Special Edition | Milano 2024

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Vincenzo de Cotiis

India Mahdavi Vincent Van Duysen

+7 Australian designers reveal new products

Milano

250+ PAGES OF CONCEPTS, CONVERSATIONS & CREATIVITY

CONTENTS

est playlist Milan highlights 2024

design unbound

my space Giopato & Coombes

6:AM Glassworks

Arno Declercq

my space Flippo Carandini

David Lopez Quincoces

India Mahdavi Vincent Van Duysen

harmonious dialogue

Milano sempre

Vincenzo de Cotiis

brutalist beauty

Hannes Peer

EDITOR'S LETTER

Putting together our 2024 Milan special felt similar to the pace of Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile.Milano itself, with its back-to-back lineup of installations, events, product releases and designer conversations.

First, we asked design commentators Karen McCartney and David Harrison to distil the essence of the week with their 50 highlights – from the most memorable visits to lesser-known products and collaborations. Karen also caught up with renowned Italian architect, artist and interior designer Vincenzo de Cotiis in his gallery exhibition, Archaeology of Consciousness, and David sat down with Spanish architect David Lopez Quincoces nearly a decade after their first interview.

While on the ground, I spoke to Belgian architect and Molteni&C creative director Vincent Van Duysen, Milanese creative duo and 6:AM Glassworks founders Edoardo Pandolfo and Francesco Palù, Belgian designer Arno Declercq and French designer Inga Sempé. You’ll also find conversations with Milanese architect Hannes Peer and French architect India Mahdavi, who share how their 2024 offerings reflect their broader creative vision.

Importantly, we profiled seven Australian designers who introduced new lighting and furniture as part of the week. As Melbourne-based lighting designer Christopher Boots affirms, “Milan is cultural oxygen… If you’re interested in creating a better future worth living in, Milan offers that opportunity.”

For our cover story, we take a private tour through the studio of lighting designers Giopato & Coombes and an exclusive look inside the home of artist and designer Filippo Carandini, as well as two other exceptional Milanese homes. We leave you with a refreshed guide on places to eat, drink and be inspired in the city all year round.

Next month, in our June kitchen issue, we present the definitive guide to EuroCucina 2024. Ciao, Sophie x

La Cucina Italiana

Photography Courtesy of Van Rossum

CONTRIBUTORS

KAREN M c CARTNEY & DAVID HARRISON

Karen McCartney is est living’s editorial advisor, known for her work in the world of interiors and architecture, with an impressive resume that spans print, digital media and publishing. Life partner David Harrison has been a design journalist for 25 years after switching careers from film and television to interior styling and design writing. Together, the prolific design commentators share their 50 Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile. Milano highlights.

@mccartneyk @designdaily

LILLIE THOMPSON

Melbourne photographer Lillie Thompson’s signature approach to light, mood and composition can be seen across her portfolio of still life, architecture, design, interiors and portraiture. Recognised as one of the ’99 Women Breaking the Bias in Design’, Lillie’s appreciation of space and design took her to Milan to photograph architect and artist Vincenzo de Cotiis and his business and life partner Claudia Rose de Cotiis exclusively for est magazine. She also captured designer Filippo Carandini’s Milan apartment and editor Sophie Lewis within ‘Suite’ by Spotti and Motta Architecture.

@lillie_thompson

DEPASQUALE + MAFFINI

Raised in Upstate New York and first trained by his father, Michael De Pasquale began his formal photography studies in London before graduating from The Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. After graduating in political sciences, Martina Maffini moved to Paris, Buenos Aires and New York where she met Michael in 2011. Since then, they have shared life and work. Based in Paris since 2014, they work with a select list of interior and architecture publications, interior designers, architects and commercial clients. In this issue, the pair captured Volker Haug and Flack Studio’s collaboration ‘Me and You’ and architect Luca Cipelletti’s attic conversion.

@depasquale.maffini

YVETTE CAPRIOGLIO

A long-standing est contributor, Yvette Caprioglio has worked for more than 25 years across advertising and communications. With a highlyrefined eye for aesthetics, Yvette has been known to say, “Don’t hurt my eyes,” and believes that while a picture tells a thousand words, some sassy wordplay never goes astray. Yvette speaks with Giopato & Coombes founders Cristiana Giopato and Christopher Coombes on their studio located in Treviso, near Venice. She also writes on two Milanese homes by Motta Architecture and Luca Cipelletti for this special issue of est magazine.

@yvette_caprioglio

bertazzoni.com

Bertazzoni Professional Series Air-Tec

The world’s first all electric 3-in-1 induction cooker featuring a downdraft ventilation system, eliminating the need for a rangehood.

est TEAM

Editor

Sophie Lewis

Visual Concept Designer

Jack Seedsman

Senior Writer | Digital Content Creator

Holly Beadle

Producer & Product Editor

Brigitte Craig

Copy Editor

Yvette Caprioglio

Marketing Coordinator

Emerald Ford

Editorial Assistant

Livia Toscano

Product Coordinator

Annabelle Conron

Sales Coordinator

Chloe Rogerson

Partnerships Editor

Megan Rawson

Advertising & Partnerships

Mandy Loftus-Hills | mandy@estliving.com

Deb Robertson | deb@estliving.com

Nicola Siddall | nicola@estliving.com

Editorial Advisor

Karen McCartney

Managing Director

Miffy Coady

CONTACT

editorial@estliving.com

advertising@estliving.com

CONNECT

ON THE COVER

Design

Giopato & Coombes

Photography

Studio Brinth

Location Treviso, Italy

CREDITS

est living acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung of the East Kulin Nation. We pay respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

CONTRIBUTORS

Words

Karen McCartney, David Harrison, Yvette Caprioglio, Sophie Lewis, Megan Rawson

PHOTOGRAPHY

Playlist

© Mondadori Portfolio

Milan Design Week & Salone del Mobile.Milano Highlights

Specified in feature

Vincenzo de Cotiis

Lillie Thompson, Wichmann + Bendtsen photography courtesy of Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation, Martin Morrell

Brutalist Beauty

DePasquale+Maffini

Design Unbound

DePasquale+Maffini, Annika Kafcaloudis, Thomas de Bruyne, Pier Sorgetti, Annika Kafcaloudis, Lillie Thompson, Carlo Magnoli, courtesy of Innate

My Space | Giopato & Coombes

Studio Brinth and Mattia Balsamini

The Library

Alejandro Ramírez Orozco

Design Voices

DSL Studio, Tommaso Mariniello, Amber Vanbossel, Felix Speller, Antoine Doyen, Danilo Pasquali, courtesy of Molteni&C, Expormim, Spotti & Living Divani

My Space | Filippo Carandini

Lillie Thompson

Harmonious Dialogue

Giulio Ghirardi

Milano Sempre

Specified in feature

Back Cover

Lillie Thompson

LA MUSICA VOL.2

Photography ©Mondadori Portfolio

HIGHLIGHTS

12 Chairs For Meditation by Andres Reisinger was the central installation at Nilufar Depot for MDW2024, with each chair limited to an edition of 20. The Spanish designer’s installation revolves around an impactful 5m x 5m glass mosaic tiled panel called Mosaic Sky with Apples, skillfully manufactured by Taller Perdomo in Mexico.

Design commentators Karen McCartney and David Harrison visited the villas, the installations, the Palazzos and the showrooms to bring you the very best of Milan Design Week 2024.

ALCOVA

Villa Bagatti Valsecchi

Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

With two locations this year, Alcova, (previous page and right) was one of the hottest tickets during Design Week and had hundreds of design journalists and thousands of visitors heading to Varedo on the city’s northern outskirts. Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, a crumbling 18th century villa played host to more than fifty designers, studios and manufacturers.

Photography Piergiorgio Sorgetti

COLIN KING X CALICO

Alcova

Villa Bagatti Valsecchi

Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

Showing two new wallpaper collections created by interior stylist Colin King, Calico Wallpaper presented Monument, an open diamond-shaped form that rivalled Villa Bagatti Valsecchi’s sixmetre high ceilings. The wallpapers 'Nuance' and 'Perception' could be viewed in full in both shadow and direct natural light so that the subtle variations in tone and surface qualities could be fully appreciated.

Photography Jonathan Hökklo

Portrait Courtesy of Calico Wallpaper

STUDIODANIELK

Alcova

Villa Bagatti Valsecchi

Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

Marrying a Brazilian approach to wood with classical materials found in Italian architecture, Polish designer Daniel Kolodziejczak and Costa Rican Diana Arce formed StudioDanielK in Milan in 2023. 'Antechamber' is their first collection and consists of lights, furniture, mirrors, and a candelabra in editions of 12, made from smoked eucalyptus, blackened steel and exotic stones.

Photography Paolo Abate

PET LAMP

Alcova

Villa Bagatti Valsecchi

Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

Spanish designer Alvaro Catalán de Ocón (ACdO) and the team at PET Lamp brought the architecture of northern Ghana to Milan with the 'Frafra Tapestry' and 'PET Lamp Gurunsi'. Based on drone shots of traditional Ghanese Frafra village compounds, the woven artwork and light installation were entirely made from elephant grass by Bolgatanga weavers using traditional basketry techniques.

Photography Courtesy of Petlamp

GIOPATO & COOMBES

Alcova

Villa Borsani

Via Umberto I, 148, 20814

Varedo MB, Italy

Within the refined spaces of Villa Borsani, Italian lighting studio Giopato & Coombes showed a small selection of unique lights called 'Flamingo'. The pendant version delivered a necklace-like shape with a pleasingly asymmetric balance in blackened brass, with delicate interconnecting cylinders in what appeared to be alabaster.

Photography Courtesy of Giopato & Coombes

SUPAFORM

Galvanised steel has never looked so chic. Supaform is artist and designer Maxim Shcherbakov, and his collection of objects shown at Villa Borsani included a cabinet, floor lamp, desk and chair that sat comfortably within the villa’s timber-heavy rationalist interior. The studio’s nostalgic references to past design legacies are spiked with avant-garde contradictions.

Photography Piergiorgio Sorgetti

Alcova

Villa Borsani

Via Umberto I, 148, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

ECONITWOOD

Alcova

Looking as if perched on a sand dune, Printed Nature , an installation by designer Harry Thaler in collaboration with German manufacturer Additive Tectonics, showed furniture and lighting pieces made from econitWood, an innovative waste wood material that is a by-product from sawmills. Refined and three-dimensionally printed into new products, the designs are printed to order to further reduce waste.

Photography Courtesy of econitWood

Villa Bagatti Valsecchi

Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

GALLOTTI&RADICE

Gallotti&Radice Milano

Via Felice Cavallotti, 16, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

The new Gallotti&Radice showroom presented Sinestesia , a complete environment with a soft, fluid vibe described as a ‘barrier free space, wrapped in a kind of monochromatic material skin.’ The interior and many new furniture pieces were by Studiopepe including 'Iperborea', the embroidered silk wall hanging, alongside the David/Nicolas designed 'Prism' coffee tables (centre).

Photography Andrea Ferrari

KETTAL

Taking a contemporary approach to traditional Arabic majlis seating, Patricia Urquiola zones in on the convivial and the community benefits this type of modular approach provides with a new sofa, 'Insula'. Suitable for inside and out this low-profile setting, with smooth curves and meticulous proportions is set to be a winning design for Spanish company Kettal.

Photography Courtesy of Kettal

Salone del Mobile.Milano Pavillion 24, Stand C11 D10

SAMUEL ACCOCEBERRY STUDIO

'Scale' is one of a small family of geometric alabaster table lamps with various profiles, by Parisian Samuel Accoceberry Studio. Showing at the LABO show his delight in this lamp came from the way the natural patterns in the translucent stone were equally beautiful when the lamp was both on and off.

LABO

Via Biella, 6, 20143 Milano MI, Italy

Photography Yosuke Kojima

ALESSANDRO CIFFO

Rossana Orlandi Galleria

Via Matteo Bandello, 14, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

Specialising in work with silicone, designer Alessandro Ciffo has, through experimentation and mastery of the material, produced an extensive collection including cabinets and tables. Showing his 'La Bürsch' body of work at Rossana Orlandi Galleria he showcases the exquisite properties of colour, nuance and scale of this regenerated and repurposed material.

Photography Courtesy of Alessandro Ciffo & Silvia Sirpresi

ACERBIS

Salone del Mobile.Milano

Pavillion 2, Stand G15 H12

The 'Lokum' series of side tables by Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis illustrates her ability to combine minimalist forms with a poetry of material, light and colour. These blown glass pieces in amber and smoky hues can be placed together or shine as a solo piece. The 1973 Claudio Salocchidesigned ‘Free System’ sofa, rereleased, is a fine example of optimal modularity.

Photography Alberto Strada

SAMUEL

ACCOCEBERRY STUDIO

Paris-based Samuel Accoceberry Studio showed a number of sculptural pieces at LABO – a cultural initiative supporting French creators and artisans. His limited-edition, three-dimensional wall piece 'Galactica A' is cooper finished stainless steel while the geometric 'Torre' brass table has a travertine top. The spectacular 'Grande Rigel' table lamp combines textured and molded glass set against patinated, mirror-polished sheet metal.

Photography Courtesy of Samuel Accoceberry Studio

LABO

Via Biella, 6, 20143 Milano MI, Italy

LASVIT

Glassmaking brand Lasvit art director Maxim Velcovsky used an artisanal, fused glassmaking technique to stage an awardwinning installation at Palazzo Isimbardi. By creating textures through use of large-scale, hand-crafted moulds (and crafted in Europe’s largest glass kiln) the exhibit, Porta , part of the broader Re/Creation show, is set to inspire architectural use.

Photography Courtesy of Lasvit

Palazzo Isimbardi

Corso Monforte, 35, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

PAOLA LENTI

Paola Lenti Milano

Via Giovanni Bovio, 28, 20159 Milano MI, Italy

Paola Lenti’s new showroom featured their latest outdoor furniture pieces, including the ‘Shito’ armchair by Francesco Rota (foreground) and ‘Baleari’ by Lina Obregón within a striking setting of extruded ceramic totems, ‘Stelo’ by Nicolò Morales.

Photography Sergio Chimenti

RUDE ARTS CLUB

'Bits and bobs', 'Tongue-and-Cheek' and 'Tiddlybits' are the titles of some of the rugs at British designer Faye Toogood’s RUDE ARTS CLUB show at cc-tapis. Inspired by the work of artist Francis Bacon, she produced a series of mischievous artworks (shown) which formed inspirational echoes of body parts in earthy, fleshy tones. In tandem ,billowy satin daybeds and sofas, 'Solar', designed for Tacchini, embody generosity and idle comfort.

cc-tapis Showroom Piazza Santo Stefano, 10, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

Portrait John William Photography Andrea Ferrari

GUCCI

Celebrating Milanese style, Design Ancora (meaning Design Again) was conceived by Gucci creative director Sabato De Sarno and Milan-based communications agency P:S founder Michela Pelizzari. The exhibition showcases five iconic Italian design objects, specially created in a single glossy shade of burgundy.

Gucci Milano Flagship

Via Monte Napoleone, 7A, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Photography Courtesy of Gucci

CASSINA

Cassina Milano Showroom

Via Durini, 16, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

Capturing the zeitgeist with a reissue of the Carlo Scarpa’s 'Cornaro' sofa and armchair from 1973, Cassina has contemporised the design by offering gloss lacquered shades as well as the natural ash of the original. New materials and proportions have been introduced in consultation with Carlo Scarpa’s son Tobias.

Photography Luca Merli

MULLER VAN SEVEREN X BD BARCELONA

Capsule Plaza

Spazio Maiocchi

Via Achille Maiocchi, 10, 20129 Milano MI, Italy

Design duo Muller van Severen created two new collections for Spanish brand BD Barcelona. 'Bridges', a series of monumental cabinets in high-gloss lacquer in unusual tones was contrasted by 'Pillow', a range of puffy modular seating elements resembling layered eiderdowns or duvets. The space where these were shown was dubbed Interzone – a place between surrealism, sculpture, and architecture.

Photography Courtesy of Muller Van Severen

MOTTA ARCHITECTURE X SPOTTI

SUITE

Via Gerolamo Borgazzi, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

After last year’s success with Casa SEM, Milan design institution Spotti collaborated once again with Motta Architecture, showing an installation called SUITE . Offering up their version of a chic bohemian hotel environment, Motta Architecture combined vintage pieces with contemporary lighting by Volker Haug, with their own designs in burl woods, coloured marbles and luxurious fabrics.

