Milan Design Week 2019: Pushing BOUNDARIES and OPENING our MINDS

Did you make it to Milan Design Week this year?  Neither did I (“sad emoji”).  It’s the most swoon worthy, delicious collaboration of designers at the top of their game.  You might be suffering a feeling of FOMO like some of us over here at QIDA but never fear.  Thanks to the power of the internet I was able to stalk a whole load of people who did go.  So here’s three of my most stalkable moments from Milan plus a stack of additional inspiring installs.  And as a bonus you get to avoid the design week cues :).

ADAPTABLE “CASA OJALA” – By IB Studios

The most powerful thing about Milan design week is its ability to open our minds to new concepts.  Not just a product that we might install but how we manipulate the products around us and how they manipulate us.  It’s true that some of the installations may never be installed in a space for a purpose other than this, however they may become the seed to the next revolution in design and the way in which we live.  The Adaptable “casa ojala” is a perfect example of a concept they may indeed revolutionize our lives.  The tiny

house movement has been afoot for awhile and there has been a serious trend towards building homes with fewer spaces that work harder for us, reducing cost and importantly environmental impact.

Beatrice Architect Partner of IB Studios tests this concept with the ‘casa ojala” for her Milan week install. Beatrice describes the 27 square meter house as “the tiny house that doesn’t exist without its inhabitant.”  However, this little house boasts 1000 interior solutions making it extraordinarily flexible and potentially offering a product that can be applied to many lifestyles.

On a side note I just have to comment on how gorgeous the pattern and interiors of the “casa ojala” are, capturing our attention even in this stunning location.  I absolutely fell in love with the versatile, light footprint of this structure which can only be born out of extremely considered design.  Sorry if there are too many images.  I couldn’t help myself.

                                                                                                          

A SPACE FOR BEING –  Google

Google explore the fascinating topic of the impact of our surroundings.  Designers have long known that the space around us can have a profound effect on the way we feel and ultimately live our lives.  Learning how to harness this power is what many designers spend their lives in pursuit of.  The knowledge and ability to apply aesthetics such as colour, connection with nature and light is empowering for designers.  In this exhibition Google brings to life the scientific study of neuroaesthetics in collaboration with Muuto, Reddymade Architecture, and the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University.

The installation features three rooms with subtly varying aesthetics.  Visitors wear a wrist band that measures physical and physiological responses, such as heart rate and skin conductivity to assess and report on their comfort levels providing what designers have long known with a scientific grounding.  From Googles Insta Page: Enter “A Space for Being”—our immersive installation at @isaloniofficial. Through three uniquely designed rooms, the installation explores neuroaesthetics: a field that strives to understand how our sense of well-being is impacted by a vast array of aesthetic experiences. “The idea is to show people that everything matters—the things that we surround ourselves with affect our biology.” -VP of Hardware Design, Ivy Ross.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣
In partnership with: @muutodesign, @reddymadedesign, @artsandmindlab, @spaziomaiocchiand @madebygoogle⁣⁣

Read more on this topic here : https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/10/google-milan-design-week-a-space-for-being-installation-neuroaesthetic-design/

 

 

AFFINITY IN AUTONOMY – Sony

Sony delivered an engaging installation “Affinity in Autonomy” that explores the concept that humans will gravitate towards technology when technology demonstrates human like tendencies.  Sony considers the fact that AI is more likely to be integrated into our homes if it is “likeable”.  Of course likeability for humans is usually about familiarity and you can see how the behaviour of their AI is quite familiar to us.  View the you tube clip for some insight into this concept and some of the amazing installations that they delivered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkTL84xtQFg

 

 

FROM STRIKING TO DELICATE – Inspiration from Milan