Milano Design Week, 5 things to see today / 2

On the outskirts of the city’s northwest area, the decommissioned Necchi kitchen machine factory is being rekindled to flesh out an ambitious project: to replicate the success of the creative hub not far from Brussels, Zaventem Ateliers, and create a creative hub to host a community of artists and designers. The driving force behind the initiative is Lionel Jadot, who launched the Belgian project in 2019 and for this Milan debut brought together 16 of its Belgian residents and seven guests. The 3,000 square meters of exhibition space will not only be a place for exchange and sharing among designers, artists, collectors, architects, and aficionados, but also a theater for parties, art events, and performances (in collaboration with Belgium is Design). “It worked in Belgium,” Jadot says. “The right formula is to select exceptional creators who have the right spirit and energy to push the project far, as in Zaventem, which has been an accelerator for our small family, which has produced amazing new pieces, even large ones, thanks to the space available. Baranzate also has the potential to be put on the map of Milanese creativity.”
L.M.

Pierre Emmanuel Vandeputte

Thomas Serruys

At Design Week you find the big names in design, up-and-coming talent, small, medium, large and legendary brands. And maybe those who spend a fortune to go unnoticed. And then there are those who read the city so well that they don't miss one. To the point of making you think that basically Milan, for better or for worse and even in everything that runs in between, is them today. Of course, we are talking about Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari, the creative duo behind Toiletpaper. Who, after creating a city icon with the “lipstick house” serving as their headquarters, extend the concept to the entire street. A narrow, potentially anonymous street, among other things overlooking the imposing new Residenze Carlo Erba complex, that gets all the attention, with an already Instagrammable public art project that will remain after Design Week, inaugurated by three days of block parties in collaboration with Organics by Red Bull. Ah, there are also new additions to Toiletpaper's home line: bookcases, modular upholstered furniture and nightstands. But that's definitely not the point.
A.S.

A bit on the fringe of the fuorisalone circuit, in the Scalo Romano area, beyond Fondazione Prada, are two exemplary pieces designed by Konstantin Grcic for Galleria Giustini / Stagetti. The boundaries between architecture and industrial design seem to dissolve in Wall and DayBed, from the collection "Ceci n'est pas un mur," a name chosen as an invitation to question the way we perceive objects. In NFQ's former industrial spaces, Wall's three modules-one, two and three meters in length-are joined in sequence, but they are only one of the infinite compositional possibilities studied by Gric. The reference to architecture is clearly visible: there are foundations, garage, porch, windows, roof, floors. It is an interplay of shapes and volumes, positive and negative, creating ever-changing display and storage spaces for a self-supporting structure with multiple uses. Daybed is an island for sleeping, working, studying and relaxing, resting on a platform. Grcic chose wood left natural, with the slabs laid in an unusual pattern that juxtaposes the grain, a decorative contrivance that actually suggests the different functions.
L.M.

Stefano Boeri, transnational boss of vertical forests, for this Fuorisalone churns out a floating one. It could become a symbol of this edition: striking in expectations, it turns out to be anything but grand, not at all out of scale with respect the context; in fact, from a distance it almost looks like a bar's dehor overlooking the water... In reality it is what it should be, and it matches the values of the developer, Timberland, a brand that talks about forests right from its name. It's not 2019 anymore, and in after all, it's just as well. Inside, the Floating Forest houses 610 plants of 30 different species different species, which will later be relocated to the Vettabbia Park, and a pathway sensory trail in four stages with a few sporadic appearances of products made of sustainable materials (sugarcane soles and recycled rubber uppers), recordings of singing birds, a certain smell that immediately makes the countryside, corner selfie and other adventures. The extensive use of wood as a building material and the large mirrored wall that welcomes visitors lend that Nordic touch that does no harm. For Boeri, this is "proof that it is possible to do something like this." In addition to design, it is also circular in concept: what more could you want more?

Breaking down the clichés and stigma attached to public toilets in big cities is the mission of The Tokyo Toilet, a project of the Nippon Foundation. It all began during the 2020 Olympics when they installed 17 public toilets in the Shibuya district of the Japanese capital. Clean, spacious, and high-tech, the toilets were highly appreciated by the district's residents. The fact that they were designed by 16 internationally renowned architects, including Shigeru Ban, Toyo Ito, Kengo Kuma, and Tadao Ando, certainly contributed to the very high standard and success of the initiative. Although, as foundation president Koji Yanai reiterates, the real indispensable factor is cleanliness. For this reason, each bathroom comes with a three-year maintenance contract. The first step in exporting the model to Europe is in Milan. To be precise, in the public bathroom at the Duomo subway station completely refitted by the artist collective SKWAT with graphic designer Satoshi Machiguchi and photographs by Daidō Moriyama, in collaboration with the sanitaryware company TOTO. Two installations, in the Uniqlo store and at the Triennale, on the other hand, make visible the innovative concept based on the Japanese culture of hospitality.
E.S.