Photography Giulio Ghirardi

SERVOMUTO

‘In Fondo Al Cortile a Sinistra’

Via Olona, 25, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

Since 2010, Milanese lighting brand Servomuto has brought a certain vintage edge to their inventive, handmade designs. Combining woven cane, printed fabrics, and touches of wood in appealing ways, the brand brings an haute couture approach to the process of making lighting objects.

Photography Serena Eller Vainicher

NEMO

Nemo Showroom Montforte

Corso Monforte, 19/a, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

The façade of the Nemo showroom was transformed with large neon letters and rows of Charlotte Perriand Pivotant wall lights on deep green tiles. Designed by Giuliano Andrea Dell'Uva, the concept was inspired by the colour palette of Lina Bo Bardi’s Casa de Vidro in Sao Paolo. Internally tiles formed a striking geometric landscape for new lighting pieces by Álvaro Siza and Lina Bo Bardi to inhabit.

Photography Luca Rotondo

AMINI CARPETS

Amini Showroom

Via Borgogna, 7, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

The Amini Carpets showroom took on the lyrical atmosphere of a dreamlike garden with the curation and designs of Elisa Ossino in Abstract Garden . Soft colour, skilled techniques, the play of yarns and the application of craft created an undeniably sensory experience.

Photography Courtesy of Amini

RONAN BOURELLEC X MUTINA

Casa Mutina Milano & Spazio Cernaia Via Cernaia, 1A, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Mutina launched two new collections in collaboration with French designer Ronan Bourellec. 'Adagio' (left of the image) is an architectural bas-relief – a series of ceramic modules which ‘weave’ to create a threedimensional interlocking wall sculpture.

‘Osso & Bottone’ – a sculpted tile with edge cuts – is designed for outdoor and indoor use, which allows the grout selection to play a more significant role. ‘Talea’ ceramics by Bourellec are part of Mutina Editions.

Photography Giulio Ghirardi

DRAGA & AUREL

Rossana Orlandi Galleria

Via Matteo Bandello, 14, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

Continuing their intense exploration of colour through the use of resin, Draga & Aurel (Draga Obradovic and Aurel K. Basedow) showed a selection of new work in their 'Transparency Matters' collection at Rossana Orlandi Galleria. The Apartment of Wonders installation entitled, designed by Guiliano Andrea dell’Uva, included the 'Glint' cabinet, 'Zen' table and 'Lewit' bed made of layered Lucite panels.

Photography Riccardo Gasperoni

HAYMANN EDITIONS

LABO

Via Biella, 6, 20143 Milano MI, Italy

Showing at LABO Cultural Project, Haymann Editions represented the work of designer Charles Kalpakian with his ‘Romy’ lounge chair (named after French actress Romy Schneider) for its grace and cinematic impact. It is shown in front of a graphic screen by Florence Bourel Design Studio. In the ‘Romy’, there is also an equally well-resolved stool and a bench.

Photography Courtesy of Haymann Editions

MARTA SALA

Marta Sala Éditions Showroom

Corso Monforte, 15, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

Marta Sala Éditions presented a new dining table in square and round versions, Martino, by architects Lazzarini Pickering who have designed more than 70 pieces for the brand. Marta explains her approach is “inspired by the Bauhaus movement – collections are designed by top professionals, using the best Italian craftsmen, with materials of the highest quality while employing traditional and innovative techniques.

Photography Courtesy of Marta Sala Éditions

MOOOI

Operating under the banner A Life Extraordinary there is no holding back at Moooi and the launch of the 'Big George' armchair is proof that super-sizing is here for the foreseeable future. Described as a ‘big hug from a gentle giant,’ he also comes as a two and three-seater sofa. Designed by Cristian Mohaded, it is available in a staggering 487 fabrics choices.

Photography Courtesy of Moooi

Salone Dei Tessuti

Via S. Gregorio, 29, 20124 Milano MI, Italy

ANALOGIA PROJECT

London-based Analogia Project, founded by Andrea Mancuso, launched his solo exhibition Pentimenti Collection including the 'Stria' table (and bench in the background) at Nilufar Depot. The table is comprised of Guatemalan and Antiguan green marble which is sculpted and curved to create gaps that are filled with coloured concrete to achieve the effect of the natural layering found in rock formations.

Nilufar Depot

Viale Vincenzo Lancetti, 34, 20158 Milano MI, Italy

Photography Alejandro Ramírez Orozco

Photography Nicolò Panzeri

FLOS

“Light is our theme,” Formafantasma’s Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin asserted. “Every author has an obsession, and light is ours.” The new collection for Flos, ‘SuperWire’, shown in the majestic surroundings of the Palazzo Visconti, exemplifies their ability to innovate while retaining desirability and beauty. The range is produced in floor, table, wall and pendant versions using hexagonal modules of flat glass, an aluminium framework and 12 LED strips, each protected by super-fine borosilicate tubes.

Palazzo Visconti

Via Cino del Duca, 8, 20122 Milano MI, Italy

INTERNI VENOSTA

Gipsoteca Fumagalli & Dossi

Viale Montello, 4, 20154 Milano MI, Italy

Seven pieces form the core of this collection, created by Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran (and made by Fabbri Services) under the name Interni Venosta. Photographed in the extraordinary setting of the Gipsoteca Fumagalli & Dossi, it speaks to the Italian plasterworks tradition, which in turn emphasises the craft focus of these timeless pieces. Channelling a number of influences from Donald Judd to Bauhaus master Marcel Breuer (alongside the inspiration of the visionary Italian designer Carla Venosta), the studio describes the work as ‘simple, honest, concise.’ Shown is a dining setting ‘02 Tavolo’ in timber where the chairs ‘01Sedea’ slide under the table surface to create a seamless impression.

Photography Andrea Ferrari

CHRISTOPHE DELCOURT

Fondazione Mudima

Via Alessandro Tadino, 26, 20124 Milano MI, Italy

Openly obsessed with all things equine, French designer Christophe Delcourt showed his new collection 'Horses in my Dreams'. Wow factor was delivered by the abstract carved forms of the 'ORS' table by Delcourt and shelllike 'UGO' pendant light by Théophile de Bascher. More subtle but equally beautiful was the 'EME' armchair and sofa that feature a massive rail of wood that threads the fabric and highlights the shape.

Photography Francis Amiand

LAURIDS GALLÉE

Baranzate Ateliers

Via Gaudenzio Fantoli, 16/3, 20138 Milano MI, Italy

Belgian design gallery Objects with Narratives exhibited the work of Laurids Gallée at Baranzate Ateliers during Milan Design Week. The designer’s solo show Hazy Gymnastics revels in the translucency of resin. The glossy ‘Pool’ and ‘Empyrean’ lights in crystal clear, jelly-like tones were presented alongside more overtly geometric benches and consoles called ‘Tralucid’ that feature stacked elements in soft blurred shades.

Photography Amber Vanbossel

VERSO X BRAVO

Casa Donzelli

Via Vincenzo Gioberti, 1, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

Within a room of earthy red walls, Chilean studio Bravo showed their 'Trama' collection as part of an installation organised by the New York design gallery, Verso. Bravo’s radically simple storage and seating system takes an extremely minimal approach, but the fine bent aluminium furniture has just the right amount of curves to remove any sense of hard-edged modernity.

Photography Jonathan Hökklo

TRENT JANSEN X ROSSANA ORLANDI

The staggering ‘Magistrato al Sal Nero’ cabinet was originally exhibited at the 2023 Venice Design Biennale and made by the Venetian artisans of Vetralia Collectible. Showing for the first time outside of this context at Rossana Orlandi Galleria, Trent Jansen’s musings on the contemporary effects of salt on the architecture of Venice and the city’s historic capitalism results in a fascinating mix of materials – black granulated glass and hand-carved wooden ‘tiles’.

Photography Courtesy of Vertralia Collectible

Rossana Orlandi Galleria

Via Matteo Bandello, 14, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

ALDER

'Alder', a new collection of stools, side and coffee tables designed by Patricia Urquiola for eco-conscious company Mater, combines used coffee grinds or wood waste with biodegradable plastics and moulds them around a recycled steel frame. Producing a stable but ultimately biodegradable object, the collection is suitable for indoor or outdoor use and comes in a small range of earthy colours.

Photography Courtesy of Mater

Mater Pop Up

Via Bartolomeo Eustachi, 51, 20129 Milano MI, Italy

AURÉLIEN

Alcova, Villa Bagatti Valsecchi Via Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

Strangely delicate despite being made from sliced terracotta bricks, French sculptor and designer Aurélien Veyrat’s artworks use a mixture of reclaimed and new bricks to achieve their complex interplay of lines. The introduction of variations in the colour and texture of the bricks opens up further compositional possibilities.

Photography studio.b.helle

SECONDOME + STUDIO F

Rossana Orlandi Galleria

Via Matteo Bandello, 14, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

Rome-based design gallery Secondome and Turin atelier Studio F sought responses to the term Sul Trespolo (On the Trestle) from five established Italian design studios. Using reclaimed Italian woods, the designers created very different pieces (some also utilising Murano glass). From left to right: 'Claude' chair by Duccio Maria Gambi, 'Alter Ego' light by Studiopepe, 'Olga' table by Matteo Cibic, 'Birdie' by Serena Confalonieri and 'Epoca' wood and glass pedestals by Simone Fanciullacci.

Photography Serena Eller Vainicher

ALLEGRA HICKS

Nilufar Depot

Designer Allegra Hicks delivered a complete vision with her inventive 'Metamorphosis' collection shown at Nilufar Depot. Around a central wall tapestry 'Refraction' pivot a number of pieces showcasing the versatility of her bronzed ‘crochet’ designs, from cube-form side tables to glowing wall and floor lamps. The sofas, designed and made in England and India, merge a retro charm with a focus on craft, with exquisite fabric choices in rich green tones.

Photography Filippo Pincolini

Viale Vincenzo Lancetti, 34, 20158 Milano MI, Italy

DESIGN AIUIA

X CRISTIÁN MOHADED

Santa Teresa Mediateca

Via della Moscova, 28, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Taking palm frond weaving usually found in baskets and incorporating it into furniture delivers some texturally interesting results in 'AlWaha': the room divider by Cristián Mohaded for Madrasat Addeera Editions. Using Khouri wood as the frame, Argentinian designer Cristian Mohaded takes strips of woven palm frond and forms looping three-dimensional waves from the material.

Photography Courtesy of Cristián Mohaded

JAMES HAYWOOD

LABO

Via Biella, 6, 20143 Milano MI, Italy

Showing at LABO, Montpelier-based James Haywood is an artist with an architectural bent and a passion for material research. Working with geopolymer concrete, bio-resins and algae, he has developed a range of lights – from the new linear ‘Erreur 404’ – to the more organic expression of this piece shown, ‘CTRL+ALT+DECONSTRUCT’.

“By using slag, a by-product of the steel industry’s blast furnaces, it is endowed with the same qualities as conventional concrete but comes with a lower environmental impact,” he says. The resulting work has a sculptural, Brutalist feel that speaks to the honesty of the process.

Photography Quentin Pigeat

HERMÈS

Reinforcing the value of natural materials and the handmade, the Hermès Collections for the Home featured sixteen examples of rustic flooring materials found around the world. In tandem, they harnessed the graphic qualities of jockey silks, the ‘X’ motif in particular. The lamp, 'Voltige d'Hermès', in braided leather, bronze and linen, was influenced by a '70s Hermès hunting whip.

Photography Maxime Verret

La Pelota

Via Palermo, 10, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

LOEWE

LOEWE commissioned 24 artists – including previous finalists and winners of the LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize – to experiment with lighting design to create new interactions of materials and light. Shown at the Palazzo Citterio, two highlights were South Korean artist Dahye Jeong’s delicate stacked spheres, woven with incredible skill in horsehair and Amanda Hamilton’s large-scale sculptural light, which takes its cue from a kimono in form and is executed in privacy glass and lacquered wood.

Photography Anthea Hamilton & Dahye jeong

Palazzo Citterio

Via Brera, 12, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

SARA RICCARDI STUDIO

Palazzo Litta

Corso Magenta, 24, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Sara Riccardi’s 'Under the Willow Tree' used trimmings sourced from the Antica Fabbrica Passamanerie Massia Vittorio 1843 in Turin to create sweeping ‘branches’ with small chime bars attached and tuned by musician Paolo Borgi. The combination of the colour, delicacy and lyricism of the installation, in the context of Palazzo Litta, ensured it to be a visual highlight.

Photography Eugenio Novajra

KOHLER X DR SAMUEL ROSS

Palazzo del Senato

Via Senato, 10, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

In a bold maze-like installation, Terminal 02, artist-designer Dr Samuel Ross MBE, whose fashion background and work as a visual artist has shaped this immersive outcome, speaks to the flow and control of water. With design and innovation underpinning Kohler’s ethos, now a 150-year-old company in the kitchen and bathroom space, they use their presence in Milan to deliver a surprise and spark conversation around the pressing issues of clean water, sanitation and sustainability.

Photography Courtesy of Kohler

ELICA X WE+

It is impressive the way in which certain commercial brands are prepared to step outside the norms of promotion and deliver something art-based and immersive that speaks to bigger, more expansive thinking. In the courtyard of Palazzo Litta, kitchen brand Elica commissioned a site-specific installation designed by Japanese studio We+ and curated by Fondazione Ermanno Casoli artistic director Marcello Smarrelli. Straordinaria embodies colour, lightness, movement and air in a way that was poetic and engaging.

Photography Courtesy of Elica

Palazzo Litta

Corso Magenta, 24, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

SUNBRELLA

Rossana Orlandi Galleria

Via Matteo Bandello, 14, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

Debuting at Milan Design Week, (re)Material Culture explores how textile waste can come to life in new and innovative ways. The installation by Liz Collins for fabric company Sunbrella (known for its outdoor fabrics) focuses on creating a ‘textural cave-scape’ – a space that cocoons the visitor in hand-appliqued, fur-like square tiles, cushions and bags made from upcycled Sunbrella selvedge, exuding a collective energy.

Photography Daniel Trese

ARTEMEST

Artisanal sales platform Artemest created L’Appartamento – a series of decorated rooms on the ground floor of the impressive early 20th-century Residenza Vignale in the heart of Milan.

Shown here is a bedroom scenario by Miami-based, Mexicanborn Tamara Feldman, reflecting her love of saturated colour. In this setting, she layered the best of Italian design, including the bed by Giopagani upholstered in a painterly fabric in rich green tones, whimsical 'Nest' chandeliers by Bottega Veneziana and the Ma Davvero tapestry on the wall by Caterina Frongia.

Residenza Vignale

Via Enrico Toti, 2, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

Photography Tomaso Lisca and Luca Argenton

PANTON LOUNGE

Capsule Plaza

In a truly immersive installation that was selfie heaven, Capsule Plaza presented a special collaboration with the estate of Danish architect and designer Verner Panton (1926-1998). Panton Lounge pulled together brands that continue Panton’s legacy as official licensees – Vitra, Verpan, &Tradition and Montana – and showcased the re-edition of three rugs – 'Domino' and 'Romantica' by Amini (shown) and the Spiegel acoustic panel by Offecct. Panton Lounge doubled as a sound experience as well as a social space and hit a popular note that would have made Panton proud.

10 Corso Como Corso Como, 10, 20154 Milano MI, Italy

Photography Courtesy of Verpan

La Dolce Vita

Produced in partnership with Living Edge

Photography Courtesy of RODA

Words Sophie Lewis

Vita Al Fresco

Pictured: The Eolie designed by Gordon Guillaumier is a new, modular outdoor collection encompassing sun loungers, tables and gazebos.

Italian outdoor furniture brand RODA was

established in 1991 by Roberto Pompa in Gavirate, Vareson to combine 'interior culture' with 'outdoor spontaneity'.

Three decades on, RODA has become an industry leader in designing indoor-outdoor furniture based on the driving principles of quality, sustainability, and well-being. Their products lie at the intersection of Italian craftsmanship and innovation, exploring the durability of materials such as teak slats, woven textiles and nautical rope.

