Pedrali presents Blume armchair by Sebastian Herkner at Supersalone

Dezeen promotion: Italian brand Pedrali has added new designs to Blume, a collection of seats and tables designed by German designer Sebastian Herkner with rounded cushions and slender frames.

The Blume armchair and lounge armchair were among several new products that Pedrali unveiled during the Supersalone furniture fair in Milan earlier this month.

The Blume armchair and lounge armchair launched at Supersalone

Like the other chairs in the collection, these armchairs are characterised by a cushioned seat and backrest with pebble-like shapes, while the legs have a subtle flower profile.

The armrests feature the same seven-petal profile, produced from extruded aluminium. They have been carefully shaped to follow the curvature of the other elements to create a continuation of the existing form.

The armrests feature the same extruded aluminium profile as the legs

"With its enveloping softness, the Blume collection offers refined chairs designed both for relaxing living areas and for convivial restaurant and lounge settings, allowing the user's wellbeing to take centre stage," said Pedrali.

Herkner designed the first Blume chair in 2020. One of the key features of the design is its clean form, which conceals all screws from view.

The armchair is stackable, for versatile use

The new additions follow suit – there are no visible fixings connecting the armrests to the rest of the chair.

Everything is held in place by a steel structural element under the seat, which is removable to allow the components to be disassembled and recycled when no longer required.

The Blume armchair is also designed to be stackable, for versatile use.

The Blume lounge armchair features a similar form, but with more relaxed proportions

The seats are available in a range of fabrics, with grey, black, brass or bronze finishes for the anodised aluminium elements.

For the Supersalone, this year's special edition of the Salone del Mobile, the Blume collection was part of a terracotta-toned exhibition designed by Milanese studio Calvi Brambilla, titled #Pedralitimeless.

Intended as a cabinet of curiosities, the installation brought together images, objects and products charting the brand's 58-year-history.

Pedrali presented the chairs in an exhibition titled #Pedralitimeless

Other new products on show for the exhibition included Caementum, a cast concrete outdoor table designed by Marco Merendi and Diego Vencato, and a new version of the Patrick Jouin-designed Ila armchair with a four-leg frame.

More information about both the Blume armchair and the Blume lounge armchair is available on Pedrali's website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Pedrali as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership contenthere.

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#furniture #all #design #promotions #sebastianherkner #pedrali #salonedelmobile #milandesignweek #supersalone

The Lost Graduation Show presents student projects from around the world at Supersalone

For the first time ever, the Salone del Mobile furniture fair this year hosted an entire showcase dedicated to graduate design including students from 48 different schools and 22 different countries.

More than 170 projects by recent graduates were on display at The Lost Graduation Show, which formed part of the trade show's special "Supersalone" edition during Milan design week.

The Lost Graduation Show (above) showcased projects including the Helix syringe (top image by Studio Piercarlo Quecchia)

As many students who graduated in the past year were unable to showcase their work at a physical degree show due to the coronavirus pandemic, the exhibition was conceived as a way to make up for this loss.

Set up in the middle of one of the fair halls, amongst the stands showcasing consumer goods, it included projects ranging from hempcrete stools to an experimental sports car and a sanitary pad washing device for refugees.

Many of the projects focused on important topics such as climate change, future technologies and sustainable development, curator Anniina Koivu told Dezeen.

A sanitary pad washing device for refugees is among projects on show

"There were a lot of utopian ideas flying about, which they didn't shy away from testing," said Koivu, who was invited to create The Lost Graduation show by Supersalone curator Stefano Boeri.

"There were a lot of projects related to the human body and wellbeing, and a lot of medical awareness as well, which I hadn't expected."

Pierre Murot's project investigated different methods of clay extrusion

Another key concern for students was rethinking production methods, which Koivu attributes to the unique circumstances under which the projects were created.

"One issue was having access to [production] facilities because of the pandemic and the difficulty for graduates to get into the industry to have access to industrial production," she explained.

This allowed students to experiment with more local, small-scale production that is often better for the planet.

The Robust Nest incubator was designed for hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa. Image is by Studio Piercarlo Quecchia

The show marked the first time that students were able to showcase their work at Salone, the world's largest and most important furniture fair.

Projects were chosen based on an open call in June, which drew responses from 300 schools in 59 countries.

[

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Fabien Roy creates power cut-resilient incubator to protect babies in sub-Saharan Africa from hypothermia

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/09/08/robust-nest-portable-incubator-babies-hypothermia-sub-saharan-africa/)

For Koivu, it was important that the final selection should be as international as possible.

