vitra design museum – DesignApplause

vitra design museum presents the politics of design conference. milan design week 2019.

Apr 10, 2019

design and vitra are practically synonymous. the family-owned swiss company is trusted with manufacturing the works of some of the world’s most respected and renowned designers. think eames, vernor panton, and jean prouvé —these are just some of the iconic names that have entrusted them to manufacture their pieces.

this year, vitra design museum is leading the charge in moving the conversation around design forward through a conference called the politics of design. the day-long affair will address design as a political activity with the idea that designers are constantly making decisions regarding social issues such as inclusion, identity, and sustainability. the aim of the conference is to explore the big question that surrounds this line of thinking: “while design is a powerful took for social and political change does it really have an effect on things?”

taking place on april 10 from 1:45 to 6:30, the day will be broken into three parts with top players in the fields of design, philosophy, sociology, and politics speaking on panels. confirmed speakers include paola antonelli, bruce sterling, danah abdulla, jan boelen, claudia chwalisz, indy johar, amelie klein, and etienne turpin.

the politics of design is presented by the vitra design museum and will take place april 10 at trienalle milano, teatro dell’arte.

milan design week 2015: preview & satellite events.

Apr 9, 2015

Fuorisalone 2015 in Milan will be held in a series of design districts: first of all, the world-famous Zona Tortona, followed by other remarkable districts such as Brera, Porta Venezia, Lambrate, Sarpi and San Babila. All of these will host an impressive series of design-related events during the six days of the Milan Design Week.

[ belgium is design ]
14 > 19 april | academy of fine art | via brera 28
‘Belgium is Design’ is a joint declaration between the three different regions in the country, it recognizes that Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia are host to various talented designers that transcend cultural, linguistic and sociological differences to form a unique style. Among other events this edition salutes 10 designers of the year: Alain Berteau, Sylvain Willenz, Nathalie Dewez, Alain Gilles, Stefan Schöning, Bram Boo, Nedda El-Asmar, Jean-François d’Or, Marina Bautier and Muller VanSeveren.

[ design junction edit milan #designjunction ]
15 > 19 april | via pietro mascagni 6 – san biblio design district
For it’s fourth edition, the ‘designjunction edit’ Milan exhibition will take place at Casa dell’Opera Nazionale Balilla – a 1930s former school building and ex-theatre.

Designers and 40 global brands exhibiting along side pop-ups, installations and a cafe include: Artemide, Axor, Baux, Beyond Object, Case Furniture, Colè Italia, Tom Dixon, Form Us With Love, Frame Store, H Furniture, Jaguar, La Chance, Luke Irwin London, Modus, Native Union, Natuzzi, New Works, Nyta, Punkt., UKTI, Void Watches and more. Please register. And explore Milan’s newest design quarter, the San Babila Design Quarter, offering 30+ fashion and furniture showrooms.

[ marni mercado de paloquemao ]
14 > 19 april | viale umbria 42
Marni will be transforming its Viale Umbria showroom into a colorful fruit market. Inspired by Bogotá’s vibrant markets, Marni Mercado de Paloquemao features exotic, oversized fruits, baskets and sculptures – all handmade in colored wire by craftswomen in Colombia.

[ san gregorio docet is back ]
14 > 19 april | san gregorio 39
Wallpaper* is back with it’s famous “Handmade” exhibition, which will be held this year in a new space of over 2.000 sqm.

This year however, Leclettico opens the doors to its own universe. Celebrating 10 years of activity, is also the ‘owner’ of ‘Sangregorio Docet Spaces… it’s amazing.

[ sneak previews ]
>London designer Sebastian Bergne creates Shorty for Tog | Inspired by African stools, Shorty can function as a chair, a container, a side table or a champagne holder. The hole in the middle of the seat doubles as a finger hole (to move it) or as an opening to access the storage compartment | Hall 12, Booth B03-C04
>A niece of Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Marta Sala spent years working at the Milan furniture brand Azucena. Leaving the family business last year, she has now her own venture, featuring a 12-piece collection Marta Sala Editions | 15 coro monforte 15 1st floor
>This year, Nina Yashar and her Nilufar gallery, open the doors to her warehouse for the very first time – Nilufar Depot. Designed by Architect Massimiliano Locatelli the space recreates the image of Milan’s famous Teatro della Spiga gallery. A showcase of mid-century and white hot contemporary designs | via lancetti 34 – north of the garibaldi train station
>Series 7 in new colors by Danish Artist Tal R for Fritz Hansen | corso garibaldli 77
>asap, as sustainable as possible, thanks to its intuition and an innovative technology, gives life to 1knit2wear | corso garibaldi 104

[ ventura lambrate ]
A nice alternative to the crowded Zona Tortona.
Toer (the Netherlands) presents ‘Moving Design’ | via ventura 14

[ the vitra design museum presents the symposium: ]
15 april | via clerici 5 | 2p – 6p
The Vitra Design Museum presents the Symposium: “The Global Shift – Who shapes the future of design?” It will feature 15 high-profile speakers from all over the world and from the most diverse backgrounds.

