Immerse yourself in the best of food, technology, lighting and bath innovations at Milan Design Week 2022

While the design capital of the world has taken a momentous design fair under its wings, travellers and visitors alike have begun trailing through the elaborate Salone del Mobile 2022 itinerary. The 60th edition of the fair, returns after a two-year hiatus and is currently witnessing a major footfall of designers and design enthusiasts flocking to Milan. With over 2000+ exhibitions spread across different districts in Milan, the design festival has been serving an expansive assortment of furniture showcases, art installations, lighting exhibits alongside a communal vibe of week-long extravagant parties. If you are yet to visit the coveted fair (open from 7th to the 12th of June) STIR, as a key participant in the design festival, brings forth a comprehensive round-up of events and experiences to not miss during the Salone 2022.

GASTRONOMICAL EXPERIENCES

It is no surprise that Italy and cuisine are synonymous and one cannot miss the scrumptious and palpable offerings the City of Bridges has to offer. STIR explored some of the must-see gastronomic installations and dining venues across Milan during the design week, enhancing the already lambent Milan Design Week.

We Are Ona

For the Milan Design Week 2022, We are Ona – a community of food enthusiasts, collaborates with lighting design brand Flos, to branch out to pop-up restaurants and pop-up cafe at Fabbrica Orobia, via Orobia 15. Surrounded by a warm ambience of wood and concrete, the restaurant will present an eight-course menu curated by the Japanese chef Sayaka Sawaguchi from Garde Champetre restaurant in France. The menu aims to revisit the Italian ingredients cooked over an open fire kitchen as a tribute to the undying love for food and wine in Italy. We are Ona continues to be an active participant in the multi-experiential exhibition ‘Under the Stars’ by Flos from 7th June 2022 till 12th June 2022. The brainchild of Luca Pronzato who has worked towards promoting young gastronomy talents with pop up restaurants in unique locations across Europe, some of We are Ona’s past ephemeral ventures include Turkey, France), Switzerland,/a>, Portugal, Italy and Mexico.

Erbert x Astrid Luglio’s Botanical Banquet

The Botanical Banquet showcases a collection of both biscuit and glazed ceramics in unique food and art installation for Erbert. As the first Italian chain to specialise in healthy food options, Erbert brings forth this unique experience at its atrium with a design-driven by culinary culture. The installation curated by Astrid Luglio features a mixed assortment of goods from Erbert’s store alongside a collection of elements designed by Astrid in a narrative that weaves different items like fruits and vegetables into designer objects. The albino landscape features raw materials as in a contemporary still life painting flourished with fennels, radicchio, tomatoes, asparagus, leeks, peaches, lemons and much more.

The Eleit Design and Taste

Tapping the ‘Italian food experience’, the world of food meets design and craftsmanship in Eleit.it. Created by Titti Galluccii, Elite.it is an Italian brand that creates utilitarian objects as a commemoration and suitability to the food of Italy. For its project as part of 5vie Design Week 2022, the company showcases the ‘Pyxis’ container while serving buffalo mozzarella and Famiglia Oliva. Along with this, they also showcase their Midnight Line of versatile plates as a tribute to “Cacio e Pepe”- a typical Roman recipe. The half-moon-shaped loop of the plates allows the cream to flow easily and lets one wrap any type of long-form pasta for a perfect bite. They also launch their Riti line as an amalgamation of three design objects. As a tribute to Neapolitan Street Food, the objects enable their respective users to taste small delicacies with great creativity and exceptional functionality.

WunderBar! By Monkey47

In a collective exhibition for the Isola Design Festival 2022, Monkey47 partners up with the Isola Design district to host an eclectic outdoor exhibition. As part of the showcase, Monkey47’s iconic gin from the black forests of Germany has travelled to the shades of Bosco Verticale in the legendary caravan from the Netflix series Breaking Bad. On the occasion of the design week, the caravan will host Monkey 47’s bartenders alongside those from the famous Milanese bars- Bob, Le Cannibale and Santeria Milano. Visitors can take a sip of their famous, “There’s a German, a French and an Italian…” cocktail while lounging on Johannes Budde’s concrete roll stools.

Aliita Land’s Deco Sandwich

In a colourful new display, Italian jewellery brand Alitta Land comes up with a very whimsical set-up. The display, subverts the rules of scale and makes the observers think, “Are these sandwiches on display even eatable?” For the fair, Aliita land plays a game of deception as they promote their deco sandwich rings with an experimental installation of a sandwich bar. The extraordinary installation at Aliita Land’s Milanese showroom is curated in collaboration with the ceramic brand Mutina and features playful and quirky ceramic tiles and contents of a sandwich which are clear sources of inspiration for the brand’s latest inventions in fine jewellery.

