Thursday, April 20, 2023 on the occasion of the Milan Design Week 2023.

The activity is part of a series of initiatives promoted by RUFA, Scuola Politecnica di Design and Repubblica del Design, in a logic of circularity and interaction of educational models with the local communities. The three entities - thanks to the collaboration of local institutions, such as Municipality 9, the Municipality of Milan, the experimental recycling plant Design Differente and the Cap group - have decided to join forces for a permanent tactical urban planning project.

The project was created with the students of the Visual Design course held by Serena Confalonieri at the Scuola Politecnica di Design. The result is a big horizontal graphic work that pays homage to the different cultures that live in the area of Municipio 9, a lively melting pot in the northern part of the city.

This variety of cultures becomes a source of inspiration for a lively and multiform floral graphic that follows the segmented plan of the square, giving life to a floral bouquet whose geometries are evocative of the flags of different countries, symbolising the multiculturalism that inhabits the district. Flowers and natural elements branch out, in a play with shapes and colours, from the fountain located in the center of the square, blossoming freely on the concrete.

Serena Confalonieri chooses to use bright and vibrant shades – such as yellow, blue, pink and green – in line with the eclectic personality of the neighbourhood and the colourful aesthetic that distinguishes the designer. The ten chosen flowers are those that symbolise the foreign nationalities most present in the neighbourhood: a rose for Morocco, a tulip for Turkey, the lotus flower for China, Sri Lanka and Egypt, a marigold for Ukraine, the water lily for Bangladesh, jasmine for the Philippines, a peony for Romania, lily for Peru and Ecuador, the red poppy for Albania and finally the Yucca Gigantea for El Salvador.

After the Quadra project in Quarto Oggiaro, the Città Studi mural in Milan and the Flores Leves installation in Fasano, Serena Confalonieri signs one more time an important urban graphic art project for the enhancement and characterisation of the city of Milan’s different areas.

STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2023 showcases the best exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands, and special projects to look out for. Explore Euroluce 2023 and all the design districts—5Vie Art and Design, Brera Design District, Fuorisalone, Isola Design District, Tortona District, and Milano Design District—with us.