Designer collaborations are at the heart of RODA’s futureforward concepts and materials, shaping the brand’s 2024 Salone del Mobile.Milano presentation. The all-star Italian lineup included Piero Lissoni, Rodolfo Dordoni, AMDL CIRCLE founder Michele De Lucchi and a partnership with MISSONI fashion house.

The stand layout emphasised the brand's headline releases with its various types of greenery and focus on material reuse. The first was the launch of the RODA x MISSONI 100 percent outdoor fabrics, the Outdoor Design collection. The tactile fabric collection comprises solution-dyed acrylic yarn with a jacquard finish, available in various colours and five patterns: Riva, Bamboo, Opera, Spiga, and Duna. RODA selected 20 new types of outdoor fabric to revisit past designs across three different settings at the stand.

The new Philia modular sofa collection, the last design by the late designer Rodolfo Dordoni for the brand, took the stage at the centre of the RODA stand. Signifying the Greek concept of Philia, meaning a bond between friends and family, the sofas are designed to parallel the comfort of indoor designs and are based on teak slats that can be arranged in multiple ways for flexible outdoor arrangements.

The third headline release was AMDL CIRCLE studio founder Michele De Lucchi’s Teseo dining table and chairs, described as an interplay between rope and wood. The chairs feature teak slats connected by continuous grey cord stitching, while the table has sewn and un-sewn slats.

Blending artisanal traditions and modern technology, RODA affirmed that in 2024, timeless design outdoors can enrich everyday living for years to come.

From left to right: The new Teseo dining table and chairs by AMDL CIRCLE studio founder Michele De Lucchi; the new Philia modular sofa collection, designed by Rodolfo Dordoni; the new RODA x MISSONI Outdoor Design collection.

Vincenzo and Claudia Rose De Cotiis are photographed at the Archaeology of Consciousness exhibition at the Vincenzo de Cotiis gallery in Milan as part of Milan Design Week. Photographed by Lillie Thompson exclusively for est living.

Vincenzo De Cotiis

Vincenzo de Cotiis is a Milan-based architect, artist, and interior designer, whose work crosses boundaries by melding found and new materials into sculptures and furniture pieces. With work that speaks to the past, present and future, he explains to Karen McCartney his artistic process, the joy of material alchemy and why his wife Claudia Rose is the powerhouse partner behind the recently launched Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation in Venice.

Interview

Karen McCartney

Above: While the street-facing aspect of the Vincenzo de Cotiis Gallery is crisp and stark, the area to the back of the gallery presents a moodier aspect. As such, the works take on a different tone and modularity. Shown here is a sculptural form on a pitted Brutalist plinth. Right: The door to the gallery office shows how the same monumental themes are present in the architecture of the space.

Every perspective in the gallery effectively frames the works for maximum impact. These more intimate spaces illustrate how a work could be introduced into a home, demonstrating how the plinth and the form collaborate to create a sculptural whole.

Each piece in this exhibition, Archaeology of Consciousness, feels that it has simply been exposed through erosion, and somehow always existed. Yet, in reality, they are the result of a skilled and complex artistic process. How does the creation of an object begin?

The process, as is often the case with artistic processes, is a search for truth. For example, this could be a material truth, quantitatively knowing the weight, quality, and minerality of an ancient marble, or it can be a personal truth, accessed through memory or historical research. This brings me to the question of originality because even if something has always existed but never been displayed, it is in the act of revealing that originality is uncovered. The marble elements of my artworks originated millennia ago, in the formation of mountains, and would never have seen the light of day before being excavated. Creation on that scale is incomprehensible, but the way I piece together original concepts and manipulate materials is where creation begins for me.

Each piece combines a number of your favoured materials – resin, fibreglass, cast brass, semi-precious stones, glass – and yet, in the final piece, they meld together so that in the final sculptural outcome, the viewer is conscious of the whole, not the parts. Is there a lot of trial and error in the process to achieve this sense of a unified whole? How hands-on are you in the process of making?

Everything begins as a sketch but ends up as a hand-crafted object. This physical transformation is vitally important to me; there is no replacement for the sense of tactility you get from materials when you can feel them physically in your hands. This intimate understanding of the materials and how they operate and react to one another is necessary to bring materials of opposing natures together to form a harmonious whole. This has taken a lifetime of experimentation; trial and error is necessary for the creative process. Otherwise, no risks are taken.

Textures and the play of tones through gilding and handpainting, as one material segues into another, are used to remarkable effect. Do you enjoy the alchemy of how surface treatment transforms an object?

As with most objects, all we see and interact with is a surface’s top layer. This is what is presented to the world, and in many ways, its superficiality can be its defining quality. However, I always want to counteract this, and I use many techniques on the surface of my artworks that help the viewer understand

its true nature underneath. Patination, especially on fibreglass and metals, is a reactionary process that changes the chemistry of its material. It’s a permanent effect that protects the material but allows access to its inner nature, demonstrating how it behaves under certain circumstances.

The act of recycling and restoring – giving new identities (and beauty) to unloved or neglected materials – is very powerful in your work. Do you gather elements that may have a future use without knowing quite how or when they might be used?

There is always a vision in my mind. Whether a reclaimed material will play a part in that vision seamlessly, or need a lot of work, it works either way. What I prioritise is the sense of history, and its past lives that I can augment and channel.

Part of the success of the pieces is the juxtaposition of high and low materials, raw and refined, artisanal and technical, yet all overseen by your instinctive response to the materials. Over the years of creating this work, what boundaries do you find yourself pushing with each show?

The tension created by introducing opposites to each other and seeing how they interact will always remain at the heart of my work. These reactionary effects can be studied and understood; my job is to delineate harmony from chaos.

The statement that you have ‘Tried to freeze time with these objects’ is so accurate. They become of their own time, hard to date and pin down, and in an era of design churn, you transcend the cycle. Is this longevity important to you?

Not simply longevity but timelessness. Longevity looks only forward, whereas my work speaks to past, present and future all at once. When you approach the concept of time in a material sense – not as an abstract concept but in terms of how to represent the temporal nature of the physical object in front of you – one tends towards the idea of atomic singularities. By these, I mean objects that are layering different temporal aspects over one another, time and time again, collapse narratives in on themselves, creating a very dense heart to the artwork. A single, minute reference, for example, a single linear mark, could speak to an ancient historical aspect, like a cut or scar in a prehistoric rock face, or also a hope and dream I have for many millennia in the future, simultaneously.

The main gallery, with its precision and scale, is perfect for displaying the key pieces of the Archaeology of Consciousness exhibition. The melding of materials from rough to smooth, patinated to polished, is evident as specially selected stones combine with brass and fiberglass to produce table and bench forms. Above: Sculptural

lights, which evoke the essence of rediscovered relics, glow through Murano glass.

wall

In April 2024, the Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation opened with the installation of Archaeology Of Consciousness Venice (shown on these pages), featuring a monumental series of arches made from ancient stone, marble, and Murano glass. The use of fibreglass references the "futuristic ambitions of the artist."

Photography Wichmann + Bendtsen Photography, courtesy of Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation.

“I have always felt a sense that once you can feel the spark of life in a piece, those vibrations underneath your fingertips, it’s time to cut the umbilical cord and release it into the world.”

–Vincenzo de Cotiis

I first saw your work in the show En Plein Air at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London in 2018, and what struck me was not only the power of the pieces themselves but also the curation of the space itself. As an architect, do you bring that spatial awareness to the placement of each piece? When planning a show, how do you determine which pieces sit well together?

I’m very fortunate to work with other pioneers in the field of art and collectible design, who also allow me the freedom to explore the totality of my ideas. Curating a show is often more intuitive and collaborative than one might think. I do feel that when viewed together, my artworks complement each other. They make sense together visually because they are all born from the same consistent concepts within me. Whether a vessel or a much larger sculptural piece, all are born from the same thought processes, as is seen in the interior design projects I have undertaken. I approach every project, every exhibition, every collection, and each artwork in the same way: holistically.

Your work has a great deal of personality and character. When a piece is complete, and fully resolved, how does that make you feel? And how do you hope the viewer feels?

Many people will say that an artwork is never finished, but I have always felt that once you can feel the spark of life in a piece, those vibrations underneath your fingertips, it’s time to cut the umbilical cord and release it into the world. It’s not for me to say how a viewer would respond to my work; I intend them to speak for themselves.

The permanent home of the Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation is the Baroque Palazzo Giustinian Lolin on the banks of the Grand Canal, where it will host an ongoing program of exhibitions and public art installations. Vincenzo de Cotiis's sculptural furnishings are situated within the context of the living room's large-scale 18th-century paintings by Jean Raoux. Photography Martin Morrell

Through the process of restoration, Vincenzo worked with what existed, tapping into the typically Venetian colour palette with the terrazzo floors and original silk wall coverings. The beauty and placement of Vincenzo's work acts, in some instances, as a counterpoint to the context and, at other times, chimes in sympathy.

Often, your seen a philanthropist and other where there overwhelming.

Balance is goes into very simple. with light interior space, they provide glass and each has me and also an eternal

With all your forward –and creatively

My thoughts centred on

your pieces are used as spectacular one-offs – I have dining table in the Sydney home of gallerist and philanthropist Dr Gene Sherman – but your own Milan apartment other settings such as the Palazzo Giustinian Lolin (shown), there are multiple pieces, it manages not to feel overwhelming. What is your secret to achieving this balance?

is achieved through conceptual consistency. A lot of thought everything I do, of course, but my motivations are, in truth, simple. I have a deep fascination for material and its relationship and time. When these interests combine across a whole space, especially a domestic space such as my own home, provide a very straightforward direction for me. Metal, stone, and fibreglass are materials I return to time and time again, as particular reflective and refractive properties that entrance also embody different aspects of a temporal spectrum. It’s eternal quest I pursue, to capture light and time together endlessly.

your work, there is this sense of looking back to look – to be intensely of the moment by drawing intelligently creatively on the past. What is next for you creatively?

thoughts for the future, as they have been for a long time, are on Venice and the foundation I have opened there. The space

is both a summation of my artistic journey and a consolidation of the history of La Serenissima. The light and natural environment of Venice is representative of my work, and its beauty is unparalleled. However, I hope those with the power to do so also draw intelligently on the past and look to preserve the city for another millennium at least.

Your partnership with Claudia Rose De Cotiis appears to underpin your work, including her initiation and oversight of the foundation in Venice. What is the key to such a successful partnership?

Our partnership, both personally and professionally, is deeply integral to our success. Claudia Rose brings formidable business, finance, and organisational management acumen, which complements my focus on our work's artistic and creative aspects. This synergy allows us to cover all necessary ground with efficiency and insight.

The key to our successful partnership lies in our mutual respect for each other's expertise and our shared vision for our projects, including the foundation in Venice. This mutual understanding, love and respect facilitate a seamless integration of our skills, ensuring that both the creative vision and the business strategy are aligned, which is essential for any successful enterprise.

“This has taken a lifetime of experimentation, and trial and error is a very necessary part of the creative process. Otherwise no risks are taken.”

–Vincenzo de Cotiis

Red Threads

Produced in partnership with Cult Australia

Photography Courtesy of nanimarquina Interview Sophie Lewis

French designer Inga Sempé speaks with editor Sophie Lewis about her debut collaboration with Spanish rug company nanimarquina, the Colorado rug collection, unveiled during this year’s Salone del Mobile.Milano.

The Colorado rug collection is the first collaboration between nanimarquina and French designer Inga Sempé. The rug combines ancient weaving techniques chobi (hand-knotted) and kilim (flatweave), pictured in the ‘Ashes’ colourway.

Congratulations on your Colorado collection, which marks your first collaboration with Spanish rug company nanimarquina. How did the collaboration come about?

It was very natural, they approached me about four or five years ago. We are both interested in making long-lasting pieces and are not ‘old-fashioned’ after one year. It was important for me to work with a company that’s not obsessed with trends but rather obsessed with timelessness and quality.

How did the Colorado collection for nanimarquina differ from previous rug collaborations?

It was different because they specialise in rugs and take so much care in the threads – how each rug is made. It was a long process, but it was driven by quality and the will to work together, which was very nice.

I always try to work with good materials, but as designers, we do not often have the power to oblige a company to use a material that we want. It's fantastic when you work with a company that values those things, like nanimarquina. I also learned that working in Spain is great – particularly with an independent company.

Can you shed light on your creative process for the Colorado rugs?

My approach was very intuitive and my process is always the same. It starts with a sketch, and then we do some mock-ups, experimenting with what we do and don’t want with the weaving on a very small scale. This then evolves into translating the

sketches into the digital world using Photoshop.

It's really a graphic work. It's not three-dimensional. Working with fabrics or carpets contrasts with three-dimensional objects because it avoids the complexities of assembling parts during manufacturing.

What was your approach to colour?

The four different colours – ‘clay’, ‘moss’, ‘sand’ and ‘ashes’ – are all earthy, grounded tones. I balanced these plain colours with multicoloured designs for visual impact. Opting for a dark, warm, cold and clear hue, the colours reflect a balance between them, which is really important.

The name Colorado is a Spanish word that translates to ‘coloured’. I usually give my work French or Italian names, but I wanted to nod to the brand as I was in Spain. The name also evokes the landscapes of Colorado as depicted in classic North American Western movies – although I've never visited Colorado, the name seemed fitting.

How did you work alongside nanimarquina to develop the rugs with their artisans?

The most interesting part of the process was seeing how the makers in two different countries—India and Pakistan— interpreted the same drawings and characteristic elements. The results were very different because it’s always an interpretation. The Indian makers interpreted the design in a very geometric, cubic way. I wanted the rugs to be more soft and organic, and the Pakistan artisans achieved this perfectly.

The artisans combined two techniques called ‘kilim’ and ‘chobi’, incorporating both high pile and flat weave for textural contrast and both single fibres and multiple threads to create depth and complexity. One of the most difficult aspects of making the rugs was sourcing the threads for the flattened parts of the rugs.

How does the collection transform with exposure to light and movement?

The collection transforms with exposure to light and movement because of the main ancient weaving technique called ‘chobi’, which is like flattened velvet. This means that seeing the rug from one side, it appears a certain colour, and from another side, it can be clearer or darker. So, it gives two orientations. It means the rug is constantly changing – it’s very alive. I knew that I wanted to work with ‘chobi’ and love this technique because it's very crafty, qualitative and irregular at the same time. The technique also illustrates that it's not made from polyester or using electronic machines.

Cult is the exclusive retailer of nanimarquina in Australia.

Brutalist

Location Milan, Italy

Architecture Luca Cipelletti

Photography De Pasquale + Maffini

Words Yvette Caprioglio

Beauty

The guest bedroom features nudes from the client's photography collection and a side table by Georges Mohasseb. The walls and cabinetry are clad in Nabuk leather, while the bathroom beyond features emerald green quartzite.

A former industrial space in Milan is transformed into a residential attic for an art collector while intentionally retaining its Brutalist origins.

When tasked with converting the attic of a former industrial site for an art collector client, architect Luca Cipelletti realised a residence defined by its modular structure, with a uniform system of exposed beams and plaster-coated pillars that stretch for 36 metres and a continuous internal 20 metre-long wall. The 400 square metre, L-shaped space is transcended by natural light through a series of windows and skylights Cipelletti added, while outdoors, a large green terrace area was added and planted by outdoor space designer Derek Castiglioni.

The home’s materiality enhances contextual symmetry with Canaletto walnut used in flooring and ceiling intrados, concrete beams, and varying stones, including green emerald quartzite used in floor and wall coverings in the three bathrooms, wall and Tortuga table in the kitchen and green quartzite in the open bar area.

Other material applications include ultra-matt black laminate for the doors and mirrored stainless steel, evocative of Venetian antique mirror, creating an almost baroque atmosphere in some parts of the home, in contrast to the architectural Brutalism of the structure.

Architectural considerations have been created to accommodate exceptional photographs and artworks of Cipelletti’s art collector client. The curation of photographs in the rooms of the house includes a custom-designed pentagram structure on which the works are placed, allowing flexibility according to the owner’s wishes.