"As Salone has a global reach, it would be a pity to exclude people," she said. "I'm also not so sure that I believe in the idea of, for example, Italian design or Dutch design anymore."

"I don't think it's possible to distinguish what nationality lies behind the projects because the topics the graduates are working on are so universal," she added.

Simon Gehring's organic Regrowth table was one of the winning projects

An international jury selected five students to be the overall winners of The Lost Graduation Show.

Simon Gehring from Germany's State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart won for his Regrowth table, which combines computational design and leftover materials from the forestry industry.

Also awarded was Robust Nest, an incubator for hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa by Fabien Roy from Swiss design school ÉCAL, and the Fil Rouge project by Pierre Murot from ENSCI in Paris, which investigates the process of clay extrusion.

Amna Yandarbin printed her family history on silk scarves

Other projects to take home a trophy include Helix, a disposable monomaterial syringe and needle designed by Ithzel Ceròn and Daniel Lopez from Mexico's Tecnológico de Monterrey, as well as Amna Yandarbin's Yolkkh silk scarves, which are printed with drawings that illustrate her family history.

As well as being on display at the centre of Supersalone, The Lost Graduation show was also published on an Instagram account of the same name.

[

Read:

Anima Ona repurposes scrap gravestone for sculptural side tables

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/09/13/anima-ona-scrap-gravestone-side-tables-milan-design-week-2021/)

The Lost Graduation Show is one of only a handful of degree shows to take place physically this year while the rest were held on digital platforms such as Dezeen's school shows.

At Milan design week, visitors could also enjoy student projects in real life at the Missed Your Call showcase by Design Academy Eindhoven graduates and at the Alcova exhibition, which included a reimagined milk bar from Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange.

The Lost Graduation Show was on display at Salone del Mobile from 5 to 10 September. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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#all #products #design #studentprojects #graduates #salonedelmobile #milandesignweek #supersalone

Low-key Milan design week shows that "less is better"

Last week's Milan design week offered a calmer, more meaningful experience reminiscent of the event's early editions, according to the designers and exhibitors taking part.

"It's completely different to the other editions," designer Luca Nichetto told Dezeen. "It's totally another rhythm. I prefer it this way because you can actually speak more deeply."

"There's not that much going on, so you have the actual possibility to see a lot of things," agreed Johannes Carlström of Note Design Studio.

Salone del Mobile (above) and the surrounding design festival (top image) took place in September this year

The Salone del Mobile furniture fair, which is the lynchpin of the citywide design festival, was pared down this year after being moved from April to September for the first time in more than three decades due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Although participants reported missing international clients and visitors, attendees said the event's manageable size gave them more time to engage with both projects and people.

"I think it's the best year to be here because there are less events and less is better in general," added Galerie Philia founder Ygaël Attali. "It's a little bit more authentic than usual."

Downsized fair beneficial for smaller brands

Salone del Mobile, the biggest furniture show in the world, was rebranded as "Supersalone" for its September edition and reduced to a fifth of the size, hosting only 464 exhibitors compared to the 2,418 that participated in the event's last iteration in April 2019.

"Two years ago, at the last Salone, it was such an overkill of presentation and things and people," said Dutch designer Stefan Scholten. "So I think it's good that there's been a level of reconsidering."

Meanwhile, the independent fuorisalone programme that took place throughout the city alongside the furniture fair hosted a modest roster of 594 events, less than half the size of its 2019 line-up.

The scale reminded designers and exhibitors of the intimacy of early editions of the week, before it grew into a bloated festival drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Federica Sala curated a fuorisalone exhibition of candle holders

"In a way, the event has come back to the beginning," said Federica Sala, who curated a charity showcase of candle holders designed by the likes of Patricia Urquiola and Marcel Wanders.

"I remember when I came here for the first time in 1999 to exhibit at Salone," Carlström added. "And this event has more in common with that period than with the previous show."

Salone's more compact size has already proven beneficial for lesser-known brands, Sala argued, as they were able to stand out among a smaller field of competitors.

"I've been speaking with some little brands and they were happy because they actually made sales," she said. "It was more complicated before if you had a little booth and you were squeezed in between giants."

Lack of overseas visitors

However, due to ongoing travel restrictions, the downsized trade fair was also less diverse than usual. Visitors to the Salone fell dramatically from a record 386,000 people in 2019 to around 60,000.

