Issue 01 July/August 2024
Design directions
A materials world in Milan
by Alyn Griffiths

Design

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Milan Design Week is the biggest event on the global calendar for interiors aficionados. The latest innovations in furniture, lighting and technologies for home environments go on show, bringing inspiration to the world of wow living. This year’s 62nd edition of the Salone took interior thoughts in new directions and debuted the designs we’ll be seeing in showrooms and bringing into our homes for years to come.

Much of the serious business of the design world takes place at the Salone del Mobile trade fair, in the massive exhibition center located in Rho, just north-west of Milan city center. And hundreds of satellite events spread across the city’s glamorous showrooms, popping up in venues from grand palazzi to historic railway yards. Some of the quirkier, independent shows in dedicated design districts such as Tortona, Isola, 5 Vie and Alcova pushed hard at the boundaries of what can be achieved with new materials and technologies, including biotechnology and AI. This year’s event explored the connection between nature and matter – “Materia Natura” – highlighting mindful design practices alongside sustainability as a critical value in the creative process.

Here’s our pick of the exhibitions and product launches we loved in between the all-important pit stops for coffee and aperitivo.

Mater

Danish green-tech design brand Mater collaborated with Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola to create a furniture collection called Alder made from Mater’s innovative Matek material. The compound, made by mixing coffee waste or wood fibers with a biodegradable binder, can be molded to create furniture – in this case, lounge and side tables and a stool with soft, curvilinear forms inspired by nature.

Denmark x Spain. Mater’s Alder side table. (Nicklas Hemming)

Kartell

Philippe Starck added a new console and lounge chair to his innovative A.I. collection for Italian furniture brand Kartell. Starck instructed generative AI software to create a seat that supports the human body using minimum material and energy. The resulting series of objects feature skeletal structures molded from recycled plastic. The lounge chair adds a cushioned seat and curving backrest for enhanced comfort.

AI delivering comfy curvatures by Philippe Starck for Kartell. (Salone del Mobile/Kartell)

ecoLogicStudio

The theme of Materia Natura is perfectly embodied by the Photosynthetica Collection from ecoLogicStudio – an architecture and design innovation firm specializing in biotechnology for the built environment. Comprising a desktop air purifier, a compostable stool and a 3D-printed jewel made of re-metabolised pollution, the project demonstrated how pollutants and urban waste can be used to grow new materials and products using a process described as cyber gardening.

Growing up and cleaning up: ecoLogicStudo’s Photosynthetica Collection turns waste into wonders of design. (Pepe Fotographia)

Faye Toogood

At a palazzo in Piazza Santo Stefano, British designer Faye Toogood presented two new collections that demonstrated her signature mix of wit and style. Her Cosmic collection for Tacchini featured plump, pillow-like forms and materials with squishy or crinkly textures. The furniture, lighting and objects were displayed in a domestic setting alongside her Rude rugs for CC-Tapis. These combined irregular shapes with mischievous motifs and unusual textures to create a playful, provocative and deeply personal collection.

British designer Faye Toogood presented a whimsical collection of bouncy, crinkly, fun pieces, including the Rude Arts Club for CC-Tapis. (John William)

Kohler

The focus during Milan Design Week may be on furniture but here’s an innovative seat of a different kind. Artist and designer Dr Samuel Ross showed a limited edition brutalism-inspired reinterpretation of American bathroom brand Kohler’s Formation 02 smart toilet – this time in a striking orange hue. Inspired by the way moving water sculpts its environment, the loo features a dynamic form with textured surfaces, plus gadgetry including a heated seat, motion-activated lid and customizable bidet cleansing.

Ooh, a loo! But not as you know it. Kohler’s Formation 02 smart toilet makes a statement in orange. (Credit pending)

The Good Plastic Company

Recycling and upcycling were key themes at this year’s event. The Good Plastic Company’s installation – titled “Hello, Earth Speaking” – featured an enormous sculpture of planet Earth produced entirely from its innovative recycled and recyclable Polygood plastic panels. The installation emphasized the role of circular design in a sustainable future, encouraging visitors to consider ways of minimizing waste and preserving resources.

Message without a bottle: the Good Plastic Company’s Earth sculpture.(Daylight Superstudio)

Hydro

CIRCAL 100R is the world’s first industrial-scale aluminum made entirely from post-consumer waste. The Norwegian renewable energy company presented products, furniture and lighting developed by leading designers including Max Lamb, Inga Sempé, Philippe Malouin and Andreas Engesvik. The objects showcase the possibilities of the aluminum extrusion process as well as demonstrating how this mono-material approach enables endless recyclability.

Inga Sempé harnessed the power of aluminum using Hydro’s innovative CIRCAL 100R material, fabricated entirely from post-consumer waste. (Einar Aslaksen)

The 63rd edition of Milan Design Week will take place from 7-13 April 2025.

Main image: Salone del Mobile Milano ©Delfino Sisto Legnani

Topics in this article

  • Reporter: Alyn Griffiths
  • Alyn Griffiths writes on architecture, design and culture for global lifestyle publications. His book The Future City: Visionary Architecture and Design (Lannoo, 2021) explores urbanization through innovative projects by international architectural practices.