Artists and artisans have also collaborated on the project creating custom-designed works, including designer and artist Allegra Hicks who designed a distinctive seven-metre-long handmade carpet in the home’s living room. Completing the project are the studio’s custom-made furniture pieces, such as the open frames supporting Aleksandr Rodchenko’s photographs, the wooden console in the entrance hall, bedside tables, a wooden cabinet in the study, bathroom cabinetry and washbasins, and a marble table for the breakfast area in the kitchen.

An open bar in the living area is crafted from green onyx. The space also features a vintage Branco e Preto sofa, a vintage Ico

The

and a vintage

a

also features an

Parisi cocktail table for Cassina

Pierre Jeanneret armchair atop

custom rug by designer Allegra Hicks.

living space

'Asteroid' table lamp by Ettore Sottsass and two sculptures by Alessandro Mendini.

The kitchen island bench is made from Tortuga marble, with storage by Boffi, Mingx stools by Konstantin Grcic for Driade and a pendant light by Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno.

Gio Ponti dining chairs, a Barra D'oro pendant light by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor for Viabizzuno and a pink vase by Carlo Scarpa. The XYZ made-to-measure dining table made from solid fossil oak wood and the 4 c_zero concrete shelves designed by Luca Cipelletti, produced and distributed by Giustini Stagetti Gallery in Rome. On the far wall, a Dan Flavin light sculpture sits alongside works by Lucio Fontana and George Condo.

A commissioned James Turrell artwork features above the bed. The set of armchairs and stools by the window are by Italian architects Giuseppe Pagano and Gino Maggioni.

This page: The powder room is wrapped in Brazilian Fossil marble and features the Fresnel wall lamp by Joe Colombo for Oluce.

Opposite page: The primary bathroom features forest green marble on the walls, floor and ceilings, a pair of floor lamps by Gino Sarfatti and a Nero Marquina marble bathtub designed by Antonio Lupi.

Modern Metalwork Stainless Steel in the Kitchen

Stainless steel stands as a coveted material in kitchen design due to its resistance to corrosion, heat, and stains, making it ideal for withstanding the rigors of everyday cooking and food preparation whilst providing a modern aesthetic. Renowned for their unwavering commitment to exceptional stainless-steel craftsmanship and made-to-measure stainless steel countertops, Barazza unveiled their latest evolution of culinary elements at EuroCucina 2024.

Barazza’s state-of-the-art offerings reflect their ongoing pursuit of innovation and excellence by honouring their hallmark clean lines and ergonomic excellence. Key highlights included a revolutionary range of black and stainless-steelequipped channels that include smart features to enhance

freedom within the kitchen. From integrated Bluetooth speakers to charging docks, and integrated hoods to mixer taps, these channels aim to redefine the kitchen workspace.

Another standout from Barazza included the introduction of ‘Aura’ - a series of premium, food preservation appliances that not only elevate Barazza’s core values but expand their comprehensive selection of key kitchen products. Fusing practicality and modern aesthetics, the next generation of Barazza’s Icon oven range reveals enhanced features and a sleek, new 75 cm dimension that seamlessly aligns with their stainless steel benchtops and current kitchen design movements.

Produced in partnership with Abey Australia

Photography Courtesy of Barazza Words Megan Rawson

Explore the Barazza range at Abey Australia >

Delivering style and versatility, Barazza debuts a sleek 75 cm dimension modularity across their Icon oven range, microwaves, induction cooktops, sinks, tubs, and refrigerators.

Natural limewash paints made by utilising the elemental cycle of earth, fire, water, and air. Suitable for interior and exterior, available in 400 natural colours.

bauwerkcolour.com

Climbing Rose Limewash Paint

DESIGN UNBOUND

Seven Australian designers took to Milan’s global stage to unveil new products and design collaborations.

Interviews

Sophie Lewis

Portrait Annika Kafcaloudis

Photography DePasquale+Maffini

David Flack and Volker Haug

Flack Studio x Volker Haug Studio

Me and You

Via S. Maurilio 18, 20123 Milano MI, Italy

Congratulations on your ‘Me and You’ lighting collection, a series of decorative light fixtures you co-designed. When did you decide an idea borne from a damaged vintage sconce should be explored as a collection?

DF: The Volker Haug team came back a week after this original site-specific fitting, and they said – how about we do something in Milan? It was so easy working together in that moment; it proved that we could go bigger with it and have even more success. But the catch was we had to design, produce and ship it within six months. We set the program, and off we went! It was instinctual; there was an appreciation and respect that led to a wonderful collaboration.

VH: Our studios work and collaborate in a very similar manner. We deal with resolution through design and rope in different voices from the team in a similar way. There is that immediate and very fluid nature in the working relationship. And yet, you can still feel each of the studios’ individual styles and distinct voices in the final collection.

How did this develop from the initial collaboration?

DF: We thought it’d be fun to explore a level of constraint and see where that would take us. With quick experimentation, you start to realise that constraints are not really fun, are they? That’s when the idea of Me and You really came up.

VH: The design evolution was so natural. We began scaling ideas up or down or applying different patterns in the metalwork across various fixtures. The final collection is very diverse, but you recognise some of these throughlines and themes, even across different materials or finishes.

How does ‘Me and You’ express your shared design values, individual aesthetics and approach to materiality?

DF: Our reverence for the materials is our connective tissue. We both approach design with a lot of playfulness and humour.

VH: We could work with our favourite materials, like glass, brass and fibreglass. The Flack team uses them often in interiors, and we use them in our lighting. It was a seamless crossover between these perspectives and how the materials could, and ultimately did, apply to the collection.

Can you share more about the dualities the name of the collection ‘Me and You’ refers to?

DF: We found the engagement between light – Volker’s expertise – and space – our specialty – to be critical. It was a partnership between the two, with really specific considerations resulting in the final designs.

VH: Each fitting started taking on its own character, seeming to develop personalities through design characteristics. So, some lights express a more constrained, demure feeling, and others feel more expressive or boisterous.

Why did you decide to present/launch the collection in Milan?

VH: We have exhibited in Milan several times before. There’s no better place in the world to exhibit, as the international design community really comes together. Dave is fond of Milan as well, so the exhibition here was a given for us.

DF: We bump into each other almost every year in Milan for design week, and it’s always unarranged! This time, we, of course, made it official.

in Milan’s

Located

5VIE district, the exhibition space juxtaposed the hard brass, fibreglass and nickel lighting series with soft interior materials.

Melbourne-based lighting designers Volker Haug Studio and multidisciplinary design studio Flack Studio presented ‘Me and You’ – a series of decorative light fixtures they co-designed for Milan Design Week.

What was the concept behind the exhibition design – how did it come together?

VH: Combining our hard metal materials with Flack’s soft interior materials made for a beautiful narrative in the actual exhibition space in Milan. There was a dialogue between Flack’s choices and the fibreglass, brass, and nickel of the lighting series.

DF: We played on the colours associated with Australia and wanted to make sure that showed up in the installation. After all, this is a very Australian collaboration! But it was an organic overlap with the colours of Milan. There is the romanticism and natural colour spectrums of green greys, the lush golden tones of the carpet, and the suave finishes on our custom walnut furniture centrepiece. It all made for an easy translation to the Milanese cobblestone street we were located on.

Lastly, how was the collection received?

VH: It was wonderful to hear everyone’s reactions to the collection. We had a lot of friends come through, but even more exciting was meeting people who were not familiar with Australian design who were blown away by what we had produced.

DF: Our opening reception spilled out onto the street. The community really showed up to support us, and it set a very celebratory tone for the whole of design week.

Photography Pier Sorgetti

Don Cameron

Translations

Via

Vittorio Emanuele II, 48, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

Congratulations on ‘Translations’, what was the genesis of this collection?

‘Translations’ was a response to an earlier body of work, ‘Communion’ – a slow photographic project that came from a desire to lens concrete buildings as pure sculpture. This personal project occurred over the course of 20 years. Having presented ‘Communion’ at Gallery Sally Dan–Cuthbert in 2020 and being conscious of my design of unique furnishings for my interior projects, the gallery encouraged me to work on functional objects for my next solo showing. As a gallery that sits at the intersection of art and design, they enabled me to work in both modes. It felt natural to use the former body of work as a starting point for the collection.

‘Translations’ is described as a merging of design, architecture, and sculpture. How have you translated the forms and surface patina from your photographs into the objects?

I liked the idea of the collection beginning as architecture, becoming an image, and then an object – moving through dimensions. All objects have shared origins in architecture. The aspect of the architecture I wanted to foreground informed a material search to best describe each outcome. In this way, I saw the potential of coarse clay to describe the surface patina and weathering of the structures I photographed, the architecture that was graphic or cuboid, I looked to an even sharper rendering using linished stainless steel. The poured form of the Atlantic wall structures I photographed – where concrete was used as form and structure – liquid stone, compelled me to make the desk and stools completely out of timber with all joints concealed to give a similar read of total sculpture.

‘Translations’ beautifully explores materiality, such as the Black Spanish clay and glazes in the Oblique coffee table. How did you work with makers such as Simon Reece to achieve your desired outcome?

I was very lucky to work with small workshops and skilled ateliers I rely on for my interiors work, but in the free zone of the gallery space - without a particular space, client, budget or timeframe in mind. I felt lucky to find Simon, who lived only 30 minutes up the (Blue) Mountains from me.

Simon has his own artistic practice which has taken him and his family from Sydney to Japan, Spain, and back. I persuaded him to be the ‘hands’ that I could direct towards the desired outcome. We spent several months working on glaze tests and then the design of moulds that would enable the wire-cut face to the tiled elements that would catch the glaze. Similarly, working with Luke Tosic and his team at Élan Construct on the wooden objects was a process of drawing then prototyping in order to arrive at the blunt forms and silhouettes of the desk and stools. The metal objects started in Sydney ateliers, then finessed, and are now produced in the famous workshops of Italy’s Cantu region.

Why did you decide to present ‘Translations’ in Milan as part of Alcova?

I owe that in large part to a chance meeting with David Caon one morning over coffee, who mentioned that Tom Fereday had presented previously at Alcova and was presenting again this year. I was in Northern Italy last September with my partner and set up a meeting with Alcova founder Valentina Ciuffi, which she forgot about. It ended in a wonderful evening around a dinner table with a small group of friends who have remained just that. The concept of Alcova staging presentations of designers in semi-derelict or abandoned places spoke to the fundament of ‘Translations’, my photography of obsolete or forgotten buildings. Further, I wanted to present the objects in the open field of Milan Design Week alongside designers from other countries and cultures and have them exposed to and experienced by an international audience.

Previous page: Australian interiors and object designer Don Cameron presented 'Translations' at Alcova’s Villa Bagatti Valsecchi during Milan Design Week.

This page: Translations comprises a series of eight furniture and lighting objects. Pictured: the ‘Bloc’ lamp, ‘Bloc’ sofa and 'Oblique' coffee table in ceramic.

Why did you select the area you did at Alcova’s Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, and how did you approach the space in terms of curation?

Once accepted to present at Alcova, your presentation requirements are assessed and spaces that work with the overall curatorial itinerary Valentina and co-founder Joseph Grima have in mind are offered for your consideration. I was lucky with my space as the architectural volumes and light worked so well with the objects. I plinthed the objects so they appeared separately within the space. It was actually relatively simple to conceive as you were not able to touch the walls or floors of the historic Villa Bagatti Valsecchi. The proportions, the light, the terrazzo Veneziano were perfect cadence to the objects.

How was the furniture and lighting collection received?

The objects were very well received by a cross-section of attendees from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Each day at Alcova was equally enthralling and unpredictable. Half an hour in a day might look like talking to a design practice from Estonia, then a gallery from Iran, before explaining the collection to a Chinese interpreter who in turn translated to a Chinese tour group, then being interviewed by a radio station from Design School Eindhoven, a bus load of Australians, talking to furniture producers, collectors, students and galleries about the works and their backstory and material decisions and processes. It was wonderful to hear how people from different cultures described the collection of objects and the words they used. It gave me a very kaleidoscopic understanding of things that came intuitively and directly to me. The camaraderie, the shared language, the universality of ideas expressed as design is equally humbling, inspiring and empowering.

Nicci Kavals

Articolo Studios

Articolo Home by Founder Nicci Kavals

Via Solferino 44, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Congratulations on the launch of ''Articolo Home''. Where did the idea for this furniture capsule begin, and how does it build on what you have achieved with your bespoke lighting range?

'Articolo Home' represents a natural progression in the evolution of Articolo Studios. The idea for this furniture capsule began with a desire to juxtapose texture and tactility. Through the use of hand-finished metals, Italian veneers and exquisite leathers, we've crafted a collection that speaks to timeless sophistication.

Drawing inspiration from the enduring palette of heritage fashion houses in Europe, we've curated earthy hues like latte, olive, burgundy, and camel. These hues evoke a sense of warmth and comfort, inviting people to feel at home with our furniture.

Can you share a little bit more about the inspiration behind the collection?

'Articolo Home' embodies a fusion of my admiration for Belgian architecture, Italian classicism, and a reverence for contemporary minimalism.

At the heart of the collection is an organic and intuitive design process, coupled with a deep appreciation for the intrinsic beauty of hand-worked natural materials. Collaborating with master practitioners is essential to maintaining the meticulous craftsmanship that defines Articolo Studios Home range.

How does the furniture collection express your design values while also capturing your aesthetic and approach to materiality?

My approach to design is characterised by meticulous attention to detail. I balance functionality with a timeless aesthetic while blurring the lines between design and art.

The furniture collections exemplify this philosophy, rooted in a dedication to artisanal craftsmanship. Collaborating closely with master artisans, we cultivate a deep appreciation for their expertise, resulting in

pieces that showcase the nuances of superior materiality. Each element speaks to our commitment to quality and craftsmanship, from hand-cast metals to Italian veneers and leathers and intricately handdyed straw marquetry.

Why did you decide to present/launch 'Articolo Home' in Milan as part of Fuorisalone?

Fuorisalone is the largest and most prestigious furniture and design fair in the world, attracting the design community from all over the world. Thus, it is the right platform to debut 'Articolo Home'.

In 2019, we exhibited at Salone del Mobile.Milano during Milan Design Week launching our lighting collections into the European market. This was a huge success. This year, we return to the precinct in the heart of Brera.

You exhibited within a two-level gallery space with vaulted ceilings and arches. How did you approach the exhibition design for 'Articolo Home' in this historic space?

Studio Goss director David Goss, long-time collaborator with Articolo Studios, perfectly informs Articolo spaces with his sensitive design approach and exploration of artisanal architectural brilliance and sophistication.

For the furniture smalls launch in Fuorisalone, we wanted a space with architectural merit and rich character to provide a canvas for Studio Goss. In this instance, we found a gallery in the heart of the Brera design precinct with breathtaking vaulted concrete ceilings and columns.

Studio Goss designed a series of insertions in glossy deep burgundy and olive green to reflect the accent leather colours from some of our collections, mirror and pressed cement to punctuate the space. These insertions are a combination of low plinths and higher standalone walls and mirrors, carefully curated to frame a series of vignettes and to create key ‘moments’ as you walk through that space, not revealing everything at once.

Photography Thomas De Bruyne

the

Previous page: 'Articolo Home' saw

launch of a new furniture capsule by Melbourne-based Articolo Studios founder Nicci Kavals for Milan Design Week.

This Page: Melbourne design studio Studio Goss director David Goss and long-time Articolo Studios collaborator designed the exhibition space within a vaulted gallery in the heart of Milan’s Brera Design Precinct.

The use of colour is new for Articolo; we purposely chose these colours as they reflect haute couture palettes through the decades and separate the furniture smalls category from the lighting category within our business.

Thankfully, we had a great team on the ground in Milan to inspect the space, measure, and check samples. Approaching the space for the first time was both exciting and terrifying, as we arrived just as the fit-out of the space was being completed.

Lastly, how was the furniture collection received?

The reaction from past and new clients and specifiers from across the globe has been outstanding. It is a very proud moment for me and my exceptional team and I feel validated having our furniture already specified into projects by clients who experienced the collections first-hand in Milan, as well as those who looked on from afar.

Milan serves as a stage for designers, providing unparalleled opportunities for international exposure, access to resources, design and cultural inspiration, and authentication within the global design community.

