Home to great open spaces and lush hidden courtyards, the Isola Design District is a peaceful oasis to explore experimental design away from the stress of the city. From the material driven research from Dutch Invertuals — now in its 18th edition — to the new Belgian collective Brut, here’s a selection of must-see events for Milan Design Week.
BRUT
Although it’s at the limit of the map of the Isola Design District — in Viale Stelvio 66 — the Belgian collection BRUT certainly merits a visit. Six young designers from the group are set to participate in Fuorisalone for the very first time. They’ve reinterpreted the area, creating an open space with plenty of light to present a series of objects in metal, cork, and marble that straddle the line between architecture and sculpture.
Mutant Matter by Dutch Invertuals
Holland shows up with Dutch Invertuals, continuing the exploration of materials in their latest exhibit Mutant Matter. Here, designers examine refuse as a resource for new projects. Hosted in Spazio O’ — in Via Pastrengo 12, in the heart of the Isola Design District — the exhibit puts emerging designers in the spotlight. Just take Shahar Livne, on the search for new hybrid substances that help us confront the now out of control consumption and surplus of refuse.
Lovely Waste
Curated in the spaces of Zona K — in Via Spalato 11 — the exhibit Lovely Waste is curated by the Source Firenze communication agency. The exhibit looks at the potential of recyclable materials, presenting a series of virtuous collaborations between designers and businesses. Among the various projects, be sure to catch the Game of Stone series, from Argentinian Josefina Muñoz.
Born from tossed marble blocks, the objects — tables and steps of different dimensions — exalt the various working processes of stone in a game of textures and scale jumps. A beautiful synthesis of the philosophy of Recycled Stones, a company from the the Val d’Ossola north of Lake Maggiore, aims to “reintegrate excess stones in a path to valorize, giving dignity to what was destined to be waste”.
Marble stories
The Italo-Brazilian designers Giorgio Bonaguro, Gustavo Martini, and Ronald Sasson explore the relationship between architecture and design in the collective exhibit Marble Stories, presented in the Giuseppe Pero Gallery in Via Porro Lambertenghi 3. Monumental and thin, the projects exalt the gorgeous austerity of marble.
The Athos series of stool and side tables from Bonaguro plays with the visual tension between a circle and a broken line. Meanwhile, the Rise collection from Martini uses two contrasting tones — black and white — for furnishings with a totem feel. For his Maas armchair, Sasson alternates strips of marble with elements in plexiglass, which lightens the products overall appearance.
How & Wow
Don’t forget to stop by the exhibit for How & Wow, organized by the Crafts Council Nederland — in Via Pastrengo 13 — which has invited young Dutch and international designers to spark the conversation between design and craftsmanship. Among the various projects on display are those from the Italian designers Sara Ricciardi and Astrid Luglio.
