10 projects selected by a designer at Salone del Mobile 2023

The group of Italian designers Mandalaki created an optical instrument that creates a projection of nature-inspired hues, in order to have sunlight in the indoor spaces. Something to see it again and again. 

By now, modulating and declining an idea in order to create a collection has become normality for a certain type of lighting fixture but, often, it is possible to identify the generating design: in this case, all the proposed variations (as the name itself suggests) maintain a strong authorial character. The joints of the composition allow the user to vary the object body as the lighting needs of the space change, and then close it and put it against the wall. The cantilevered body always remains perpendicular to the reference wall and parallel to the floor, bringing light even into the middle of a room.

I wanted to include this product, even though it was presented in 2022. I was very impressed by its sculptural presence, achieved through the use of a laminated beech wood; the circular section of the base, which offers maximum stability, is reduced through the flattening of the material at the top, generating in this way the appropriate surface to create a comfortable handle that hints at Taky's nomadic attitude. The cantilevered top certainly cannot go unnoticed.

A family of elements with an "open" and hybrid function, which can be interpreted in completely different ways by their respective users. Made in Okoumè wood, these objects with a decisive and basic structure remind us how a project can be decided with a spark, a simple detail that dialogues - but is in full contrast - with the composition: this is what happens with Oto, in which the sinuous connection unexpectedly fits between the two vertical and horizontal components.

This historical reissue gives us a product that closely dialogues with the architecture of which it becomes a part. Through a pressure system, LT8 can be easily fixed between floor and ceiling without drilling or ruining anything; the relationship between the lamp and the wall becomes necessary in order to better read the presence of the light itself in the environment. Designed and finished in every detail, this refined re-edition fully respects the design of its author with a focus on the use of LEDs and the possibility of replacing any component to ensure genuine longevity to the object.

A freestanding washbasin in Carrara marble shaped by the fluidity of water. The designer's design research, often aimed at investigating new processes and uses of stone materials, lead to the creation of an experimental object with strict geometric shapes and characterized by the slight presence of irregular ripples, generated by the intersection of the two jets of water required to make the upper marble ring.

First of all this product astonishes “insiders” because of its authors. Two different design personalities, brought together to reason about production processes, reinterpret the historic Safari chair with the aim of making it more in line with contemporary needs and tastes. Solid turned wood, boldly coloured ratchet straps and a finely decorated upholstery - highlighting the Dutch designer’s experience in the textile field - transform this reinterpretation into a new classic. Very interesting, in terms of construction, is the sphere that secures the leather armrest to the leg; in pairs, the spheres become guides for the passage of the strap. Thus it is easy to mount a Twain and secure the structure in traction by tightening the ratchet.

A lighting system consisting of elements of cylindrical section, made of a resin that interacts with the refraction of light and, at the same time, conceals the LED light source. An apparently simple rotating system allows the light to be oriented, through the rotation of the resin cylinder itself. A magic completed by a system of small steel cables, which allows the diffusers to float in space in an orderly manner.

This year’s trip to Salone Satellite led me again to discover an interesting project by a young designer: a stool that plays on the relationship between concrete and solid wood and their difference in surface area and weight. The classic wooden spines are left in plain sight, highlighted with a color change. I was struck by this proposal because the designer created a stool without going back to the aesthetic of the “beautiful design,” maintaining a very high level of finish for a prototype presented by a very young person.

This folding coffee table in metal and its simple shapes, perhaps designed to go unnoticed, hides in its joint a small invention that allows the top and the legs to fold up and flatten: in this way the coffee table can be conveniently hung on the wall, saving space. This is an example of when quality is found even where no one is looking.