Photography Prue Ruscoe Portrait Carlo Magnoli

Fiona Spence and Wanda Jelmini

Innate Collection

Via Ciovasso 17, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Congratulations on your inaugural Innate Textile collection, which is a testament to your enduring collaboration with Wanda Jelmini. What is the genesis of this collection, particularly the decision to pay homage to the Australian landscape?

Innate began by looking at the question of a contemporary Australian aesthetic, unpacking the way we interact with our country and how this shapes who we are as a people. Learning from the profound story telling of the Australian indigenous people, we as the more recent immigrants to this land must tell our own. Innate textiles demonstrates a response to this land by two passionate textile designers.

How do the first three Innate Textile collections draw on the works of prominent painter Luke Sciberras?

When we began to look at the possibilities of this land being our muse it seemed to make sense to look at others who draw from the same inspiration. One of Luke’s paintings, ‘Ilford Waratahs’, caught my attention immediately and I knew then that we had found the inaugural source. Luke was very excited by the idea, so I spent some weeks trawling through his back catalogue to find works whose visual motifs might lend themselves to the nature of weaving and repeat pattern making. For us, it was never about directly translating his work via print to cloth but more about allowing stories to develop in collaboration with the talented weavers we work with to interpret our designs and his work.

The towel collection is manufactured in Portugal, while the textiles are manufactured by selected specialists worldwide. How you have worked with

these specialists to create the highest-quality design outcome?

The joy of textiles is the fact that the process collaborates with the designs. Some things cannot be rendered directly, meaning we needed to source weavers who were both equipped and willing to push the boundaries of their craft. Inspired by the land, the organic design of the towels motivated us to use a specialist weaver from Portugal whose six-colour jacquard machines allowed us to realise the designs while delivering luxurious density and weight.

Wanda’s thirty years of experience has enabled us to engage with our weavers in a way that clearly communicates the desired outcome of our products while also challenging them to push their creative boundaries. We are lucky to work with weavers who are experts in their craft – one in particular is currently weaving for Chanel.

You first presented the two inaugural releases at Maison et Objet in 2024. Why did you decide to showcase the collection as part of Milan Design Week?

Innate garnered a global network of agents and distributors during M&O, some of whom had only seen the collection digitally. It was important to allow those agents and their sales teams to see the collection properly and hear about the story ‘straight from the horse’s mouth'. Milan Design Week is not only about showcasing to the wider community, it’s also an opportunity for global companies to connect with their extended sales teams. I’m proud to say Innate Textiles is a global company; even if just at the beginning of its lifecycle.

Previous page: Innate textiles was founded by Australian Fiona Spence and Italian Wanda Jelmini as a unique exploration of the Australian landscape.

This page: The first three Innate textile collaborations were presented in the apartment of the brand’s Italian general manager in Milan’s Brera district.

Do you think presenting the collection in an apartment in Milan’s Brera district offered a better understanding of how the collection may be experienced in a home?

The apartment was the home of our Italian general manager. Being downtown in Brera during FUORISALONE felt like the perfect place to be. We were only available to our agents and selected guests by appointment, so it felt relaxed and pleasant in a comfortable setting where the pieces might reasonably live..

How was the Innate Textile collection received?

It has been a long and arduous road for Innate, so it was particularly gratifying to see how many people truly loved what they were seeing. They genuinely felt the collection was beautiful and certainly nothing they had seen before. Creating a textile collection has been a life-long goal of mine and it is wonderful to know we are not only pleasing ourselves.

It has been wonderful to receive so much positive feedback, but the constructive feedback has also been invaluable for our learning. One agent who, ironically, loved the collection, also expressed that we would do better to create an Italian brand that takes inspiration from ‘nature’ – a comment that has fuelled my determination to ensure we translate that our products are beautiful and unique because they are Australian, this is our point of difference.

Christopher Boots

CRUX

Via Ciovasso 17, 20121 Milano MI, Italy

Congratulations on the launch of your latest luminary series 'CRUX'. Where did the idea for 'CRUX' begin, and how does it reflect a new direction for your studio?

I’ve always loved the night skies, eyeing the constellations above. 'CRUX' was inspired by a desire to honour our place in the southern hemisphere. As an object, it represents a new practice for us –exploring new materials and stepping beyond our signature work with quartz crystals. We were drawn to the organic, magical quality of hand-blown glass and partnered with the amazing folks at Hothaus in Melbourne. With their know-how and our curiosity, we dove headfirst into exploring natural forms. This has been a thrilling chapter for our studio, evolving our work while staying true to a high calibre of craftsmanship.

Can you share more about the inspiration behind the collection, in particular, the Southern Cross star constellation?

'CRUX', commonly called the Southern Cross, is one of the most identifiable constellations in the southern sky and a guide for travellers since ancient times. It’s a recognisable symbol with deep meanings here in the Southern Hemisphere. With 'CRUX', I wanted to capture that guiding light and form of the stars into a tangible form of beauty, a reminder of our universe. Each piece in the collection brings a bit of that starlight indoors.

How have you explored new methods and materials, such as blown glass and brass finishes, through pendant and sconce variations?

We've been experimenting with blown glass to see

how it plays with light, partnering with local artisans to get it just right. Chasing the magical, fluid quality of glass is like capturing the unpredictability of space. Pairing with the solid, earthy feel of brass, it balances out to create a balance that sings.

Why did you decide to present/launch 'CRUX' in Milan as part of Fuorisalone?

Why wouldn’t you? Milan is the nexus of design, creative energy, and new ideas. Launching the 'CRUX' collection there allows us to bring our work to those who truly appreciate innovation, beauty, and craftsmanship beyond our own shores.

How did you approach the exhibition design for 'CRUX' in Milan?

I thought of Antoine De Saint Exupery’s book, The Little Prince. He steps onto a small moonlit planet suspended in starry, untamed night. The 'CRUX' exhibit was designed to feel like stepping into another world: early, rocky, and under a night sky filled with stars.

Lastly, how was the furniture collection received?

Feedback on 'CRUX' has been overwhelmingly positive. It's super encouraging to see people connect with our design and appreciate how we incorporated elements of the night sky into each piece. That kind of reception makes all the risk-taking and late nights totally worth it.

Milan is cultural oxygen. A quote by Isabelle Olson comes to mind: “The role of the designer is to rehearse the future.” If you’re interested in creating a better future worth living in, Milan offers that opportunity, a place and time for conversations and connections on the global design stage.

Photography Annika Kafcaloudis

Previous page: 'CRUX', a new luminary series by Melbourne-based lighting designer Christopher Boots, marks the first time the designer has worked with blown glass. This page: Christopher Boots designed the 'CRUX' exhibition during Milan Design Week to emulate a night sky filled with stars, echoing the Southern Cross constellation inspiration behind the series.

Photography Lillie Thompson

Tom Fereday Mazer

Villa Borsani, Via Umberto I, 148, 20814 Varedo MB, Italy

Congratulations on the launch of your Mazer collection. Where did the idea for the collection begin, and how does it reflect your own design evolution?

The Mazer collection represents a growing collection of editions by our studio, offering a quieter, more direct approach to selling our works alongside our ongoing brand collaborations. They are small-run handmade pieces that focus on the celebration of natural materials and allow for more expressive works without the constraints of larger production volumes.

You launched your Mazer collection in timber at the beginning of the year. Why did you decide to explore Mazer in travertine for Milan and have it locally produced in Italy?

The Mazer collection began as a timber range, which we adapted for Milan Design Week, launching it in solid travertine alongside an extension in the form of a new chair. The collection centres around permanence in design and working with natural stone felt like an elegant evolution of the range. For Milan Design Week, we made the entire body of works just 3 1/2 hours from the site of the exhibition, which complemented how we work with local artisans for our collections.

Can you expand on how the Mazer travertine pieces have been created using a combination of machine and traditional handmade processes?

The collection began by selecting a stone block to work with, identifying colours and features that could be elegantly expressed in the resulting range. We then machine the bespoke thickness of the pieces selecting them carefully based on the porous characteristics of the stone. Each cut piece is then CNC machined in fine steps to create the organic cutaways featured in the collection. Finally, the works are meticulously

hand-finished and honed to create smooth final designs. The pieces are made in the same way in timber, and each material requires expert artisans who can hand finish the works, making each unique.

Why did you decide to present/launch Mazer (the limited edition series) in Milan as part of Alcova?

The Mazer collection is an open edition collection that we are now launching in Europe to expand beyond Australia into the international market. It is an exciting evolution to work on as we begin partnering with artisans and galleries internationally.

Why did you select the area you did at Alcova’s Villa Borsani, and how did you approach the exhibition design/space?

I wanted to pay respect to the renowned location of Villa Borsani to create works that might complement and speak to the unique architecture of the space. The courtyard entrance is an iconic area of the building and allows for space around the works. We tried to select stone tones that also complimented space, and I hoped to create a feeling that the works could feel at home in the environment and not disregard or ignore the importance of the space.

Lastly, how was the furniture collection received?

We are also now working on presenting the Mazer marble collection for Melbourne Design Week in May at Villa Alba with all pieces made locally in Australia.

Milan is a fantastic time to reflect on my work and how it sits amongst the international design community. I use the week to push myself to present works in Milan and launch new designs, but also, importantly, to reflect on my work and my approach during the week to grow and evolve for the coming year.

The ‘Mazer’ collection is a series of small-run handmade pieces crafted from Roman travertine by Sydney-based designer Tom Fereday. The collection was exhibited in the courtyard entrance of Alcova’s Villa Borsani.

Climbing Rose Limewash Paint

Bauwerk Imagined by Christoph Neumann

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MY SPACE GIOPATO& COOMBES

Designers Cristiana Giopato and Christopher Coombes talk to us about their studio in a historic villa in Treviso and the enchanted microworld inside it, their experiential relationship with nature and their belief that light is an activator of emotions.

LOCATION Treviso, Italy

PHOTOGRAPHY Studio Brinth and Mattia Balsamini

INTERVIEW Yvette Caprioglio

Previous page: Pictured: Cristiana Giopato and Christopher Coombes.

The Giopato & Coombes studio is located in a historic Villa in Treviso, close to Venice.

The Venetian villa, with its ‘Scuderie’ (stables), embraces an internal courtyard surrounded by centuries-old trees.

The Villa was founded in 1751 with terrazzo floors. The space features the DAL from their series of unique pieces and an

Edra On the Rocks sofa.

How is your studio space a reflection of you?

Our studio represents the creative mind of our duo. We love to say that we are four eyes, one mind, and a thousand ideas – so the space of the Villa reflects this combination of our characters. Our studio is located in a historic Villa in Treviso, a small city close to Venice. The Villa is a hidden gem with warm tones that embraces an internal courtyard surrounded by a park and centuries-old trees. Inside the park is the Scuderie, the stables with their original wooden doors, objects of trade, and art lost over time. This is a space where nature and architecture coexist, with heritage and the future in the same place. At the same time, our lighting installations also present a constant co-presence of tradition and innovation: materials with a strong heritage DNA and design research.

What informs your design style?

Our projects always draw inspiration from our experiential relationship with nature and how we translate it into our perception and imagination. We look through special moments of our lives that we crystallise in our minds and associate with something material in the space around us. At the same time, another important source of inspiration for us is real-life moments that generate a state of wonder.

Just to mention a few, soap bubbles in their formal simplicity and beauty. Their lightness became a metaphor for the immateriality of the light, which inspired one of our first collections, the Bolle. When creating 'Maehwa', we were hypnotised by plum blossom petals in the rain, falling in a gentle breeze while we were walking in Seoul.

How does the environment of your studio influence the way you live?

We generally start our creative working day in the social space of The Villa. It’s an embracing space where we drink coffee and regenerate ourselves by observing the nature surrounding us in the park outside the Villa.

Thanks to its architectural U shape, a symbol for bringing together, welcoming and aggregation, the Villa and its courtyard become a creative hub for the birth and sharing of ideas, a space of design interactions where wonder flows. The Villa represents openness to us, inside there is an enchanted microworld that becomes a source of ideas.

Which unifying elements do your home and workspace share?

We decided to design our home and the Villa in two very different places.

Our home is an essential, minimalist and contemporary space. The Villa instead is a space full of heritage, as it was founded in 1751, with its terrazzo floors and original wooden beam ceilings taken from the nearby Cansiglio Forest. Even these

are quite contrasting spaces, there is a common fil rouge: they are both embracing, with huge windows that welcome natural light, and are surrounded by a lush park, representing our constant connection with nature.

How does materiality inform your work?

Materiality always complements the realisation of our luminous and architectural projects. If light lives on its immaterial magic, the challenge for us is to bring or capture the luminous phenomenon through matter. The shades of Murano glass, the soft reflections of brass, the search for new materials with palpable textures, as in the case of 'Moonstone'. At the same time, material elements are also featured in the Villa. A little curiosity: a staircase combines the contemporaneity of concrete with the soft solidity of pink marble, creating a unique combination of materials.

How does the sensorial nature of light manifest in your workspace?

Designing with light is magical because of its nature. It is an activator of emotions. In our workspace, we combine natural light with artificial light. We created different spaces in the Villa and the Scuderie to place our lighting projects in different spatial and architectural contexts to create a unique mood. We have also designed some areas reflective of home interiors in the Villa, while in the Scuderie we play with high ceilings to give more space to the sculptural nature of our projects.

You speak of the ‘Supernatural Daydream’, an experience that begins with our every day and goes beyond boundaries. How does your 2024 collection transcend these boundaries?

Our design vision for 'Bruma' came to life from our emotional experience, as it does for all of our projects. On a foggy day, still and silent, we were walking in Venice. A soft mist surrounded us, enveloping everything, hiding and revealing objects, shapes, lights and shadows, simultaneously. Near and far had changed, as had our perception of space. The perspective depth had been transformed into a rhythm of overlapping planes, while the objects had become masses of misty air to be glimpsed between the invisible and the visible. The ‘Bruma’ project was born from this spatial chiaroscuro and from this special moment where we started reflecting on nature and abstraction. The 'Bruma' collection is a balance between density and absence, being something that transcends a boundary. Something that leaves space, and this is an integral part on a structural, compositional, and material level.

Giopato & Coombes’ work can be purchased through moebel.com.au in Australia.

Opposite page: The stables with their original doors. This page: the new Maehwa chandelier.

and

are in different

Lighting projects

spatial

architectural contexts to create a unique mood. Pictured: The Bolle Frosted and Moonstone pendants.

The view from the ‘Scuderie’ through to a lighting project.

Age of Evolution

For this year’s Salone del Mobile.Milano, contemporary Italian furniture brand Poliform invited guests into their realm of refined living. The brand’s 1800-square-metre exhibition space, ‘Casa Poliform,’ redefined the essence of home while capturing the brand’s new narrative, underscored by collaborations with leading international designers Jean-Marie Massaud, Emmanuel Gallina and, for the first time, architect Stefano Belingardi Clusoni.

The stand’s black exterior set the minimalist tone from entry. The interiors then unfolded as a multisensory experience drawing on diverse stylistic influences, weaving together Poliform fragrances and nostalgic textures with soothing, warm and natural colour palettes.

Designed as a journey through the Poliform ‘lifestyle’, the stand’s spaces were framed by their architectural systems, spanned living, dining and kitchen, as well as a bedroom suite and wardrobe solutions. At the same time, the stand showcased the brand’s recent foray into outdoor furniture, emphasising a fluid connection between indoor and outdoor spaces.

The new Ernest sofa designed by Jean-Marie Massaud and the new indoor Strata coffee table by designer Emmanuel Gallina.

Produced in partnership with Poliform Australia

Photography Courtesy of Poliform Words Sophie Lewis

Indicative of their breadth of offering, Poliform’s latest product releases were curated alongside bestsellers and range expansions. This was led by long-standing collaborator JeanMarie Massaud, who designed the new Ernest sofa inspired by down cushions, deconstructed volumes, and modularity. The range includes small, large, linear, and L-shaped sofas in textural fabrics that embody comfort, complemented by the Ernest side tables presented in glossy lacquer and silver travertine. The side tables follow the same design language, as both a modular coffee table or individual piece paired with the sofa. The French designer also introduced the Adrien collection of dining tables, characterised by their unique sculptural legs that were presented in striking matt metal.

