Fuorisalone 2013: Hybrid

Interni has curated an exhibition in the courtyards of the University of Milan, interpreting hybridisation as a coming together of different cultures and technologies.

As part of the 2013 Fuorisalone, Interni presents Hybrid Architecture & Design, an exhibition that has invaded the courtyards of the University of Milan with a number of site-specific works that tread a fine line between advanced technology and traditional design. Architects and designers convey their vision in experimental micro-architectural pavilions or macro-objects, with backing from companies dealing with cutting-edge material, technology and environmental sustainability.

Entering the foyer, a 16-metre-long installation by Dean Skira for iGuzzini is pierced with vertical and horizontal slits, highlighting the potential of light as a geometric element. Further on, in the Cortile del 700, Steven Holl has placed six blocks of Lecce stone, cut according to digital instructions by specialist manufacturer Pimar; they play with the meaning of “inversion”, aided by a pool of water. In the Cortile d'Onore, Luca Scacchetti has formed prefabricated wooden panels into a walk-in telescope of a gallery, offering unusual views of the surrounding context as it rises. Slightly further, an amusing proposal by Michele de Lucchi sees an army of faces belonging to classical statues emerging from a simple fir-wood structure. These casts are combined with plaster spectacles; in some of the lenses, videos by Safilo narrate the world of spectacles.

Statale Milano, Salone 2013 — On top: Hall Aula Magna, Dean Skira with iGuzzini. Above: Cortile d'onore, Luca Scacchetti with Wolf Haus

Daniel Libeskind explores the boundaries of the spiral in an installation made of Silestone quartz by Cosentino, testing a modern tile system as a mathematical mosaic, open to endless possibilities. The artistic research of Studio Azzurro, by contrast, integrates the electronic image and the physical environment, while Akihisa Hirata worked with Panasonic to propose an ideal city in which the formal features of the urban fabric are generated through the composition of solar panels. In the Loggiato Ovest, Success in Progress is an exhibition of design objects promoted by Decò Ter in collaboration with the region of Lombardy.

In this exhibition, the concept of hybridisation seems to be interpreted as a coming together of different cultures and technologies that stimulate visitors at multisensorial level, based more on intersection than mere juxtaposition.

The designers, companies and locations at the University of Milan:

Cortile del 700

Steven Holl

With Pimar, Teuco Guzzini

and Ferragamo Parfums

Cortile Farmacia

Christophe Pillet

Studio Azzurro video

Interactive Experiences Sfelab

with Be Open

Portico Richini

Akihisa Hirata