Milano Design Week: things to see before it ends

The most elegant temporary store at the Fuorisalone is undoubtedly the Gucci store in Via Manzoni 19, where the first Gucci Lifestyle collection is presented. In the windows and in the small, refined premises of a historic jewellery store, everything is meticulously curated, starting with the sign that looks like that of a traditional Italian stationery store from the early 20th century. If the exterior is sober, the interior is designed to surprise: in a small Wunderkammer, or Renaissance study, one can find fans made of wood and silk satin, notebooks (covered in GG Supreme fabric or in Gucci’s new sustainable material, Demetra), cases with coloured pencils and a set of bioresin dice. Among the “special” effects that help immerse visitors (one at a time, so expect a bit of a queue) in a fairytale atmosphere somewhere between Harry Potter and Alice, are the mouse house carved into the wall, the electric train hanging from the ceiling and the chess set that moves by itself.

The Gucci temporary store is located in via Manzoni 19. It can be visited until 17th September, opening hours 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. (Elena Sommariva)

Mingardo supports the Mario Negri Institute with 10 unique pieces that will be auctioned at Christie’s. Ten candelabra, which metaphorically keep the flame of life alive, will support cancer research. The operation, desired by Daniele Mingardo “to make a concrete gesture through what I am: the blacksmith”, is curated by Federica and has involved, in addition to Federica Biasi, former Art Director of the brand, Michele De Lucchi, Jaime Hayon, Philippe Malouin, Alberto & Francesco Meda, Luca Nichetto, Matteo Thun, Patricia Urquiola, Marcel Wanders studio and Panter & Tourron. The works are collected in a small precious exhibition “A Flame for Research. Ten candleholders to fight cancer” set up by Cristian Minerva and Francesca Fusari’s architecture studio Offstage.
Offstage, Piazza Luigi Vittorio Bertarelli, 4 (Giulia Guzzini)

Nilufar Gallery is celebrating 10 years of encounter between designer Bethan Laura Wood and gallery owner Nina Yashar. With the exhibition “Ornate”, the eclectic and colourful British designer invites us to “travel with the eye and the mind”. With references and reinterpretations of very different worlds - from the British Aesthetic Movement to traditional Japanese Meisen Kimonos - Wood designs a collection that tells of her travels around the globe. Particularly appreciated are the Meisen cabinets and desk, upholstered in Alpi wood, whose pattern refers to the shimmering, almost vibrant patterns of the warp and weft in the Ikat weaving used to produce Meisen fabric. 

Nilufar Gallery is in via della Spiga 32, The exhibition is open until 11th September from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Salvatore Peluso)

A small cardboard labyrinth that could be a schematic model of a Call of Duty setting, with a host of GoPro lenses looking out from holes in the walls: This is *First Personal Shooter*, the first of the four spaces in which “Sturm&Drang”, a collaboration between the Fondazione Prada and the ETH Zurich, describes CGI not so much in terms of its results, which are now ubiquitous and often impossible to distinguish from what we perhaps call “reality”, but in terms of the construction processes behind it, how it is used and the impact it has on our perception. This is followed by Gibsonian echoes, deconstructed tutorials and Blender screenshots to discuss the relationship between architecture and virtual space. This exhibition is part of a larger annual project, and in some ways a continuation of an exhibition already presented by Prada in Tokyo.

Osservatorio Fondazione Prada is in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, with access next to the Prada store, MM1 Duomo. Open until 12th September, opening hours 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. (Alessandro Scarano)

Indoor cultivation in the metropolis is a trend that will grow massively in the coming years and of which there is only sporadic evidence at this Design Week. One exception is Hang, at Gruppo Building’s Via Tortona headquarters, a taste of Forrest in Town, an urban residential project involving the installation of aeroponic greenhouses to produce food for residents. Until yesterday the buzzword in indoor cultivation was hydroponics, but the aeroponic system, based on a master tank and a grower, appears to be more sustainable, with less water waste because it is built on atomisation and recycling, and fewer side effects - from the presence of insects to contamination of the soil. In the exhibition, curated by BP+P and Daniele Fiori - DFA Parters, with the support of Agricooltour, an aeroponic cultivation workshop with a selection of aromatic seedlings, salads and baby vegetables is accompanied by a display to discover the world of cultures outside. In the evening, the space is enlivened by talks with various guests, from Farinetti (Eataly) to Eugenio di Via Gioia.
At Via Tortona 21, fourth floor, MM Porta Genova.   (Alessandro Scarano)

“Camp se acaba, orgía en mi casa” with this words the happy story of one of Milan’s most avant-garde design galleries turns to an end, a happy island founded by Beatrice Bianco in 2015, which had become home and place of exchange of the best emerging designers of the recent years. This is the title of its last exhibition that features an installation by La Cube with a fountain in the center of the gallery, a ‘public’ square in which to say goodbye. For the occasion, it has been produced a limited-edition zine, a little masterpiece entitled “Fine” with contributions from designers, artists, architects, curators and writers who have participated to the vitality of the gallery over the last six and a half years.

Camp is located at 71 Via Giovanni Segantini, next to NABA academy.  It is open until 12th September from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Marianna Guernieri)

D.O.S., the "widespread district of design", proposes for Milano Design Week 2021 "ID: all the identities of Design" in collaboration with WeAreYou and YouParti, a "widespread" exhibition throughout the city that combines classic exhibitions with experiences in Augmented Reality (AR), through QR codes or "Activator Pixels".  Projects and brands on show include: Fortuny, a company that has been producing fabrics in Venice since 1907 and that for the occasion has thought up an AR experience that will fill the Biblioteca degli Alberi in the Isola neighborhood with butterflies whose wings tell of the wide range of patterns available in the brand's collection; Margherita Ferrara - Mondo Fluttuante with her Tribal Pop style masks and sculptures; Mr. Wéi kē, a Chinese collective that pays homage to Vico Magistretti with the object ARtollo, positioning it in front of the entrance to the Milan Triennale where an exhibition on the Milanese master is underway; Anita Zampaglione presents AZ17#3, an armchair with sophisticated geometries and different chromatic and material combinations.

In addition to the Activator Pixels spread around Milan, you can (physically) visit the following locations: Talent Comes Naturally by RedBull. From 7 to 10 September c/o Ride Milano, Via Valenza 2, Milan ID X nhow Milan. From 5 to 12 September c/o Nhow Milano, Via Tortona 35, Milan ID X Combo Milan. From 5 to 12 September c/o Combo Milano, Ripa di Porta Ticinese 83, Milan Milan Icons Re-Opening. From 5 to 10 September c/o Milan Icons, Via Vincenzo Monti 2, Milano  Valore Verde @ Brera. From 5 to 10 September c/o Brera, Via e Piazza S. Marco 2, Milano