Salone and Fuori Salone 2019: design faces new (green) challenges
Design expresses resourcefulness, intelligence and creativity, in other words outstanding talent and know-how. This is the central theme of this year’s Salone del Mobile and is shared fully by Marca Corona in its rich assortment of ceramic products on show.
Courtesy Salone del Mobile.Milano | Photo Credits AM Andrea Mariani
The 58th edition of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile is all about resourcefulness, “in other words, intelligence as a principle of creativity, a sense of talent and superb ability to do and think. These are all talents - as underlined by Claudio Luti, the President of the Salone - that our companies have, and which are developed by our designers”.
Naturally, the undisputed genius and star of the Salone was Leonardo da Vinci himself, the “Master of all designers, a pioneer of the relationship between designers and entrepreneurs. A man of progress, of the future and the present”, who symbolises the art of planning and turning ideas into reality.
To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the great Maestro, numerous initiatives have been dedicated to Leonardo, such as the site-specific installation entitled “AQUA” by Marco Balich, by the ‘Navigli’ or old canals of Milan, and “De-Signo” by Davide Rampello, a captivating installation inside hall 24 at the Fiera del Mobile, created by architect Alessandro Colombo to tell the story of Italian design before and after Leonardo.
At the Salone Satellite, on the other hand, 550 young designers under 35 have given their interpretation of the topic “Food as a Design Object”, thus proposing food as a design object in line with a concept already dealt with by Leonardo who - as many may be unaware - was passionate about food!
Milan: the venue for Salone del Mobile and beyond
As stated in its Manifesto, it is above all an emotion, a global experience, the supreme stage on which architects and designers can finally express their ideas to an audience of more than 30,000, including people who are curious, design addicts, critics, journalists, companies and professionals in the sector, from over 160 Countries around the world!
Each year, this already innovative city opens its gates to innovation to host great events, exhibitions and international meetings, offering the chance to reflect on the relationship between creativity and enterprise.
Milan, a metropolitan and cosmopolitan city, “the moral capital of a Country that is beautiful and rich in culture”.
“Milan in the centre” as a new model of a System composed of:
- Enterprise, over 2,350 companies present at the Salone
- Sustainable quality, bearing in mind all the factors and phases of the production process
- Project, in the sense of a new way of planning, architecture and design
- Communication and talent, such as the young designers launched by the SaloneSatellite
- Culture and inclusion, because the Salone is first and foremost a moment for gathering and contamination
And on the subject of contamination, the Salone di Milano has yet again offered the greatest wisdom by blending styles, sources of inspiration and materials.
Classic, timeless design of the greatest hand-crafting traditions. Modern, innovative and functional design. xLux - or extra luxury - interpreted in a contemporary design key. And above all sustainability: a design that respects the environment in each phase of the life-cycle, from the initial drawing to the choice of raw materials, from the showroom to re-utilisation or re-design.
Today, designs are more alive than ever, like architecture, it is a happy time that focuses more and more on the relationship between man and space, architecture and nature, to reconnect humans to their surroundings and favour the well-being of each living creature. Sustainable planning and biophilic design are thus proposed as a possible future of contemporary living.
Marca Corona has always been a spokesman of this green message that has been launched at this year’s Salone del Mobile, and is committed to producing its ceramics using totally eco-friendly methods, using high-quality raw materials that are healthy and certified and contain a significant percentage of recycled material.
Its commitment for eco-friendly production methods goes hand-in-hand with the great attention it pays to the final appearance of its products, which should be creative but also faithful to the natural elements by which they are inspired. One example is Soul Bay, the new series of white body wall tiles, a sophisticated re-interpretation of the new naturalist trend that pays homage to the greater maestro, Pinuccio Sciola, and his Pietre Sonore (sound stones).
Fuorisalone: the most sustainable week of the year
While the Salone del Mobile offered a chance to appreciate the now consolidated trends in furnishings, at the Fuorisalone - the heart of the Milan Design Week - we were able to admire all the innovations and experimentations of tomorrow’s lifestyle.
Yet again, the fil rouge was environmental sustainability, the unspoken principle of all planning choices, from architecture to design, from lifestyles to our daily relationships with others. Each district gave their very best to state its own idea of Eco Design: in the Brera Design District, for example, the joint measure entitled “Design Your Life” expressed the green viewpoints of ten illustrious international Ambassadors, while in the 5vie District the focus was on the relationship and the impact of craftsmanship and design.
Design awareness and sustainability were the highlights of the Tortona area, which was brought to life by the minimalist, eco-friendly elegance of Scandinavian design, with materials inspired by “The Design Experience” by Archiproducts Milan and by the dichotomy between innovation and tradition of the “Superdesign Show” of Superstudio.
Finally, at Opificio 31, visitors were challenged by a direct and distinct question: can our daily choices define a better future?
This same question was also posed by the exhibition “Broken Nature: design takes on human survival”, a key event of the International Exhibition of La Triennale di Milano, which remains open to visitors also in the following months and is organised in collaboration with the MoMa of New York, to show the key role of architecture in transforming our awareness and reducing our impact on the environment.