Only 30 per cent of these people and 16 per cent of exhibitors hailed from countries other than Italy, confirming organisers' expectations that overseas visitor numbers would be far lower this year.

"We miss our American and Asian clients," said Scholten, who took Milan design week as an occasion to exhibit his first solo project after disbanding Scholten & Baijings.

"I met a couple of Japanese clients but they said it was really a lot of hassle to come. You can imagine a lot of people skipped it and are waiting until April."

Ygaël Attali's Galerie Philia presented furniture created by emerging Italian designers

"Right now, even just coming from the UK to Italy is not easy," added London-based Bethan Laura Wood, who presented a solo show at Nilufar Gallery.

"It's a shame because I love the cross-pollination. Even though it's nice that the fair is small, I still hope for it to be big enough for people from everywhere to enjoy it rather than just being Eurocentric."

The more local nature of the event was a blessing for some venues. The Triennale Milano museum reported higher visitor figures than in 2019, with 57,000 visitors.

Salone forms part of Italian coronavirus recovery

Organisers of the Salone del Mobile said they were pleasantly surprised by the success of the fair, which almost didn't take place at all following infighting and resistance from key brands earlier this year.

"We are closing this edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano with great satisfaction and huge emotion," said Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro. "We did it."

The staging of the fair, together with Milan's fashion week and the Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday, was seen as a key symbol of Italy's reopening for business after the traumas of the pandemic.

"It was important to take that first but decisive step, to make our presence felt and send a signal to the country as a whole," said Porro as the Salone del Mobile announced it will return to its usual April slot next year. Its landmark 60th edition will take place from 5 to 10 April 2022.

Increased demand for smaller events

But many designers and brands hope there will not be a return to the huge fairs of recent years.

"I asked some of my clients if they're coming to Milan and they said they prefer to go to Copenhagen," said Nichetto, referring to the compact 3 Days of Design festival in the Danish capital, which follows on the heels of Milan and last year featured just 167 brands.

"3 Days of Design is small, it's exactly what Milan was in the 90s," he said. "So you see people enjoying the city, not stressed to run from one event to another and really enjoying the installations and the projects."

Bethan Laura Wood exhibited a solo show at Nilufar Gallery

Stockholm, too, is looking to mimic this small-scale format with its new Stockholm Creative Edition festival, which will be launched at the end of September as a complement to the city's larger design week in February.

"This is an opportunity to reassess whether we need to do so big, so fast, every year," said Wood.

"It could give people the courage to say: I will do something really interesting but every two years. And then as long as everybody's rhythm is set differently, then there may be more space for different people's work to breathe."

Milan design week took place from 4 to 10 September in venues across the city, with Salone del Mobile set in the Fiera Milano exhibition centre from 5 September onwards.

SeeDezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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#all #design #features #events #milan #salonedelmobile #milandesignweek #architectureanddesignevents #salonesatellite #supersalone

Anima Ona repurposes scrap gravestone for sculptural side tables

Leftover gravestone has been reinvented as side tables and sculptural objects in the Teile series, created by German-Spanish studio Anima Ona and exhibited at the Supersalone fair during Milan design week.

The five pieces in the Teile series are made of scrap stone from a German manufacturer, which receives large stone blocks from all over the world and carves gravestones from them. Anima Ona worked with the offcuts from this process.

Teil 1 is made of limestone and features cylindrical shapes cut down the entire length of one side

Two of the pieces are made of limestone, another is travertine, and the others are green-tinged Alpengrün marble and Silbergrau stone.

While keeping the exterior of the offcuts intact, Anima Ona carved negative space into the interior using core drills that extract material in cylinders, creating patterns like a hole punch on paper. Three different diameters of core drill were used to achieve the effects.

Teil 2 is made of travertine and features a similar pattern, made through core drilling

Studio co-founder Freia Achenbach told Dezeen that each unique pattern came about as a response to the qualities of the individual stones.

"We never really know in advance what we were going to get – it was like really a surprise every time," said Achenbach. "And then we tried to react to the shape of the stone and to the colour."

"No shape is there twice, basically."

Teil 3 is made of Alpengrün marble and has a more square shape

Teile 1-4 share a similarity of form, while Teil 5 adds an additional detail – "drawers" made from some of the extracted shapes.

These are offcuts of offcuts, and slot in seamlessly into the Teil 5 unit to provide small shelves.

The Teile tables range in height from 36 to 55 centimetres, and can also serve as sculptural objects.