Eurocucina - Atria

A result of the collaboration with Studio Delineo and Massimo Rosati, Àtria is the first Abimis kitchen expressly made for outdoor installation, a dynamic and contemporary solution with a stainless steel heart, that is entirely modular and customizable. Àtria enhances its versatility with a highly compact and ‘open’ configuration to meet the most diverse requisites of anyone wishing to cook outside and interpret the many ‘vocations’ of al fresco settings. Urban balconies, panoramic terraces, country gardens, secret courtyards, areas with sea views or views of Alpine landscapes, with Àtria any outdoor setting can be customised to ensure high-level performance.

SPOTTED: BATHROOMS

A luxurious bathroom, adds grandiose to the mundane act of getting ready for the day, making the task more immersive and uplifting, is there anything better? The 60th edition of the Salone del Mobile will offer, among other things, a wide array of innovative bathroom ideas and products, as part of the International Bathroom Exhibition.

Agape ‘Vis-à-Vis’ and ‘Rendez-Vous’

‘Vis-à-Vis’ and ‘Rendez-Vous’ by Marco Carini for Agape are bathroom stools and day-bed benches that arise in a fluid amalgamation of ergonomics and form, with free and open modularity and choices of materials and colours. With these designs taking the stage at Milan Design Week 2022 at the Agape12 showroom via Statuto 12, Agape delves for the first time into using the rising star of the circular design, cork. ‘Vis-à-Vis’ is a light and manoeuvrable stool composed of natural or heat-treated cork. It can also function as a small side table with its “smiling” shape that is sure to please. A similar freedom of function is exhibited in ‘Rendez-Vous’. Three day-bed benches in three different heights can be used individually or stacked as required, creating a space to sit back, stretch out and relax.

Q316 by Zazzeri

Zazzeri defines the excellent attributes of steel, an eco-friendly, solid and corrosion-resistant material with marked hygienic qualities, by designing and producing a new collection of faucets that will be displayed at Salone 2022 Hall 22 - Stand H16. The fundamental nature of design is expressed at best in their new series Q316, a collection that encompasses a wide range of products for the bathroom and kitchen, made of stainless steel AISI 316L. The collection is defined by a cylindrical body and by a flat spout, in addition to the several solutions for washbasin, bidet and bathtub present two new and original showers heads and two new faucets for kitchen sink.

Ofuro and Letteramuta Antoniolupi

The Italian brand specialising in home and bathroom furnishing, Antoniolupi is set to showcase innovative designs at the awaited design fair. Evaluating and mirroring the geometry of the beam, developed mainly in length, Letteramuta is a linear system of aluminium shelves designed by Gumdesign for Antoniolupi. Evocative of the tradition of the Japanese ritual of Ofuro, antoniolupi in collaboration with Italian architect and designer Carlo Colombo has created a sculptural bathtub that traces the journey from Japanese tradition to contemporary design. His work will be on display at Salone del Mobile 2022, S.Project space, Hall 13 Stand A07 B18.

Isy22 by Zuccheti

On the occasion of the Milano Design Week 2022, Zucchetti presents Isy22, the new taps collection designed by Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the iconic Isy* with a new innovative and unique essential system, enriched by unexpected contemporary finishes. The design is iconic in its essentiality and in shapes that are increasingly sophisticated, versatile and characterised by exclusive finishes in addition to the usual ones. The new collection Isy22 by Zucchetti will be launched in the new space of Thun and Rodriguez studio in Porta Venezia, and during the Salone fair together with the latest collections by the Zucchetti brand, as well as Kos by Zucchetti Group.

DIVA by Scarabeo Ceramiche

The DIVA collection is a very elegant proposal for bathroom furnishings designed by Scarabeo to complete and enrich the eclectic collection of Moon washbasins. The range showcased at Hall 22 - Stand D18, Fiera Milano - Rho, surprisingly comprises new original finishes with polychromatic combinations of ceramic, structure and accessories. Characterised by a tubular metal structure, DIVA can accommodate the large variety of Moon washbasins with character and personality. The Moon washbasins stand out for the pleasant contrast between the width of the bowl and the lightness of the edges, creating a combination of perfectly harmonic shapes.

IMMERSIVE LIGHTING

Lighting up the entire city of Milan, following are a few must-visit lighting design installations and presentations that one must add to the checklist while visiting Milan Design Week 2022.

Studio Vantot’s Floating Lights

Designing a lighting solution that does not go dull when it is dark, Sam van Gurp and Esther Jongsma of Studio Vantot present the Floating Lights. For Salone del Mobile 2022, the Floating lights will be showcased at the Dutch Atelier as part of the Isola Design Week. Studio Vantot tries to tap the full potential of LED lights and integrate lighting fixtures which are not just efficient, sustainable and effective, but also very much aesthetic. The Floating lights are a series of LEDs which can adapt to any space and can be moulded into different shapes.

