‘Design is a valuable tool to meet tomorrow’s challenges’. Here are some of this year’s most immersive installations from Milan Design Week as we try to recover from the explosion of design creativity and product innovation we experienced there last week.
Kohler
The Creator’s Journey
Celebrating 150 years of art, color, and innovation, the latest Artist Editions™ collection made its world premiere last week in Milan. In this limited-edition collection, four original artworks by trailblazing female artists from around the world were featured on Kohler products.
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The Creator’s Room
Kohler hosted an interactive experience called the Creator Room in which visitors could transform their surroundings in real time using a KOHLER® smart toilet as the backdrop for an individually designed digital artwork.
Google, Shaped by Water
Google Design Studio with Lachlan Turczan presented an immersive and sensorial water installation. Sympathetic Resonance featured 11 shimmering cylindrical bowls filled with water. They were tuned to vibrate in resonance with the visitor’s proximity, reflecting wave patterns like an empathetic natural orchestra.
Wavespace
Custom choreographed music was used to create real-time wave patterns in small basins. The waves were reflected onto large discs overhead, displaying ever-shifting imagery in a psychedelic yet relaxing way. As a result, music became visual through the water as a natural lens, creating a unique experience for all.
Product Connection
The last room presented the direct connection between design of Google’s hardware portfolio and the newest products such as the Pixel Watch and water close up. By changing surface surface texture/tension, different water surface interactions can be observed, leading to unique product surface profiles.
Eni, Walk The Talk
Orto botanico, Evolution of Mobility
The installation, conceived by Italo Rota, CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, and Eni, transformed the Botanical Garden into a massive (3500 sq. m) living game board with multimedia effects that altered the space at different times of the day. It opened the floor for a public discussion on sustainable mobility, vehicle-sharing services, and alternative fuels. Today, cars and commercial vehicles can run on fuels derived from biogenic waste, such as cooking oil. Thus, as consumers, we can immediately contribute to the decarbonization of transportation by bringing used oil to a collection center.
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Grohe Spa, Health Through Water
GROHE SPA Icon 3D
The hyper-minimalist faucet design and bespoke CMF options offered by 3D-printed bathroom products can redefine precisions and exclusivity while saving resources and taking collaborative customization to a new level. Using mist, light, display and sound modules, GROHE designed one-of-a-kind, luxurious spa environments in 4 immersive cubes
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Migliore + Servetto Architects, ‘Elevators’
The multimedia installation ‘Elevators’ was created by Migliore+Servetto design studio and displayed at the iconic Solferino 28. Using a metaphorical journey that considers the past, present, and future, Corriere della Sera and Hyundai used the site’s machine elevators to recount the transformation of the connection between objects and landscapes to create two time machines.
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SolidNature, ‘Beyond The Surface’
SolidNature’s installation was an artistic statement showcasing the various treatments, applications, and design approaches that can be taken with natural stone products. This journey was crafted to make guests aware of every step along the way to the finished product through the use of sensory-stimulating installations and sculptural creations.
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Hermes, ‘Intersecting Energies’
While design weeks can be an opportunity for brands to create over the top, most picture-worthy displays, the ‘quiet luxury’ and minimalism that Hermes displayed with their ‘Intersecting Energies’ collection shows that the ‘power of fundamentals’ rings true for this heritage brand.