Anima Ona is an emerging design studio founded by Achenbach along with Carlo Kurth and June Fàbregas in 2018.

Teil 4 is made of Silbergrau QS stone and features fewer cutouts

While Achenbach is based in Stuttgart, Kurth works from Hirschberg, Germany and Fàbregas from Barcelona, Spain. The designers come together for projects and carry out much of their manufacturing in the area around Hirschberg.

"We really like trying to produce things ourselves and thinking a lot about materiality," said Achenbach of the studio's approach.

Teil 5 repurposes two of the extracted bits of stone as moveable shelves

Teile is part of the The Makers Show at Supersalone – the name of this year's special Salone del Mobile show – which is curated by Stefano Boeri and dedicated to designer-makers.

Elsewhere at Milan design week, Lolita Gomez and Blanca Algarra Sanchez have created a reimagined Korova Milk Bar from A Clockwork Orange, while Bethan Laura Wood has exhibited furniture themed around femininity and the boudoir.

Photography is by Anima Ona.

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#furniture #all #design #stone #tables #salonedelmobile #milandesignweek #supersalone

Live panel on architecture and art with Carsten Höller and Stefano Boeri

Dezeen is teaming up with Salone del Mobile to stream a live talk on the interplay of art and architecture. Watch live from 3:00pm Milan time.

Dezeen's collaboration with Salone del Mobile will see us live stream a panel discussion in its Open Talks series, curated by Maria Cristina Didero, every day this week during Supersalone.

The final talk to be live streamed is a panel discussion on the relationship between art and architecture.

On the panel is artist Carsten Höller and architect and curator Stefano Boeri.

Carsten Höller will be joining the panel

The pair will discuss how contemporary artists utilise architectural methods and the dynamics between the two disciplines.

Höller is an artist best known for installing slides in unsual locations around the world. His most notable installations include The Slide at the ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, and Test Site, a temporary installation of giant winding slides in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2006.

Höller is currently based between Stockholm, Sweden and Biriwa, Ghana.

Stefano Boeri will talk about art and architecture

Boeri is an architect and is the curator of this year's Supersalone.

Amongst his most notable architectural projects is Bosco Verticale, a pair of skyscrapers covered in trees that were completed in Milan in 2014. He was recently selected as president of the Scientific Committee of Forestami, a project that aims to plant three million trees in the metropolitan area of Milan by 2030.

Boeri was also appointed as director of the Future City Lab at Tongji University in Shanghai. The post-doctoral research program explores the future of contemporary cities through the lens of biodiversity and urban forestry.

Cecilia Alemani will be moderating the discussion

The panel will be moderated by Cecilia Alemani. Originally from Italy, Alemani now works in New York as a curator.

In 2011 she was chosen as the director and chief curator of High Line Art, a public art program in collaboration with High Line in New York. More recently she was appointed as artistic director of the upcoming 59th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale.

This year's edition of Salone del Mobile, titled Supersalone, is curated by architect Boeri as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the cancellation of the 2020 edition.

Taking place in Milan in September rather than in its usual April slot, the special edition of the fair will feature products displayed on a series of parallel walls instead of in branded booths.

Salone del Mobile and parallel fuorisalone events will take place from 5-10 September 2021 in Milan. SeeDezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Live panel on architecture and art with Carsten Höller and Stefano Boeri appeared first on Dezeen.

#opentalks #designtalks #all #talks #carstenhöller #stefanoboeri #salonedelmobile #livestreams #supersalone

Live panel on radical design with Formafantasma and Philippe Malouin

Dezeen has teamed up with Salone del Mobile to live stream a talk with Formafantasma and Philippe Malouin exploring radical approaches to design. Tune in here at 3:00pm.

Dezeen's collaboration with Salone del Mobile will see us live stream a panel discussion in its Open Talks series every day this week during Supersalone.

The fourth talk in the series is a panel discussion on radical design featuring Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of design studio Formafantasma and designer Philippe Malouin.

Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Formafantasma will take part in the panel

Titled Today's Radical, the talk will be moderated by filmmaker and curator Francesca Molteni.

The panel will discuss how transdisciplinary methods and active engagement are being utilised to radical ends in contemporary design.

Trimarchi and Farresin are the founders of Formafantasma, a research-based design studio that approaches design through a multi-disciplinary lens. Their work investigates the ecological, social, historical and political forces that are shaping contemporary design.

