In 2014 Caterina Mosca and Valerio Castelli (MoscaPartners) first organized an installation in the courtyard of Palazzo Litta. Since then that has been one of the key addresses of every Milano Design Week. This year, visitors to MoscaPartners Variations will be greeted by "Metamorphosis in Motion," an installation signed by Lina Ghotmeh, the architect who recently told Domus about her views on design: "is not linear, it’s a network of questions and complexities that you put together to produce space”.
In fact, her design for the upcoming fuorisalone interweaves memory, landscape and space by drawing inspiration from the history of the Palace and aspires to transform architecture into a dynamic and spectacular event. The result is a scenography set in motion by the bodies of visitors who play an active role and become architectural elements on par with the colorful and soft volumes inserted by Ghotmeh into the symmetrical and austere contours of the Palace's Cortile d'Onore.
The reflection stems from the original function of Palazzo Litta as a place for reception and public representation—a scenographic threshold for ceremonies and encounters, yet also a transitional space between the city and its richly decorated interiors. The metamorphosis unfolds through the activation of this otherwise static space by visitors who interact with Lina Ghotmeh’s installation, move through its paths, and take advantage of moments of rest—an especially precious opportunity during the days of Milan Design Week.
Metamorphosis emerges through use, and the courtyard evolves from threshold to common good, from representation to participation.
Lina Ghotmeh
“The installation is, in every respect, a playful labyrinth that activates this space without altering its structure, introducing a contemporary layer that offers visitors a quiet pause within the intensity of the Design Week experience. The metamorphosis emerges through use, and the courtyard evolves from threshold to commons, from representation to participation, transforming space, memory, and experience into a single dynamic architectural narrative,” the architect explained.
In dialogue with the installation (a kind of perpetual happening), a path is articulated by the exhibitors selected by MoscowPartners, guests in the rooms of Palazzo Litta, now home to the offices of the Ministry of Culture.