SINGAPORE – Lounge on a sofa shaped like a Hollywood diva’s lipsticked pout. Or step into a dream-like cinematic installation designed for meditation. What about a submerged island to make you think about saving water?
These are some of the highlights designed by global architects, artists and furniture-makers to boost visitor numbers this year at the 62nd Salone del Mobile.Milano, the world’s biggest furniture trade fair.
More than 1,950 exhibitors from 35 countries are showcasing 185 brands at the six-day fair, which ends on April 21.
Visitors from more than 180 countries are expected for the 2024 edition. In 2023, the furniture trade fair attracted about 308,000 visitors, 15 per cent more than in 2022.
The fair takes up about 174,457 sq m of exhibition space at the Rho Fiera grounds, just outside the heart of Milan.
Its Italian organisers say the aim of the Salone is to produce lasting value for its exhibitors and to create quality experiences for visitors through pavilions that showcase cutting-edge works.
There is also a special focus on bathroom and kitchen designs in the International Bathroom Exhibition and EuroCucina.
The trade fair is complemented by Milan Design Week, a cluster of events that includes the Salone Satellite, which showcases young talent. There is also Fuorisalone, which refers to events outside the fair, hosted in hundreds of venues across the Italian city.
Among the exhibitors at the Fuorisalone is Singapore’s national agency for design, DesignSingapore Council (DSG), which is also showcasing the works of seven local designers at Future Impact 2.
It is DSG’s second standalone exhibition of Singapore designs at the La Rotonda del Pellegrini, a Renaissance-era building in the heart of Milan.
The Straits Times highlights some of the most talked-about global designs on show.
1. Interiors By David Lynch
A Thinking Room features two identical rooms designed by acclaimed American film-maker David Lynch, who is known for his outre films such as the space opera Dune (1984) and televison series Twin Peaks (1990).
Lynch harnesses the scenographic language of film and theatre to create symbolic gateways which have to be “entered” before visitors delve into the exhibition at the Salone del Mobile.Milano.
The mirror image of the two rooms is part of the surreal set-up that is a hallmark of Lynch’s work, says curator and film professor Antonio Moda. The interiors are curtained in blue velvet that form a screen for video projections. There are also seven gilded cylinders where a throne takes centre stage.
2. Under The Surface
Under The Surface features a massive submerged island designed by renowned creative studios Accurat, Design Group Italia and Emiliano Ponzi (Salotto.NYC).
The installation is for the International Bathroom Exhibition 2024 at the Salone, and shines the spotlight on the vital importance of global water resources and their conservation.
It features a landscape made up of peaks and valleys, and an island that appears as an imposing and multifaceted relief. The use of projectors amplifies the experience, recreating the movement of water in a series of waves.
3. Newfound Equilibrium
South Korean electronics giant Samsung has come up with an immersive design installation, Newfound Equilibrium, as part of the Fuorisalone.
Prominently displayed at the Le Cavallerizze, in the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, the exhibit’s media art awakens the senses through light, sound and digital interactions.
4. Making Sense Of Color
Tech giant Google has collaborated with art and research lab Chromasonic at Garage 21 in Milan as part of Fuorisalone. Making Sense Of Color shows how colour, which is elemental to sensing the world, is a powerful aspect of Google’s latest hardware design.
As guests wander through the installation, sound frequencies are translated to light, and light frequencies to sound.
5. La Bocca
The iconic sofa La Bocca – meaning “the mouth” in Italian – is presented by Gufram at the Palazzo Litta as part of Fuorisalone. The celebrated Italian furniture manufacturer is renowned for its avant-garde and pop art-inspired works and collaborations with architects.
The La Bocca sofa was designed by Turin-based architectural practice Studio65 in 1970, inspired by the pouty lips of Hollywood screen sirens. The home decor collectible has seen multiple iterations in a spectrum of hues over the decades.