Architect Stefano Belingardi Clusoni’s debut collaboration with Poliform, the Loai dining chair, was designed to reflect the convergence of architecture and product design. The low dining chair is a series of contrasts – a compact size with an extra-large seat, structurally solid with an exposed frame yet soft cushioning and an enveloping backrest. Designer Emmanuel Gallina also revealed an indoor counterpart to his outdoor Strata coffee table. It has organic-shaped marble, glass, and travertine tops in varying sizes and heights.

Through a series of cohesive, immersive environments led by Jean-Marie Massaud, ‘Casa Poliform’ epitomised the elegance synonymous with the Italian brand while signifying an exciting chapter of evolution.

The Ernest side tables in lacquer by Jean-Marie Massaud.

Location Nilufar Depot Milan

Design Objects of Common Interest

Photography Alejandro Ramirez Orozco

Italian designers through the decades.

BRIAN

LICITRA PONTI, SALVATORE LICITRA & STEFANO LICITRA

MEMPHIS. PLASTIC FIELD CONSTANCE RUBINI & JEAN BLANCHAERT

ECHOES: CASSINA. 50 YEARS OF IMAESTRI IVAN MIETTON

GIO PONTI

KISH, FABIO MARINO, LISA

GAETANO PESCE: THE COMPLETE INCOHERENCE

GAETANO PESCE & GLENN ADAMSON

MARIO BELLINI ENRICO MORTEO

ETTORE SOTTSASS PHILIPPE THOME

GIO PONTI: ARCHI-DESIGNER

GIO PONTI

MORE IS MORE: MEMPHIS, MAXIMALISM AND NEW WAVE DESIGN

CLAIRE BINGHAM

FORNASETTI: THE COMPLETE UNIVERSE MARIUCCIA

DESIGN VOICES DESIGN VOICES

Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile.Milano is as much about the people as what’s presented. We spoke to six leading voices about their latest work and shaping the future of design.

Hannes Peer

India Mahdavi

Vincent Van Duysen

Arno Declercq

6:AM Glassworks

David Lopez Quincoces

NOSTALGIC UTOPIA

Architect Hannes Peer

Interview: Sophie Lewis

You studied at the Polytechnic University of Milan before completing your studies in Berlin. You then went on to work in Rem Koolhaas' studio in Rotterdam. How have these different formative learning experiences influenced the way you design today?

Berlin and my time studying at the TU there holds an indelible place in my professional journey. During this period, my passion for architecture flourished under the mentorship of professors like Peter Mussotter. His studio class was transformative, challenging us to break free from conventional thinking and embrace innovation.

Rem Koolhaas profoundly influenced my architectural outlook, emphasising the necessity of continuous curiosity. While my time at OMA in Rotterdam was short, its impact was immense. Within OMA's environment, the schematic design phase was particularly captivating. This stage involved a meticulous process of research and ideation, delving deeply into the contextual intricacies of each project. You founded your architecture and design studio in Milan in 2009,

building a portfolio of high-end retail, hospitality, and residential spaces. Why do you believe your work has appealed to fashion brands such as N°21?

My approach to design is deeply rooted in research, reflected in mood boards, reminiscent of carefully curated movie strips. There's no room for a one-sizefits-all formula; each of my projects demands a bespoke approach tailored to the specific vision and audience.

My experience in retail design has been illuminating in this regard. The pace is relentless, with everyone working towards a singular goal within incredibly tight timeframes. Surviving the crucible of retail design equips one with the resilience and adaptability necessary to excel in any domain of architecture or interior design.

When we profiled you as part of our ‘esteemed 10’ series in 2022, you described your approach as ‘eclectic, functional, bold’. Have you observed an evolution in your approach, or has it remained consistent throughout your career?

Eclectic, bold and functional form the cornerstone of my design philosophy.

Yet, what sets my approach apart is a conscious departure from "the aesthetic of the now". Design tethered to trends is inherently unsustainable.

Instead, I aim to create timeless architecture and design pieces, contemporary classics that possess a 'raison d'être' both today and in the future, transcending the ephemeral nature of passing trends.

‘Imperfections, nostalgic utopia, and future archeology’ also headline your Instagram page. Why are these central ideas to your practice, and how do they manifest in your work?

In my approach to architecture and design, imperfections are not viewed as flaws in the final product but as integral elements that emerge throughout the design and construction process. These unexpected events and occurrences often lead to outcomes that are rich in character and uniqueness. I am drawn to the contemplation of bespoke, artisanal craftsmanship – the notion that each piece carries a unique story and a human touch, transforming it into something meaningful and, therefore, more permanent.

Photography Danilo Pasquali

"Nostalgic utopia" trademarked, architectural and guiding principle, of my research mining for precious involves deep dives contexts.

Your Instagram observations projects. Why highlight these work?

In my quest to illuminate architectural works, pieces from diverse for the richness of I’m captivated transcend temporal particularly fascinated utilise architecture

I believe in the spectrum of architectural from the sublime this comprehensive comprehensive deeper understanding Rem Koolhaas architectural beauty guarantee interest; unattractive structures layers of intrigue.

You have designed for Nilufar Gallery Milan, as well as What is the role pieces in contemporary Collectible pieces the realm of design, conventions and pursuit demands delving into materials, or concepts.

Boldness is paramount; authentic collectible much of what today gravitates You have said before in many cities, Milan

‘The Clearing’ by Hannes Peer and Belgian stone company Van Den Weghe was presented at Hannes Peer’s architecture studio during Milan Design Week. Featuring a series of sculptures in travertine and marble, the collaboration reflects a blend of architecture, art, interior design and urban planning.

utopia" is a term I've coined, and embedded within my and design ethos. It serves as a principle, encapsulating the essence research process—a pursuit akin to precious ideas. This methodology dives into historical and social

Instagram page features your on various architectural is it important to you to these projects among your own

illuminate the essence of works, I deliberately curate diverse eras, each chosen of its underlying concepts. by enduring ideas that temporal boundaries. I am fascinated by how filmmakers architecture as a narrative tool.

the learning from a wide architectural expressions, sublime to the kitsch. Through comprehensive through this exploration one gains a understanding of the art form. As Koolhaas aptly taught me, beauty alone does not interest; conversely, seemingly structures can hold profound intrigue.

designed collectible pieces Gallery and SEM. Milano in as Blend Gallery in Rome. role of collectible furniture contemporary design?

Milan 2024

What is it about Milan that makes it the right place for you to design and live?

Milan is a strange city, a city that is simultaneously provincial and metropolitan, a gateway for architecture, design and fashion, yet it is very small compared to London, Paris and New York. It is small, yet it competes with these city giants. It has incredible architecture from all eras and incredible restaurants. During Salone, the city becomes this creative wild beast. It has pushed me down and lifted me up during my career. It is not an easy starting

and design, quality products and an architectural approach that lasts and creates a sense of comfort and stability, maybe even protection in these particular times. At the same time, we shall never forget to inspire with our projects, long for utopia, keep the dream of a better tomorrow alive and at the same time build ourselves a solid cultural background. ‘Nostalgic utopia’ is a projection into the future without forgetting where we come from, a license to dream big with a solid floor to stand on.

You have collaborated with Belgian company Van Den Weghe on an installation ‘The Clearing’ for Milan Design Week 2024. Where did the idea for this collaboration begin, and how does it express your shared approach to materiality?

pieces stand as vanguards in design, poised to challenge and redefine boundaries. This demands rigorous research, whether materials, forms, shapes, functions

paramount; it is the hallmark of collectible design. Yet, lamentably, passes as collectible design gravitates towards the mainstream.

before that while you’ve lived Milan always ‘pulls you back’.

point for a career, but no city is. I found the love of my life here.

As a professor, what do you see as the biggest issue or challenge facing Italian design in 2024?

My greatest hope for 2024 is to go back to the roots of architecture and design, focus on its functionality, real issues, and real materials and become interested again in comfort and sustainability.

The world needs sustainable interior design

In The Clearing installation, totemic sculptures made of travertine act as symbols of both being and non-being, of materiality and ethereality. The intentional voids between these forms illuminate the ephemeral nature of existence and the continuum of being.

This initiative underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, merging Van Den Weghe's mastery in stone processing with our cutting-edge design. The result is the transformation of my Milanese studio atelier into a space where tangible and intangible realities blend, discovering new artistic perspectives through a journey of deconstruction and metamorphosis.

The Clearing opens a dialogue on architectural complexity, encouraging a passage beyond conventional functionality towards a nuanced understanding of the interaction between interior design and architecture. At the conclusion of this artistic journey, The Clearing artworks will be integrated into Tanguy Van Quickenborne's esteemed collection in Belgium.

What do you do in your downtime?

I paint and build my sculptures. I do a lot of research also.

“The intentional voids between these forms illuminate the ephemeral nature of existence and the continuum of being,” Peer says.

POLYGLOT POLYCHROME LOCAL

Architect India Mahdavi

Interview: Sophie Lewis

How has having lived in several countries and being exposed to diverse cultures from a young age influenced your approach to design?

I have convened those experiences, memories, or impressions and channelled them into my approach. It’s like opening a mental door. It gave me the freedom to explore beyond the limits of what I was taught in school – always looking to translate those emotions that I have gathered over the years.

It also allowed me to push the boundaries of my discipline from architecture and interiors to furniture, objects, graphics, fabrics, and wallpapers. In doing so, I found a way to define myself and my own signature.

You established your Paris studio in 2000 and launched your first furniture collection and showroom in 2003. In

2011, you opened ‘Petits Objets’ to promote a ‘range of crafts, ancestral techniques and your signature colour palette’. What has been the role of these spaces in the evolution of your work?

When I opened “Petits Objets”, it was out of personal necessity simply because I couldn’t find that specific typology of objects on the market at that time. It made me think on a different scale, using different production methods based on craft knowhow from all over the world as a starting point. We have worked with weavers from Mexico and Brazil, ceramic makers from France, Turkey, Iran and Spain, glass blowers from Murano Bohemia and Lebanon, lacquer from Vietnam, cashmere from Nepal and Ari stitching from India. We now invite independent designers as guests to be part of our

selection – these include among others Maximilien Pellet, the Crafties, Audrey Ballacchino and Wendy Andreu from France, Folkform from Sweden, Insaf Kooli from Tunisia.

One activity has always fed another. It’s really about finding the flexibility to switch from one scale to another, mentally and physically. Every project leads me to create new furniture pieces; from there, I can imagine scaling them down, creating new objects or scaling up to create an environment. Rue Las Cases has become my epicentre, as I now have five spaces on one street: my creative studio, which I see as the core; the furniture showroom and its adjacent 'Little India,' which displays new pieces; 'Petits Objets,' the home accessories shop; and the 'Project Room', which is a cultural space that experiments with domesticity.

Portrait Antoine Doyen

Photography Felix Speller & Mattia Greghi

India Mahdavi was invited by new tile brand

Alternative Artefacts Danto and its artistic director, Teruhiro Yanagihara, to be their first international collaborator on their installation, Archaeology of Tiles, during Milan Design Week 2024.

In 2020, you founded Project Room as a cultural exhibition space in Paris and a ‘portal to new expressions of design from around the world’. What opportunities has this space created for multidisciplinary collaboration?

The Project Room opened in 2020 and invites, produces and exhibits. It merges talents and crafts, instigates conversations with designers from across the spectrum under the form of installations, décors, models, screenings, performances, lectures, and meetings. The Project Room regenerates four times a year and its access is free.

Since it opened, we have produced over 14 projects rooms, invited galleries such as Carwan Gallery from Athens, AGO Projects from Mexico, curators such as Dan Thawley from the new Matter and Shape design fair in Paris, designers such as Martine Bedin, Chris Wolston, Maximilien Pellet, the Crafties, projected “Les Mystères du Château de Dé" by Man Ray for the 100th anniversary of Villa Noailles and many more to come.

At this stage of my life, I wanted to share and create collaborative projects that could include designers from all over the world.

become an expression, and local because I try to draw as much as I can from the context by using local materials, local resources, and local production methods.

When we asked about an influence to anticipate in your work, you said, ‘less building, more ornament’. Why is this a design focus moving forward?

'Ornament – ‘the art we add to art,’ as art historian James Trilling defines it,

is again acceptable, but moving forward seems to mean reinventing the wheel.

Ornament is the easiest way to redefine existing spaces and give them a new identity without undergoing construction work to be more sustainable. I started doing this 20 years ago by using ornament in its most minimal form.

You are often called the 'queen of colour.' What is your philosophy regarding the use of colour in design? Is this carried into your own personal spaces?

In our esteemed 10 interview, you described your approach as ‘polyglot, polychrome and local’. Can you share an example of how these themes are revealed across different projects?

Polyglot, because my work is the result of my cosmopolitan upbringing, polychrome because colours have

makes people happy; it stands for everything that makes life worth living. But ornament was effectively banned from our world almost a century ago, with modernism’s doctrine that ornament was a betrayal of the beauty of function. Devotion to modernism stripped away our historical awareness of ornament and broke the tradition of craft that once kept ornament alive. Now that modernism is itself receding into history, ornament

Colours have become my mode of expression precisely because they embody the artistic freedom that I seek. They are the light and shadow of all the souths from which I originate and relate the nostalgia of a paradise lost that sparks within me the desire to imagine others.

The use of colour is natural to me; it has never been artificial. It’s instinctive and felt – more than it is conscious. When I see a space for the first time, colour emerges. It emerges like a feeling. I feel colours. I think my psyche, just as my body, is synesthetic: each colour is related to an emotion, to a smell, to a gesture, to a vision, to an impression.

I invite them into every space and every object. They follow me everywhere I go. The more, the merrier. Our infinite conversation isn’t mundane, nor is it nagging. I like them to fight, argue, have a conversation, then comfort each other, reconcile and love each other again. Colours live in me – and with me. So my house in Arles naturally follows.

For Milan Design Week this year, new tile brand Alternative Artefacts Danto and its artistic director, Teruhiro Yanagihara, invited you to be the first international collaborator on their installation, Archaeology of Tiles. As this was the official launch, can you shed light on how you worked with the brand to bring a fresh perspective to Japanese tile design?

In creating the tiles, we utilised a multilayered glazing technique on a single surface, allowing for effects that mostly imitate nature. This experimentation involved observing the reactions produced by the firing process, resulting in beautiful irregularities and variations on surfaces that evoke a different aspect of nature. This process led to the creation of the Mycelium and Freckles collections, both reflecting a shifted representation of nature with the beauty of wabi-sabi.

Another aspect explored in this collaboration is the cracked finish on the tinted clay tiles – where the colour lies within the clay rather than being applied as a glaze, giving colour a tangible presence. We also played with

the relief of the tile, moulding the clay and creating different scales of monochromatic grids, which, when assembled, produce an interesting vibration, enhanced using different colour joints.

Congratulations on your 'Criss Cross' rug collection for cc-tapis. How does this collection build on and differ from previous work with the brand?

The design combines two artisanal production methods: chain-stitching and hand-tufting from Northern India. Both techniques create complementary decorative layers, with one stitched to the base and the other tufted by hand, resulting in a motif that is propelled into a third dimension. This layering of graphic and geometric elements is dyed in colour combinations, intersecting traditional processes with modern elegance.

In a previous interview with est living, you also credited Milan Design Week as where you go to appreciate exceptional design. Why do you see it as such an important source of inspiration and platform for designers in 2024?

One can understand all the trends in the world of design, and the way products are presented is outstanding. Having said this, Max Frazer wrote in Dezeen online, an urgent reminder to all of us – to the designers and the industry: "The tempering of Milan fever is overdue, and the urgency of meaningful change is now. We must stop acting as if somebody else is going to make the changes to production and consumption that we so desperately need to enact. "

What excited you about Milan Design Week this year?

I was touched by the projects that were driven by craft or by innovative uses of materials. Ronan Bouroullec’s work with Mutina was impressive, with a poetic use of ceramic. Capsule plaza at Corso Como, showing historical designs of Verner Pantone but also new explorations of materials such as leather (Ecco) or aluminium (Format, an Aluminium Formwork series by Niceworkshop). And, of course, the Prada Frames talk series, led by Formafantasma’s spellbinding research and programming.

Milan Design Week 2024.