Artemide presents new lighting designs at Milan Design Week 2022

Joining forces with prolific names in the world of design including BIG, Mario Cucinella, Carlotta de Bevilacqua, Michele De Lucchi, Foster+ Partners, Herzog & de Meuron, Carolina Gismondi and Daniele Moioli, the iconic Lighting design brand Artemide, wears the cap of the protagonist of the Milan Design Week with products coming from continuous research and technological innovations. Ranging from Foster+Partner’s Ixa as a transversal family of spherical-head lights to Michele de Lucchi’s thin organic chandelier- Osidio, Artemide’s collection is extravagant and highly functional.

Ambientec’s Cachalot

Oscillating between light design and marine biology, the Japanese light design brand Ambientec unveils Yoshiki Matsuyama’s portable lamp – Cachalot. The lamp evokes a majestic and gracious form of a whale with its exclusive design giving the observers a sensation of peace and beauty through space. The sculptural light is a fine synthesis of cutting-edge illumination technology, precise artisan craftsmanship and high-quality materials.

Studio Milo visualises Masiero’s ‘Rivelazioni’

In a collective display, Studio Milo visualises Masiero’s ‘Rivelazioni’ exhibition with the works of Sara Moroni, Oriano Favaretto, Pierre Gonalons and Giovanni Battista at the Brera Design Week 2022. The sculptural lighting arrangements by the prolific designers light up via Statuto, 16 through a unique exhibition. Studio Milo designed the exhibition space for the lighting displays in such a way that each light gets optimum attention as the observer wanders through the display of different aesthetic lights. Each light organically created shades and shadows while being concealed in ivory drapes ultimately creating an immersive experience.

Stacklab’s Felt Waste Lamps

Removing the friction from traditional design, Stackabl unveils five new luminaires to shift the spotlight on sustainable design, during the Milan Design Week 2022. Known for their incredibly interesting and highly customisable felt furniture design, Stacklab ups a level by creating lights out of waste. Jeff Forest- the Founder of Stacklab, creatively designs lights with upcycled felt and aluminium and uses powerful yet energy-efficient LEDs to create these lights.

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS

Epitomising the ceaseless innovation leading us towards a digitised future, Milan Design Week creates a platform for cutting-edge technology and digital art by international brands and designers. Here are a few striking creations that will be grabbing eyeballs during the design week.

NFTS by Visionnaire

Italian luxury furnishing brand, Visionnaire, will showcase its NFTs at Salone del Mobile, Milano, Pav 5 Booth L11 - M06 Rho Fiera, Milano, initiated in partnership with renowned visual artist, Jonathan Monaghan, an attempt to investigate the flexibility and innovation granted by NFT in spaces of luxury design and interior spaces. Comprising Carrara marble sculptures and NFT videos, the collection serves to dabble in the physical and virtual realm. While the teasers of the three NFT videos were dropped on the marketplace Foundation on March 28th, 2022, the sculptures will be on display at the Wunderkammer Gallery Milano as part of the Milan Design Week in Italy.

Nardone Porsche

French company Nardone Automotive will present its Porsche 928 model at the Milan Design Week. The founder, Thierry Nardone, a great sports car enthusiast, has always had the dream of being able to build the best Porsche transaxle cars in the world. This path led him to bring together a team of experts and professionals in the sector, naturally giving life to Nardone Automotive. The first car design model, which will be presented during the design festival, was designed by BorromeodeSilva, a design studio with extensive international experience, founded in 2011 in Milan by Carlo Borromeo, Fabio de Silva and Filippo Sgalbazzi. The studio mainly deals with automotive design, from research and development to full industrialisation, as well as branding and strategic communication for the sector.

TX-6 by Teenage Engineering

Sweden based design studio, Teenage Engineering, bring to Milan Design Week 2022 their new, tiny, hand-held audio gadget, the TX-6, the first portable pro-mixer that can be used as a multi-functional 32-bit 48kHz audio interface: the smallest of its kind.The studio has created a field mixer so portable that it allows the users to indulge in music-making on demand. On a par with the larger counterparts in the market, this sturdy little invention is a bundle of unparalleled technology. Through their invention, the designers lend a hand to all music lovers and producers, with a handy studio that assists effortless melody-building on the go.

Rossinavi’s Blue Water Experience

Rossinavi makes its debut at the Milan Design Week presenting an installation that will invite visitors to learn about phytoplankton. The Italian shipyard, globally known for its manufacturing expertise and know-how in building custom made super yachts, will showcase its advanced sustainable innovations through an immersive installation, in which visitors will be able to experience life underwater. At the entrance of Superstudio Più. “BluE, The Underwater Experience” will remain on show from 6 to 12 June 2022, via Tortona, 27 bis, Milano.

STIR takes you on a Milanese sojourn! Experience Salone del Mobile and all the design districts - 5vie, Brera, Fuorisalone, Isola, Zona Tortona, and Durini - with us. STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2022, Meanwhile in Milan showcases the best exhibits, moods, studios, events, and folks to look out for. We are also excited to announce our very own STIR press booth at Salone del Mobile - Hall 5/7 S.14, Fiera Milano RHO.