Philippe Malouin will also be taking part in the panel discussion

Malouin set up his own studio in 2008 after working with British designer Tom Dixon. His portfolio includes work ranging from tables, rugs and chairs, to art objects and installations.

Malouin has also been named president of the jury at Villa Noaille's Design Parade in France.

Molteni is a filmmaker and curator. She was previously awarded the Award for Innovation by the president of the Italian Republic and the Cathay Pacific Award for female entrepreneurs.

Molteni is also a contributor to publications such as La Repubblica, Vogue, Casa Vogue and Elle Decor.

Francesca Molteni will be moderating the discussion.

This year's edition of Salone del Mobile, titled Supersalone, is curated by architect Stefano Boeri as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the cancellation of the 2020 edition.

Taking place in Milan in September rather than in its usual April slot, the special edition of the fair will feature products displayed on a series of parallel walls instead of in branded booths.

Salone del Mobile and parallel fuorisalone events will take place from 5-10 September 2021 in Milan. SeeDezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Live panel on radical design with Formafantasma and Philippe Malouin appeared first on Dezeen.

#opentalks #designtalks #all #talks #philippemalouin #formafantasma #livestreams #supersalone

Live panel on philanthropy and design with Cyrill Gutsch, Cherine Magrabi and Nadja Swarovski

Dezeen is teaming up with Salone del Mobile to live stream a talk on philanthropy and design. Watch live from 3:00pm Milan time.

Dezeen's collaboration with Salone del Mobile will see us live stream a panel discussion in its Open Talks series, curated by Maria Cristina Didero, every day this week during Supersalone.

The third talk to be live streamed is a panel discussion on design-based philanthropy and charitable foundations.

On the panel is Parley for the Oceans founder Cyrill Gutsch, chair of the Swarowski Foundation and Waterschool Nadja Swarovski, House of Today Foundation foundation director Cherine Magrabi Tayeb and design historian Libby Sellers.

Cyril Gutsch will be joining the panel.

The panel seeks to explore how the creative industries can redefine philanthropy and what collaboration with charitable foundations can achieve.

Gutsch is a designer and brand and product developer. He is also the founder of [Parley for the Oceans](https://www.parley.tv/#fortheoceans), a collaboration network that aims to raise awareness of the ecological fragility of the oceans and to develop and implement strategies to protect them.

In 2019, Gutsch was selected as one of the leading entrepreneurs working towards one or more of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Entrepreneur Cherine Magrabi Tayeb is a member of the panel

Cherine Magrabi Tayeb is the founding patron of the Beirut Art Center, and founder and curator of House of Today.

After the Beirut explosion on the 4 August 2020 she worked to restore design studios and aid designers who had been affected by the blast .

Also joining the discussion is Nadja-Swarovski. Photograph by Nick Knight

Nadja Swarovski was the first female member of the executive board of Swarovski. Her recent work includes Creatives For Our Future, an initiative to identify and empower the next generation of creatives in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

Swarovski also leads the Swarovski Waterschool, which educates young people in water conservation and sustainability.

The talk will be moderated by Libby Sellers a design historian, writer and independent curator based in London.

Sellers was previously senior curator of London’s Design Museum, and was honoured as a Woman of Achievement in the Arts by the British Women of the Year awards in 2014.

Libby Sellers will be moderating the panel

This year's edition of Salone del Mobile, titled Supersalone, is curated by architect Stefano Boeri as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the cancellation of the 2020 edition.

Taking place in Milan in September rather than in its usual April slot, the special edition of the fair will feature products displayed on a series of parallel walls instead of in branded booths.

Salone del Mobile and parallel fuorisalone events will take place from 5-10 September 2021 in Milan. SeeDezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Live panel on philanthropy and design with Cyrill Gutsch, Cherine Magrabi and Nadja Swarovski appeared first on Dezeen.

#opentalks #designtalks #all #talks #salonedelmobile #livestreams #cyrillgutsch #supersalone

Live panel on design education with Beatriz Colomina, Aric Chen and Anthony Dunne

Dezeen has teamed up with Salone del Mobile to live stream a talk exploring the issues facing a new generation of graduate designers. Tune in here at 3:00pm Milan time.

The talk is part of Dezeen's collaboration with Salone del Mobile which will see a daily live stream of a panel discussion during Supersalone for its Open Talks series.

The first talk to kick off the programme is a panel discussion on design education and will include architectural historian Beatriz Colomina, curator Aric Chen and professor of Design and Social Inquiry at Parsons School of Design in New York Anthony Dunne.