Pictured: 'Criss Cross' hand-knotted rug collection by India Mahdavi for cc-tapis released as part of

MASTERING THE NARRATIVE

Molteni&C Creative Director and architect Vincent Van Duysen

Interview: Sophie Lewis

“People are the protagonists of my work,” Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen says as we sit within a vast stand of his own design for Italian brand Molteni&C at this year’s Salone del Mobile.Milano. Fundamentally, he adds, “We’re here to make people happy –we're creating furniture for people. Of course, you can create beautiful forms, but I'm not a person who designs for design’s sake.”

For almost 40 years, the architect has pursued ‘the art of living’, leading him to the role of Molteni&C creative director in 2016. Tasked with celebrating the brand’s 90-year ‘Italian Design Story’ for this year’s Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile.Milano, Van Duysen drew inspiration from Milan’s famed Villa Necchi Campiglio by 20th-century Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi. “For this special edition, I wanted to enhance the monumentality and grandeur,” Van Duysen says. “Portaluppi wasn’t scared of being grand but modernist in heart

and soul. He had his own decorative way of seeing materials, graphic patterns, textures and colour juxtaposition”.

Portaluppi’s influence could be seen not only in the pieces themselves but also in the different spaces across the Molteni&C stand, which Van Duysen describes as more elevated, richer, and ‘residential’ than ever before. “I went out of my comfort zone. I am usually quite restrained with colour, but these beautiful colours — the green ceiling, the blue velvet 'Augusto' sofa and the new red marble ‘VVD’ kitchen are still linked to nature. It’s a very sensorial world I’ve created,” he adds.

Van Duysen designed the brand’s first fully modular wall unit, 'Logos', as part of the 2024 collection. This unit echoes Portaluppi’s world in how materials such as wood, marble and fabric have been combined to offer a variety of compositions. Van Duysen says the 'Logos' also explores ‘unexpected

geometries’, linking the wall system to the work of 20th-century Milanese architect Gio Ponti.

Just over a decade ago, Molteni&C collaborated with the Gio Ponti Archive to reissue original designs first created for private homes and small projects. As part of the brand’s 90-year anniversary, the iconic 'D.154.2' and 'D.151.4' armchairs were recognised for shaping its history, capturing Ponti’s design DNA and, at the same time, Molteni&C's signature materials and technology.

“It’s a huge responsibility, but it also comes with a lot of passion,” Van Duysen says, who regards Gio Ponti as a master in the Italian ‘art of living’. “Ponti was one-of-a-kind because he's an architect who covered the entire creative spectrum with his interiors, exteriors and product design,” he says. “I like how he did it in a very bespoke and unique way.”

Photography Courtesy of Molteni&C

The Augusto sofa by creative director Vincent Van Duysen evolved into a versatile new modular system in 2024.

Parallels can be drawn between Gio Ponti and Van Duysen’s design approach. “It’s how my brain functions,” he admits. “My mind is trained to work across different facets and typologies that all belong under the world of architecture. It’s a way for me to be as complete as I can.” He attributes this consistent mindset to his ‘creative longevity’. “I always aim for pureness in design, reduction and serenity. I created my own style about 35 years ago, and I’m building on that constantly,” he adds.

Under Van Duysen’s direction, Molteni&C released their first outdoor collection last year. When he first started working with the brand, the architect recalls conversations about translating

their specific, long-standing design language to an outdoor range. “It was both exciting and challenging. Ultimately, the art of living doesn’t begin indoors but outdoors, and through the interaction between the two,” he maintains.

‘Exteriorising the interior’ has been a thread through the Belgian architect’s work since he taught architecture in Brussels 30 years ago. He believes working with the earth is both existential and imperative — and a way of guaranteeing the well-being of his clients. Casa M, Vincent’s home in Melides, Portugal, is his proudest example. Built over three years, the home is designed to be experienced barefoot, completely open and connected to the surroundings, without

art and with minimal furniture. “In summer, it's like an open-air pavilion,” he says. “The views and perspectives are so beautiful and endless. It’s a sensorial experience at its best, and I am in absolute harmony with nature.”

Casa M and Vincent’s Antwerp home are the subject of his new book Vincent Van Duysen: Private , created in close collaboration with French photographer François Halard. The book frames his two houses in a more personal, artistic light, gleaning insight into his creative practice with never-seen-before angles and details. “It’s an invitation into my world — my books and my art,” he says and importantly, “my life with my dogs”.

FAST FOWARD

Designer Arno Declercq

Interview: Sophie Lewis

Belgian designer Arno Declercq makes things happen – quickly. The collectible design showcase Baranzate Ateliers co-founder, also the brainchild of Zaventem Ateliers founder Lionel Jadot, signed the lease on a new 7,000 squaremetre venue only a month before opening for Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024. The industrial ‘concrete cathedral’ housed 35 different Belgian design studios in an anticipated second edition of Baranzate Ateliers. “We have brought together a really diverse group of artists,” Declercq says. “You need variation to create impact.”

Declercq’s career has ascended quickly since the age of 23. After studying interior design, he opened his own gallery for ethnographic art and design and in 2017, he began making small bespoke pieces that have since garnered the international attention of high-end retailers, collectors and fashion brands. Late last year, he opened an exclusive showroom space in Antwerp, where he also hosts events alongside other artists.

Presenting his latest collection at Baranzate Ateliers, Declercq wanted to create awareness around his largerscale work and custom design. “The

whole collection evolved in less than three days on paper, starting with the bench,” Declercq says. The furniture collection includes a lounge chair, armchair, desk, sideboard, bench, two types of tables and a steel sculpture.

The collection is called 'Zoumey', after the West African Iroko wood it’s made from, while the tabletops are crafted from an African walnut called Dibetou. “As a natural colour, they are quite different,” Declercq says. “But using the Japanese technique of Shosugiban, the pieces become a burned silhouette with expressive veining, finished with a copper brush and layers of wax oil.”

Each piece is made without a single screw. “It’s a long process, but a very durable one,” he adds.

Declercq describes his work as wabisabi Brutalism, inspired by the proportions of Japanese design and the distinct aesthetic appeal of concrete bunkers. “In the 'Zoumey' collection, there are sharp edges, but on the other hand, you see the craftsmanship – the human quality,” he says. “Some of the pieces weigh nearly 400 kilos, which is juxtaposed by the floating form and negative space underneath.”

The designer completed the collection with a one-tonne metal outdoor

sculpture made from 2.5-millimetre plate steel welded together with 112 facets by his atelier. “We had to do the patination with fire piece by piece because it’s so big,” he says. “Every part was completed separately and then assembled.” The 'Zoumey' sculpture is designed to strip away the stability of the voluminous form in a ‘playful dance with gravity’. “It was never our intention to make it to sell; it’s to awaken people and create trust in our larger work.”

Declercq credits his father, who studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, as a guiding force behind his practice. “If my father tells me something isn’t good, I won’t make it,” he says. “My father has no phone, no social media. He doesn’t like to go to fairs – he has a very clear mind in this way.” And while Declercq acknowledges he built his brand on Instagram six years ago, it’s also very easy to subconsciously absorb other design ideas on the platform. Often, he leaves a design on paper pinned to the fridge for a few weeks to sit with it before he continues to the atelier. “When I design something, it can often feel a bit odd,” he says. “That’s when I know it’s something good because if you’re not familiar with something, you don’t always feel comfortable with it.”

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Photography Amber Vanbossel

This Page: The 'Zoumey' lounge chair 012024 by Arno Declercq is crafted from burned and oiled Iroko with Belgium linen upholstery by Designs of the Time.

Opposite Page: The 'Zoumey' sculpture by Arno Declercq saw 112 plate steel facets individually polished and patinated with fire, then welded together. The sculpture took three months to create.

Taking advantage of the expansive space at Baranzate Ateliers, Declercq wanted to create awareness around his larger-scale work and custom design, culminating in his new furniture collection, 'Zoumey'.

ART OF GLASS

6:AM Glassworks founders Edoardo Pandolfo and Francesco Palù

Interview: Sophie Lewis

Italian creative duo Edoardo Pandolfo and Francesco Palù started experimenting with the possibilities of Murano glass eight years ago. At the time, Pandolfo was coordinating an art exhibition, and Palù was practising as an architect.

Two years later, the pair established their Milanese research studio 6:AM Glassworks – a name inspired by the moment when the glass artisans ignite the workshop furnaces. “We started 6:AM Glassworks as a second job in 2016, not knowing much about glass at the time,” Pandolfo says.

The pair set out to champion a new generation of Murano glassmaking, collaborating with various artisans from the Murano region. “The idea behind 6:AM Glassworks is not to have one production company but to tap into a whole network of artisanship near Venice,” Pandolfo says. “There are hundreds of artisans, and each has their technique.”

This foundation has quickly seen an evocative anthology of cast glass lighting, glassware, wall systems and sculptural objects, architectural installations and a consulting arm that works with brands to facilitate bespoke glass product creation. Their repertoire also includes collaborations with

Milanese architect Hannes Peer and industrial studio NM3. “It's a handmade production, so you must have a human connection first,” Pandolfo says. “It’s always going to be different – there's no standard – and that's what makes every piece unique.”

A constant curiosity for new ways of doing saw the 6:AM Glassworks take a decidedly different approach to Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile. Milano 2024. Housed in a previously abandoned warehouse tunnel behind Milan Central Station as part of ‘Dropcity in Progress’, they presented 'FLOAT': a new lifecycle for glass. “Float glass –window glass – is precious because it’s perfectly transparent,” Palù says. “It’s the highest quality of glass you can have industrially, so when you recycle it, you downcycle it.”

Palù is intentional about the word reuse, as opposed to recycling. 'FLOAT' aims to educate people on a slower way of reusing this type of glass, to increase its lifespan, and to mitigate the impact of the process.

Working with windows from the 1930s recovered from a renovated Milan Palazzo, the studio have created a series of tables, shelving and cladding. Made with tubular stainless steel, the 'FLOAT' tables have been designed

using four layers of fused glass. The glass pieces are connected by ‘dry joints’ without glue, just like the shelf system. The glass elicits different results in terms of colour and transparency, creating three variations: ‘green, fume and extraclear’.

A Milanese glass recycling company then asked the pair to take on 10 tonnes of tempered glass from an old bank. “We didn’t know how to process it because it’s tempered glass, so we had to find a low-tech solution to reverse the tempering process,” Palù says. This transpired into a cladding prototype for architectural application, inspired by construction materials. “Fusing multiple layers of glass, we were able to create these industrial patterns because steel is resistant to temperature,” Palù says. “You can imagine the anti-slip checkered plate as a second skin on a building,” he adds.

Palù says they learned of the sheer quantity of available glass through 'FLOAT'. “We didn’t call anyone. In the last year, we recovered 12 tonnes of glass – imagine if we went looking for it. It’s all about adding value to something that’s already valuable.”

6:AM Glassworks’ designs can be purchased through moebel.com.au in Australia.

Portrait Tommaso Mariniello Photography DSL Studio

6:AM Glassworks presented their 2024 collection ‘FLOAT: a new lifecycle for glass’ as part of ‘Dropcity in Progress’.

The 'FLOAT' collection comprises a series of tables, shelving and cladding that explore a ‘slow approach’ to the reuse of float glass.

CRAFTING CONNECTIONS

Designer David Lopez Quincoces

Interview: David Harrison

I first met young Spanish designer David Lopez Quincoces at Salone del Mobile. Milano in 2015 at the launch of one of his early collections for Living Divani. He was a warm and relaxed designer who was excited about his burgeoning career. Fast forward to 2024 and Quincoces arrives at our interview at Spotti Milano on his Vespa, equally relaxed, but now something of a veteran of the Milanese design scene.

Spotti is a design store in Viale Piave in the Porta Venezia area of Milan which has been setting the agenda for interiors in Milan for nearly 40 years, with an uncanny ability to tap into the zeitgeist. It creates constant dynamism with new window displays and has helped launch notable design careers of superstars like Studiopepe, who are long term collaborators.

This year Spotti collaborated with Living Divani during Milan Design Week and created an installation entitled Spotti Window featuring the new Lorentz sofa system by Quincoces and the

extraordinary lighting of Mario Tsai Studio. Quincoces’ expansive sofa system was shown in a number of configurations in fabric and leather to display the variety of looks the sofa is capable of achieving. According to Quincoces, “The installation is a domestic representation of Living Divani in synergy with Spotti, one of the most significant design reference points in Milan on the themes of style research”.

And he should know. Quincoces has been living in Milan since 2004 when he moved from his home city of Madrid to undertake a Master’s Degree in Interior Design at the Politecnico di Milano. A period of working for Piero Lissoni’s studio introduced Quincoces to the brands that he now designs for under his own name; Living Divani, De Padova, Salvatori, LEMA and Trussardi.

Shortly after leaving Lissoni’s studio, Quincoces set up Quincoces-Dragó & Partners with Norwegian architect Fanny Bauer Grung, working across architecture, interiors, product and

graphic design. Quincoces has a deep appreciation of past design with a love of everything from the lean lines of Poul Kjaerholm to the sweeping organic forms of Pierre Paulin. “In my architecture and interior projects, I don’t like to surround myself with too many of my own designs. It seems rather egotistical to think that your own products are always the best for every project or situation. For this reason, I like to incorporate vintage design and the work of other designers and enjoy adding in obviously handmade pieces. It’s more interesting and delivers a better result in the end,” Quincoces says.

This interest in a richly layered aesthetic in interiors led to the opening of SIX Gallery in 2017. The space featured bespoke pieces designed by Quincoces shown alongside tribal rugs and other natural fibre pieces along with rare designs by the likes of Gio Ponti, Pierre Jeanerette and Ingo Maurer. SIX Gallery rapidly became one of the hottest ticket on the Milan Design Week agenda.

Portrait Antoine Doyen

Photography Courtesy of Expormim, Spotti & Living Divani

From left to right: Living Divani Ark chair by David Lopez Quincoces, Expormim Cadez armchair (2024) by David Lopez Quincoces and Salvatori Silo light (2016) by David Lopez Quincoces.

More recently Quincoces, in collaboration with his good friend Francesco Meda, has begun to apply his talents to the artistic direction of several brands including Acerbis, Alias and the outdoor company FAST. Together the designers have provided a springboard for Acerbis to enjoy a new lease of life and the two designers are injecting that same energy into the other brands they work for, releasing interesting new products and reissuing forgotten classics in new guises.

Meda and Quincoces have also recently collaborated on two outdoor collections ‘Onsen’ and ‘Lamadera’, for Spanish brand Gandia Blasco and 2024 saw Quincoces designing the ‘Cadenza’ collection for Spanish rattan specialist, Expormim. Asked whether he felt that his Spanish roots were still visible in any of his designs after so many years in Milan, Quincoces was initially hesitant but admitted a love of the hot and dusty environment of his home country. “I love how the sun burns the intensity out of colours and they become desaturated. My general preference is for sand, clay and tobacco tones and natural materials like cane, linen and raffia – materials with inherent imperfection and personality. This rawness is the perfect partner to refined metal work or precisely machined wood,” Quincoces says.

Spotti window installation – featuring a new Living Divani sofa by David Lopez Quincoces.

Discovering the Artistry of Italian Craftsmanship

Renowned for its dedication to fine materials, impeccable craftsmanship, Ghidini1961 continues to set the benchmark for high-quality, innovative exclusively at Mondopiero in Australia, Ghidini1961 has been a pioneer in metal furniture and lighting; seamlessly blending traditional techniques with

As a family-owned, multi-generational company, Ghidini1961 is celebrated some of the most distinguished designers and architects. Salone del Mobile.Milano platform to further these partnerships, bringing together renowned designers Stefano Giovannoni, Richard Hutten, Robert Stadler, and Paolo Rizzatto.

Milan was a fusion of iconic pieces such as the Leisure sofa by Lorenza table by Elisa Giovannoni, alongside newly introduced designs that evoke homage to an era of abstract reinterpretations. Notable additions include the and the decorative brass Jackfruit table lamp by Brazilian designers, the Campana

Explore the Ghidini1961 range at Mondopiero >

and timeless sophistication, design worldwide. Available in crafting premium brass and with modern design sensibilities. for collaborating globally with Mobile.Milano 2024 served as a designers such as Lorenza Bozzoli, The collection presented in Bozzoli and the Bold coffee evoke nostalgic shapes and pay the Artù table by Paolo Rizzatto Campana Brothers.

