Guide to Isola Design District: design for all, augmented reality and Bauhaus

Unlimited design. This is the theme for the 2019 edition of the Isola Design District taking place during Milan Design Week from 9 to 14 April. The event opens on Tuesday 9. For the third year, the event will focus on technology and innovation, with a particular eye on excellence in craftsmanship. The event looks beyond design, and this year’s theme is explained through the words of Isola’s project manager, Gabriele Cavallaro. “We want to go beyond the product and its function, continuing in the same direction that we have been following since the first edition”. Going beyond the meaning of the term “Isola” [island].

Of particular interest are the six days of talks, entitled Unlimited Design Talks (thedistrict.com). From Denmark, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation (KADK), will be presenting “Different Bodies” at Spazio Gamma in Via Pastrengo 7, an exhibition which expands on the theme of design applied to disability. The aim is to question design standards. In terms of innovation, augmented reality is a must. The confines of physical space can be overcome by installing an app, “Aria”, by The AR Platform. There will be a large amount of augmented reality content at the Milan Design Market in Via Pastrengo 14.

The project at the Milan Design Market is a modern architecture proposal for the delocalization of the Amatrice earthquake victims that took place in Italy in 2016 an 2017. The setting has been created by Marie Chevalier and Colombe Crouan. Eco-design and art take shape in two projects: I Giardini di Leonardo [The Gardens of Leonardo] and Il Giardino della Mente [The Garden of the Mind]. Attention is also placed on local craftsmanship, including the work of Pietro Algranti and his made-to-measure objects. In tribute to the 100th anniversary of Bauhaus, Myriam Kuehne Rauner has dedicated her new limited edition works to the characteristic style of Bauhaus with the Echo Bauhaus collection. They will be exhibited in her gallery Angelo della Pergola 1. Lastly, in Via Pepe 36, the eco-sustainable tables to rent “for 1 euro” at Studio Aperion.

Furthermore, Isola Design District and the Lombardy Region are working together on the project “Materiæ”, which as the name suggests is focus on materials. Not to be missed, in the setting of Palazzo Lombardia, is the main installation by the architect Stephanie Chaltiel, a prototype habitat constructed from natural materials such as bamboo, earth, sand and clay, using drone spraying technology. The drones are used to spray various levels of organic mortar on bamboo arch frames.

And to finish, an entire bar printed in 3D by Caracol Studio at Stecca 3.0, where visitors to the Fuorisalone can enjoy a drink. The project is called “3D Printed Bar” and draws attention on the sustainability of production processes. This bar is made entirely out of biopolymers of natural origin.