Sarah K’s The Presence of the Absence 

Sarah K is the founder and creative director of supercyclers, an Australian-based design initiative, which first presented at Ventura Lambrate in 2012. Since then, supercyclers has undertaken various design projects and explorations, and 2022 saw Sarah create an installation that culminates as a ‘natural conclusion of over a decade of supercycler’s investigations into sustainable design outcomes’. 

Presented as part of the Centosa Initiative, set within an old commercial office complex, The Presence of the Absence is an installation designed to spark thought, debate and emotions.

Stepping into the empty room, visitors were presented with a dystopian manifesto of what the future might be. 

Delicately displayed on the windows were the words: 

‘you have entered the near future’

‘where we prefer the absence of things’

‘where the age of Materialism is over’

‘the world reached saturation point with human made things in 2022’

‘Before you go back to the future that you’re going to have out of this room, help us alter the morphogenic field towards a less consumerist world’

The sparseness of the once-used office and the haunting message, left visitors with plenty of food for thought on how to tackle the climate crisis.

Cinema Tacchini 

Tacchini launched the re-edition of Mario Bellini’s Le Mura sofa at this year’s Salone and to step it up a notch, the Italian brand collaborated with Formafantasma and art critic Cristiana Perrella to create Cinema Tacchini. 

Located in the Spazio Maiocchi in Porta Venezia, the immersive installation features a series of modular elements of the Le Mura. Old TV screens have been stitched together, showing a curation of scenes from movies that focus on the sofa as an object. 

The bright yellow and lime green make for a striking backdrop within the cavernous white space, while the pixellated quality of the screens adds a point of interest. After the event, the Kvadrat materials used for the installation will be reused on other exhibition projects. 

Cappellini x IBM Studios

Within the IBM Studios Pavilion at Piazza Gae Aulenti, Cappellini presented two exhibitions, both considering the role of technology on our lives. One part looks at the aesthetic universe and the balance between the material and the immaterial, featuring the work of multiple international creatives within a multi-sensory space.

The second part titled Slowdown Refuge investigates the theme of dwelling in an environment where design and technology merge together; in which the iconic pieces find their aesthetic counterpart in the most innovative products.

In Singapore, Cappellini is available at W. Atelier.

Louis Poulsen’s Pale Rose installation at Taveggia

With the delectable backdrop of the iconic Taveggia cafe, Louis Poulsen presented the Pale Rose installation as part of FuoriSalone.

Envisioned to showcase both the new PH Pale Rose collection alongside the iconic PH Artichoke and PH Septima in an elegant pale rose, the installation was a saccharine dream of colour and light. 

The concept and design were done in collaboration with Locatelli Partners, an Italian architecture and design studio. Wanting to express all the nuances of pink, the cafe space was transformed with layers of deep pink perspex, warm lighting, pastel pink tables and chairs and of course the rose-coloured lights as the centrepiece.

FLOS See The Stars Again

To celebrate its 60th anniversary, Flos created a multi-sensory exhibition See The Stars Again within a vast industrial space – the Fabbrica Orobia. Flos collaborated with Calvi Brambilla on the exhibition design, which features multiple sections to highlight the new released, as well as an onsite restaurant, outdoor space and book shop. 

See The Stars Again was conceived as a multi-experiential hub to offer visitors an immersive journey, both physical and digital, into the brand’s design universe and vision for the future.

In Singapore, Flos is available at Space Furniture.

USM x Rossignoli Bikes 

To introduce a new, limited-edition colour True Pink, USM collaborated with Monocle and the bicycle shop Rossignoli. 

Located in the heart of the FuoriSalone, the Brera design district, the bicycle shop was transformed into a warm and inviting space, where the lollipop pink dominated. Using the versatile USM shelving system as the base, the Rossignoli bicycle store was stacked with pink-hued shelves, seats and storage.

Drawing people in, the installation invited people to design their own custom configurations and colours. 

Unifor x OMA Principles

Done in partnership with world-renowned architecture studio OMA, workplace furniture brand UniFor presented Principles. Found at the new showroom in Viale Pasubio, the modular collection of furniture allows designers to configure and redefine the workplace.

For Milan Design Week, the brand presented a special installation that spilled out to the courtyard, reimagining different scenes from work. 

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