From 17 to 22 April, one of Milan's most opulent and elegant mansions will be home to an exploration into the future of design. With "The Future in the Making", Domus and Audi will examine the revolution that is radically changing the face of design, opening up new perspectives with fresh ideas and a new generation of designers.
With the Open Design Archipelago exhibition, Domus brings together a selection of groups, individuals, companies and platforms engaged in reshaping the technological, material, philosophical and economic frameworks of design. From open-source platforms of collaboration to the phenomenon rise of crowdfunding, and from the proliferation of fabrication microlaboratories to new frontiers in food design, the ubiquity and low cost of new production and networking technologies are profoundly transforming the way we design.
For Salone del Mobile, Palazzo Clerici will become a transient laboratory of advanced experimentation and production in which these distant worlds collide.
The R18 Ultra Chair Public Beta installation at Palazzo Clerici will open the testing process up to the general public. A prototype version of the chair, equipped with industrial sensors and connected to a central server, will crowd-source data on the chair's performance under intensive use. Every testing session will be documented as a personalised video and sent back to the visitor by email link to watch and share with friends—furniture fully integrated with social media.
Winner of the Dutch Design Award 2011 Dirk Vander Kooij who will produce, "on the spot", pieces from his Endless furniture line. The manufacturing process is aided by an adapted industrial robot, and uses recycled materials from old electrical appliances.
German designer Markus Kayser will exhibit his Solar Sinter, a numerical control machine designed to construct objects only with solar power and using sand as a raw material. Solar-sintering aims to raise questions about the future of manufacturing and triggers dreams of the full utilisation of the production potential of the world's most efficient energy resource — the sun. Whilst not providing definitive answers, this experiment aims to provide a point of departure for fresh thinking.
From open-source platforms of collaboration to the phenomenon rise of crowdfunding, and from the proliferation of fabrication microlaboratories to new frontiers in food design, the ubiquity and low cost of new production and networking technologies are profoundly transforming the way we design
OpenStructures initiator Thomas Lommée will explores the potential of a construction model in which everyone designs for everyone else on a modular grid. "The Future in the Making" illustrates this shared project in the form of the OS Mod-Bike, a bicycle designed in 2009 that has evolved over the years with input from the end-user community to become a "cargobike".
The Best of Arduino will display a selection of the most innovative designs produced around the world with Arduino technology, from imaginative projects to previously inconceivable experiments. The projects were selected by inventor of Arduino Massimo Banzi.
Amsterdam-based design company Droog will present "Material Matters," a future furniture fair featuring 20 design companies — both real and imagined — that might come to thrive within a new economic system that replaces income tax with tax on raw materials.
The FabLab Torino association will also be present at the Domus space in Palazzo Clerici. With the aid of 3D printers, they will produce the best furnishing designs selected from Autoprogettazione 2.0 — a call for ideas promoted by Domus and FabLab Torino.
Vectorealism, an online service for digital fabrication, will also be present at the Open Design Archipelago. Other than laser cut services, the platform promotes maker culture and open design with activities, workshops and events such as WeFab.it. Vectorealism will collaborate in the production of the Autoprogettazione 2.0 designs and other special projects.
The Future in the Making
Palazzo Clerici
Via Clerici, 5, Milan
17 to 22 April 2012
17 April 11:00 — 18:00
18 to 22 April 11:00 — 22:00
For more information and registration please visit the FabLab Torino page.
Smart Lamp with Arduino, by Massimo Banzi
Tuesday, 17 April, 14:00 to 18:00
Thursday, 19 April, 15:00 to 19:00
Designing and making intelligent lamps with Massimo Banzi, who will teach how to work with light through Arduino, and enable all participants to make their own lamp. They will understand how to monitor a LED, to read a sensor and to write a simple code to interact and play with light. Participants will be supplied with all the materials needed to realise their projects. No knowledge of programming is necessary. Participants must arrive with their own laptops.
More information and registration
Creative Repair, by FabLab Torino
Wednesday, 18 April, 15:00 to 18:00
Mending is an art. An art today aided by new 3D scanning and printing tools. An object with a piece broken off it or otherwise by now in a poor state might be the ideal candidate for this workshop. 3D printers, laser scanners, virtual modellers, new materials and old techniques are here to inject new life into a product by now on its last legs. A good knowledge of 3D modelling is undoubtedly helpful. Participants must bring their own laptop to be able to work on the project.
More information and registration
Lasercut Slippers, by Openwear
Friday, 20 April, 15:00 to 18:00
Slippers by Openwear is the first open-source brand to enable items in its collection to be produced and sold freely. The workshop begins from the slippers vectorial file, in order to understand which softwares to use and how to set them up so that the laser can interpret the file. The course provides an introductory approach to the theory and practice of rapid fashion prototyping. Each participant will use their own laptop, and at the end of the workshop will take home a pair of slippers. Requisites: basic knowledge of vectorial graphic programmes. Programme: Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape.
More information and registration
3D Print and 3D Printer, by Kentstrapper
Saturday, 21 April, 15:00 to 18:00
RepRap is a printer, connectable to a normal computer, that prints three-dimensional objects. RepRap is the abbreviation of Replicating Rapid-prototyper. This 3D printer is in fact capable of constructing objects by depositing layers of plastic in the right sequence, on top of each other. But it can also replicate itself. During the workshop, participants will work together with the Kentstrapper team to clone the RepRap.
Get the best from interlocked lasercut design, by Vectorealism
Sunday, 22 April, 15:00 to 19:00
Tips and tricks for the best ways of interlocking lasercut components. Two free softwares will be used to create complex objects with intelocking and superimposed layers. A flat sheet, ready to be laser cut, will be transformed into a 3D object. Each participant will use their own laptop and will take home a product made in corrugated cardboard. Requisites: basic knowledge of 3D modelling programmes. Participants are advised to arrive with the Autodesk123d, Google Sketchup and Inkscape software already installed.
More information and registration