The question at hand: Can concepts that originate outside our traditional, Western-centric understanding of design offer an
entirely new perspective and perhaps more relevant approaches in addressing today’s challenges?

[ ZonaSantAmbrogio #zonasantambrogio ]
14 > 19 april | via san vittore 49
Located near the church of Sant’Ambrogio, one of the oldest and most important in Milan, involving showrooms, boutiques and cafes. Exhibitions and events include #DoUtDesign and Eat Urban Food Truck Festival

[ zona tortona ]
14 > 19 april | via tortona and via savona
The original Fuorisalone design district. Wear your crowd control hat.

Prima by zaha hadid. Swarovski and vitra design museum.

Jun 5, 2013

Zaha Hadid has created ‘Prima‘ an installation for Swarovski at Vitra Fire Station on the Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein, Germany. Hadid, is one of the world’s most celebrated architects and the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award in architecture. For years, her radical designs remained on the drawing board, but the turning point came in 1993 with the opening of the Vitra Fire Station commissioned by Vitra’s founder Rolf Fehlbaum.

Prima will be installed in front of the Fire Station, reflecting and honoring the design process of the building. The project recalls the dynamism of Hadid’s original drawings created for the Vitra Fire Station, exploding in three dimensions from the lines and planes of the paintings and sketches. Its reflective surfaces contain seating for visitors and are illuminated with LED technology.

Hadid comments, “I’m equally proud of all my projects as they each represent different times of my career and periods of research, but I have a particular affection for Vitra Fire Station as it was my first building. Rolf Fehlbaum shares my passion for architecture and was inspired by my early visualizations. He dared to engage me without seeing a prior track record and without the certainty of public success. Returning to Vitra to work with Swarovski on this installation has been a very rewarding experience.”

Painting formed a critical part of Hadid’s early career as the design tool that allowed powerful experimentation in both form and movement – leading to the development of a new language for architecture. Hadid’s interest in the concepts of fragmentation and abstraction is evident throughout her repertoire and continues to this day. Originally engaging with the work of Kazimir Malevich, Hadid translated the warped and anti-gravitational space of Russian avant-garde painting and sculpture into her own unique architectural practice.

Using the advanced design and manufacturing technologies available today, the facets of Prima are a direct translation of the dynamic two-dimensional lines and planes on the canvas, reflecting Hadid’s detailed experimentation to perfect the Fire Station design. The installation continues this research, documenting Hadid’s remarkable journey as an articulator of complexity: a 2D sketch evolves into a workable space, and then into a realized building.

Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board, commented: “Zaha is an astonishing force of nature who imparts her designs with power and grace in equal measure. It has been an honour to work with her once again on this exciting celebratory commission. Prima is a dramatic sculptural installation – half art, half furniture, and stunningly beautiful.”

Rolf Fehlbaum, Chairman of Vitra, said: “I am happy to have worked with Zaha Hadid at such an early stage of her dazzling career. Her Fire Station is a spectacular building and it looks as impressive now as it did when it was first built. Few other architects would have been able to transform a modest commission like ours into a masterpiece of contemporary architecture. Zaha has been able to do so, thanks to an incredible sense of space and a radically new vision of what architecture can represent.”

[ prima ] is a structure composed of five highly polished components with angled planes, the installation is made from composite materials, and the surfaces are covered in a gun-smoke metal coating. Each component weighs 300 to 500 kg and the overall dimension of the installation is 11 x 8 metres.

zaha hadid and nadja swarovski

[ zaha hadid ] Hadid was born in Baghdad and studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before moving to London to attend the Architectural Association (AA) School. She founded Zaha Hadid Architects in 1979 and completed her first building, the Vitra Fire Station, Germany in 1993. Her dynamic and innovative projects include the MAXXI: National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games and the Guangzhou Opera House in China. Hadid is currently working on a multitude of projects worldwide including High-Speed train stations in Naples and Durango; the Fiera di Milano masterplan and tower as well as major master-planning projects in Beijing, Bilbao, Istanbul and Singapore. Time magazine included Hadid in their list of the ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’ and in 2012, Zaha Hadid was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

[ swarovski ] is a global leader in crystal with a diverse product portfolio that is loved by designers and millions of customers around the world. It brings innovation in jewelry, fashion, beauty, home accessories and collaborates in art, design, fashion, film, stage and screen that challenges emerging and established creative talents to evolve groundbreaking new uses for crystal.

[ vitra design museum ] is dedicated to the research and presentation of design, past and present, and examines the relationship of design to architecture, art and everyday culture. The Museum was founded in 1989 by the company Vitra and its owner Rolf Fehlbaum and is today led by directors Mateo Kries and Marc Zehntner. Mounting two major exhibitions and several more shows, events and workshops per year, it has its headquarters in a building by the Californian architect Frank Gehry, situated within the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Its extensive collection encompasses key objects of design history, and the estates of several important figures in design (including Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Verner Panton and Alexander Girard).

installation: 12 june > 11 august 2013 | weil am rhein, germany
@swarovski #prima