Opposite page:

This page: The newly released Artù dining table designed by Paolo Rizzato makes a sculptural design statement.

The Jackfruit table lamp designed by the Campana Brothers reveals a perforated metal design that mimics sunlight dancing through tropical foliage.

This page: The Abbracci armchair designed by Lorenza Bozzoli and translating as ‘hug’ in Italian, forms an embrace with its leather-upholstered curves atop a brass base.

Opposite page: Designed by Lorenza Bozzoli, the modular Leisure sofa is composed of two elements joined together by a brass detailed belt.

FILIPPO CARANDINI MY SPACE

Italian Designer Filippo Carandini invited Karen McCartney for an espresso in his playful, colour-saturated Milanese apartment filled with his own designs, art and family heirlooms.

LOCATION Milan, Italy

PHOTOGRAPHY Lillie Thompson

WORDS Karen McCartney

Filippo Carandini’s living room, this and the previous page, combines all the key elements of his bold interior style: immersive colour washed over the walls and ceiling broken by a traditional dado. In his signature mesmeric colours, the arched panel is propped against the wall framing a Nova chair for Eponimo, also by Carandini; its solidity balances the elongated and open metal shelving of his design.

Artist and designer Filippo Carandini’s work is a tour de force of naïve expressionism on the one hand and exactitude on the other, as colourful, splashy painted surfaces coated in high gloss lacquer pair with precision metals and marbles. His work is constantly evolving, with the launch of a new collection, including Murano glass lamps and chandeliers at Nilufar Depot for Milan Design Week. Here Karen McCartney visits his Milanese apartment to experience his interior world first-hand.

Florence-born artist and designer Filippo Carandini made the bold move to Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design in London at the age of 19, with little English and even less awareness of what the course would hold for him. “I had come from an academic art training in Florence, but in London, it was very much about breaking down, tearing apart existing assumptions and with little direction or points of reference. The idea was to allow us to build our own ideas – to be honest, it was very confusing at first,” Carandini says.

As we sit in his Milan apartment, with its vibrant coloured walls and pieces of his own work alongside collected design and 17th-century family heirlooms, he acknowledges that this process has enabled him to produce the work he does today. He sees in his current designs a level of freedom in his impactful, handpainted panels, tables, and sideboards, which are the direct result of shedding the weight of art historical reference. Notably, he is a skilled realist painter, as his detailed works of piles of clothes created during the Covid lockdown illustrate, but it is the power of his colour-field work with its broad intuitive brushstrokes that has captured the attention of the design community through his representation by Nilufar Gallery.

Carandini is the first to admit he has not trained as a product designer but came to design through a mixture of talents and skills, friendships and opportunities. With a wide range of work from art direction and graphic design to three-dimensional rendering, concept development and interiors, his design process emerged from a desire to introduce new unseen products into high-end render projects. “I started to sketch these ideas, furniture pieces which we used in the renders and then I connected with old colleagues who could help with the realisation of the design and prototyping,” Carandini says.

and creating a generous sense of entrance.

Opposite page: His home, in a Milanese apartment block, had been renovated by its previous architect owner, opening it up to a better flow

This page: The kitchen colour was inspired by a drying bed sheet, while the Kundalini Shakti 200 light by Marzio Rusconi Clerici for Kundalini adds a sculptural note.

Carandini’s clever adjustable mirror can hang on a wall or sit on a surface. The yellow lacquered wooden structure and rotating panels reflect light around the caramel-tinted bedroom. Opposite: An early Gòrgone bookcase with hand-painted doors and metal shelving is used to showcase a mix of collected objects

But it is fascinates curated its magical home. In his retaining by accident intentional panels propped is headed “I like to It swings Light has Keria, a frame Filippo’s pieces like it when

is now the mark of the hand and the imperfect nature of how paint colours layer, interact, and enliven form that fascinates him. For example, his dining table, Noctua, from the New Pompeii collection, was on show within the highly curated context of Nilufar Depot. While it has a strong pedestal form, the painterly pointillist surface gives the table magical presence, derived from art experiments in dense, close tonalities in acrylic colours placed around his

fifth-floor apartment, bought from a young architect who had re-modelled the space by opening it up but retaining the character, he was able to introduce colour as the backdrop to his work and life. Some colours happened accident as he contemplated the effectiveness of a peach-toned sheet drying on a clothes rack; others were intentional and immediately effective such as the caramel wrap around the top of the bedroom wall and ceiling. His are a moveable decorative feast as circles, rectangles, and arches (a nod to his Florentine past) enliven walls propped on the sofa, hanging over the bed, anchored on the floor. One magnificent arch in tones of red and orange headed for a Greek boutique hotel, and others are headed for an exhibition later in the year.

to work and live with natural light, and the apartment gets great light from the east in the morning in the kitchen. swings around to the living room for late afternoon sunsets,” he says.

has also become a part of his design output with a new table light, chandelier and wall light in a collection, launched through Nilufar Gallery. Candy cane pieces of Murano glass in amethyst tones hook in layers onto frame – each piece individual and artisanal – to create a skirt-like motif, giving an expressive femininity to the lights. Filippo’s home is very much the personification of his work and his personal history. The colour brings joy, and the from the family bring heart. The space and his work are a lesson in confidence and trusting your instinct. “I when I let go and have an affinity with the canvas – those are always the best works," he says.

This page: Another view of the small bedroom shows the effectiveness of bands of paintwork combined with Carandini’s own works to enliven the space. He also incorporates a sense of his personal family history through framed works, furniture and objects.

Opposite page: The coloured and lacquered approach to his larger works is equally effective as a small gift box.

Carandini’s work can be purchased and commissioned through moebel.com.au in Australia.

Filippo

The Château Moderne designed by Matthew Quinn recasts an iconic cooker through a contemporary lens.

A symbol since 1908, At EuroCucina of its American-based Internationally attention of La Cornue’s elegance Moderne handles

Explore

Cornue x Matthew Quinn

symbol of French craftsmanship in the world of high-end cuisine 1908, La Cornue sets the benchmark for French culinary design. EuroCucina 2024, La Cornue introduced the latest reinterpretations most iconic designs, including a creative collaboration with American-based interior designer Matthew Quinn.

Internationally renowned for his refined aesthetic and impeccable attention to detail, Quinn’s vision delivers a contemporary reinvention Cornue’s iconic Château cooker. Seamlessly blending modern elegance with the brand’s rich heritage and enduring quality, the Château Moderne includes a hammered finish, redesigned knobs, elongated handles and refined frames – a modern twist on a beloved classic.

Explore the latest from La Cornue >

Cornue Words Megan Rawson

Harmonious

A Milanese penthouse evolves through a considered dialogue to become a refined backdrop to family life.

Location Milan, Italy

Architecture Motta

Styling Micol Cerani

Photography Giulio Ghirardi

Words Yvette Caprioglio

Harmonious Dialogue

This page: The home features a dialogue of black accents and natural

the client’s Nordic aesthetic.

oak, as seen in the curved steel and timber staircase, reflecting

The wall finishing is by La Calce del Brenta.

Opposite page: A table and stool from the Néolithique collection designed by Motta Architecture for SEM Milano, Flos Gatto Piccolo table lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni and the cc-tapis Bliss Ultimate rug by Mae Engelgeer.

This page: A Timothy sofa and Adrian side table by Meridiani were selected for the living space, with an Oluce brass Atollo table lamp by Vico Magistretti.

Opposite page: One of the home’s many terraces featuring a sculpture by Valerio Berruti and the SEM Slice low table.

De Alessandri by Milanese architecture and interior design studio Motta is the product of a careful dialogue between the studio and their client – a family of five who envisioned a contemporary and warm home, conceived as a container for their lives.

The project mediates a delicate balance between the client’s Nordic aesthetic, characterised by light tones and suspended atmospheres and the studio’s approach steeped in Italian design. The result offers harmonious contrasts between neutral and natural tones with black-stained wood, where chiaroscuros blend.

The home’s design language unfolds through a sensory play of materials and shapes, including stone, brass, black iron, oak boiserie and raffia panels with a pied de poule pattern. A doubleheight helical staircase forms an arresting centrepiece connecting the two floors of the penthouse, dividing the entrance floor’s sleeping quarters of four bedrooms and three bathrooms that develop along a longitudinal axis.

Upstairs, the open-plan living room extends seamlessly with glass walls overlooking the terrace, gently drawing light into the home. Custom-designed elements by Motta and iconic design pieces sit cohesively, merging with the surrounding architecture, while natural and black wainscotting delineates the home’s service areas, defining the circular space around the staircase with a refined ease.

“Each project by Motta Architecture allocates ample space for detail-oriented design and the creation of bespoke elements,” Motta Architecture founder Giuseppina Motta says. “For the studio, meticulous attention to every detail, in its forms and finishes, is a fundamental aspect.”

A marble frame creates an entrance portal to the dining space with ribbed wood boiserie, tweedeffect raffia doors by CMO Paris and a brass plate shelf. An Astep Model 2109 suspended lamp by Gino Sarfatti features above a series of Indochine swivel armchairs by Charlotte Perriand for Cassina, the Fayland table by David Chipperfield for e15, and an e15 bench.

Motta Architecture’s play on contrasts is dissolved in the

area.

sleeping

The bedroom features the Atelier Areti Mimosa pendant, Meridiani Ralf night table by Andrea Parisio and a Dedar fabric custom bed head.

The bathroom highlights Motta Architecture’s attention to detail – from the cabinetry to the fluted marble to the Fantini tapware and Riddle pendants by Bert Frank. Everything is made to measure.

MILANO

SEMPRE

EXPLORE OUR CURATED LIST OF PLACES AND SPACES IN MILAN TO VISIT, EAT, DRINK, SHOP AND BE INSPIRED.

Photography clockwise from left: Daniele Mango and courtesy of Bar Basso

Bar Basso has been the most spot for decades. Opened in cocktails on its menu. During into the opposite square and can

Gucci Monte Napoleone Flagship

Boutique

Via Monte Napoleone 7, Milano, Italia

The new Gucci flagship on Monte Napoleone, designed by director Sabato De Sarno, epitomises the brand’s modern lens on luxury. Behind a façade of geometric patterns and ornate details, the interiors unfold across several immersive spaces marked by marble floors, brass accents and minimalist furnishings.

Bar Basso

Cocktail Bar

Via Plinio, 39, 20133 Milano, Italia

Italia

most revered Milanese drinking 1947, it currently lists 500 During MDW, the crowds spill can number in the hundreds.

historical place cocktails, and – Maria Porro

Yapa

Restaurant & Cocktail Bar

Viale Monte Nero, 34, 20135 Milano, Italia

Yapa is a new Milanese restaurant designed by Berlin studios Lambs and Lions and Annabell Kutucu. Founder Matteo Pancetti’s cuisine is seasonal and designed for sharing, sourced from small farms and specialist producers. The intimate interiors feature a monochrome palette and muted lighting – ‘an antidote to the traditional Milanese scene’.

Milan 2024

Milano Sempre

Photography clockwise from left: Daniele Mango, courtesy of Bar Basso and Björn Ceder.

The just-opened Trattoria dimorestudio is renowned cuisine. The trattoria is the 1960s in Milan’s Brera interiors that include a selection

Restaurant

Via Fiori Chiari, 32, 20121,

Trattoria

Da Giacomo Milano

Trattoria

Via Pasquale Sottocorno 6 Angolo Via Benvenuto Cellini, 20129, Milano, Italia

For over three decades, Da Giacomo Milano has evoked the charm of old Milanese trattorias, offering traditional Italian fare and premium fresh ingredients. Designed by architect Renzo Mongiardino, the atmosphere is underpinned by boiseries, stuccoes, and crafted furnishings. An outdoor seating area overlooks Via Sottocorno for al fresco dining in fair weather.

L'Arabesque

Milano Cult Store

Boutique

Largo Augusto, 10, 20122, Milano, Italia

Designed by IVELA, the new L'Arabesque Cult Store is highly conceptual, featuring all-white, overlapping volumes and circular motifs, highlighted by a ‘continuous change of light scenes’. The store is a visionary backdrop to cutting-edge pieces that blend streetwear with high fashion.

Trattoria del Ciumbia, designed by Milanese design studio renowned for its innovative twists on authentic Italian inspired by the warmth of traditional eateries from Brera district, exuding warmth with its rich-liver red selection of dimorestudio’s contemporary furniture.

Milano Sempre

Photography clockwise from left: Paola Pansini, courtesy of Giacomo Milano and Paolo Carlini.

Milano, Italia

del Ciumbia

Bar Magenta

Gastropub

Via Giosuè Carducci, 13, 20123, Milano, Italia

Bar Magenta is a timeless Milanese institution. Known for its artisanal cocktails and vintage memorabilia, the bar is loved by locals and visitors alike, seeking out its nostalgic charm and authentic Milanese hospitality.

Via Pasquale Paoli, 1, 20143, Milano, Italia

Under the banner of ‘Fashion Forward Luxury’, Antonioli sits at the intersection of fashion and architecture. The boutique’s interior features dynamic spatial arrangements; an avante-garde approach that speaks to the curation of niche and emerging designers alongside established brands.

Antonioli

Boutique

Favorite Milan Bar?

"I'm most fond of is Bar Magenta, where I used to have breakfast every morning when I was in high school. In the evening during design week, it's a great option."

– Federica Biasi

Orsonero Milano

Coffee Shop

Via Giuseppe Broggi, 15, 20129, Milano, Italia

Orsonero Coffee is your one-stop specialty coffee shop located in Milan’s Porta Venezia neighborhood. Managed by Canadian barista Brent Jopson, Orsonero Coffee offers an ‘evolving menu’ of classic espressos and single-origin filter coffees.

Gong Oriental Attitude

Restaurant

Corso Concordia, 8, 20129, Milano, Italia

Gong Oriental Attitude, offers a contemporary take on haute Asian cuisine with a menu defined by new-age interpretations of the ‘ancient traditions of Asian gastronomy’ and a rigorous ingredient selection. Designed by architects Nisi Magnoni and Davide Galletta, the restaurant overlooks Corso Concordia, just steps from Villa Necchi.

Photography clockwise from left: Simone Bossi, courtesy of Bar Magenta, courtesy of Orsonero, Matteo Imbriani.

Ristorante Teatro alla Scala il Foyer

Restaurant

Largo Antonio Ghiringhelli, 1, Via Filodrammatici, 2, 20121, Milano, Italia

Located within Milan’s iconic La Scala opera house, Ristorante Teatro alla Scala il Foyer emulates the opulence of the setting. The interiors by Milanese architecture and design practice MVUY studio pay homage to the theatre's grandeur and cultural significance, hallmarked by the use of rich red upholstery.

Favorite Milan Restaurant?

"I am very passionate about cooking, and the best haute cuisine is

at

Contraste – where the

chef

Perdomo of Peruvian origin, creates a truly unique experience."

– Federica Biasi

Contraste

Restaurant

Via Giuseppe Meda, 2, 20136, Milano, Italia

Contraste is a Michelin-star restaurant by Matias Perdomo, Thomas Piras and Simon Press that has always had no menu. Within ‘the halls of an ancient villa protected from the noise of the city’, Contraste aims to surprise guests with ‘an unexpected experience’ that both ‘provokes and entertains’.

Ferragamo Via Montenapoleone

Boutique

Via Montenapoleone, 20/4 20121, Milano, Italia

Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen is the design eye behind the new boutique for the Italian fashion house Ferragamo on Via Montenapoleone. The boutique is set within the 15th-century Palazzo Carcassola Grandi and embraces the building’s historic character with contemporary brushstrokes, such as the focal sea-blue ceramics by Milanese studio Analogia Project founder Andrea Mancuso.

10 Corso Como

Department Store & Café Corso Como, 10, 20154, Milano, Italia

10 Corso Como, founded by Carla Sozzani in 1990, revolutionised the concept of retail, with the idea of a lifestyle concept store. Featuring a store, café, cultural space and 3Rooms suites, the cultural destination blends fashion, design, art, and cuisine, often presenting their own exhibition during Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile.Milano.

Photography clockwise from left: Courtesy of Ristorante Contraste, courtesy of Ristorante teatro alla Scala – Il Foyer, courtesy of Ferragamo, courtesy of 10 Corso Como.