Architectural historian Beatriz Colomina will join the panel

The panel will discuss the Lost Graduation Show, an exhibition that showcases 170 design projects by students from 48 design schools worldwide, who graduated between 2020 and 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Titled Who can say no to education?, the talk will be moderated by the show's curator and the head of Master Theory at ECAL in Lausanne, Anniina Koivu.

The panel will discuss the pressing topics and issues, explored by the students in the show, that are facing a new generation of designers.

Also joining the panel from Milan is curator Aric Chen. Photo by Yoha Jin.

Colomina is an architectural historian and the founding director of the Media and Modernity programme at Princeton University, and professor and director of Graduate Studies in the School of Architecture. She has written numerous books on architectural history, including Sexuality and Space, and Domesticity at War.

Chen is an independent curator and writer based in Shanghai, where he works as the director of the Curatorial Lab at the College of Design and Innovation at Tongji University.

He is also the curatorial director for Design Miami and was recently named general and artistic director of Rotterdam's Het Nieuwe Instituut.

Anthony Dunne will also be joining the panel

Dunne is a professor of Design and Social Inquiry and c0-director of the Designed Realities Studio at Parsons School of Design in New York.

He is also partner in the design studio Dunne & Raby, together with Fiona Raby.

Koivu is a design writer, curator and consultant who works with a variety of clients such as Kvadrat, Iittala, Vitra and Camper.

The panel will be moderated by design writer and curator Anniina Koivu

She is also a designer, currently acting as the head of Master Theory at ECAL in Lausanne, Switzerland.

This year's edition of Salone del Mobile, titled Supersalone, is curated by architect Stefano Boeri as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the cancellation of the 2020 edition.

Taking place in Milan in September rather than in its usual April slot, the special edition of the fair will feature products displayed on a series of parallel walls instead of in branded booths.

Salone del Mobile and parallel fuorisalone events will take place from 5-10 September 2021 in Milan. SeeDezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Live panel on design education with Beatriz Colomina, Aric Chen and Anthony Dunne appeared first on Dezeen.

#opentalks #designtalks #all #talks #videos #aricchen #videosbydezeen #designvideos #beatrizcolomina #supersalone

Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro says she's standing "on the shoulders of giants"

The Italian design industry is seeing a generational change when it comes to gender equality, says Maria Porro, the youngest-ever president of Salone del Mobile and the first woman to hold the role.

Porro, born in 1983, was appointed president of Salone del Mobile in July. Prior to Salone, she was president of Assarredo, the Italian trade association for furniture manufacturers, where she was also the first woman in the role.

Porro also works as the marketing and communications director of Italian design brand Porro, which was co-founded by her great-grandfather Giulio, and grew up visiting Salone with her grandfather.

"[Salone del Mobile] is an appointment that I've never missed since I was a child," she told Dezeen.

However, she pursued another creative career when she was growing up, studying set design at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts.

"I studied set design, and I've been working in the field of theatre and the events," she said.

Porro comes to Salone in a "moment of transition"

As well as working as a production supervisor for the opening of both the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympic games, Porro has also created costumes and set designs for both Italian and international theatres.

"But at the same time I always kept a strong connection with my family brand and with the architect Pierro Lissoni, who I started to work with," she said. Lissoni works with the Porro family brand as an architect and designer.

"I grew up with wood shavings and looking at photoshoots in the old factory; I grew up smelling and living in this amazing design community," Porro said.

The Supersalone edition of the tradeshow starts today

Despite her knowledge of the industry, moving into her new role at Salone is a "big responsibility in a moment of transition," Porro said.

"I'm just a 'nani sulle spalle dei giganti', a little girl on the shoulders of giants," she said. "That's how I feel."

"It's a moment of transition for sure," Porro added. "A moment where we have a lot of question marks on our road, but I feel the passion and the strength of Salone del Mobile."

Appointment part of "change of generation" in industry

Porro believes her appointment as the fair's first female president is part of a wider change in the Italian design industry.

"There is a very big change of generation at this moment in the industry," Porro said. "I see a lot of female and male young entrepreneurs leading the companies."

This is a marked difference to how gender roles have traditionally been perceived in the country's design industry, where women wouldn't previously have led the companies.

[

Read:

Stefano Boeri's plans for special Supersalone edition of Salone del Mobile will "demonstrate that Milan is alive"

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/05/26/stefano-boeri-salone-del-mobile-supersalone-interview/)

"In the 1950s, women were not considered in the generational passage for some brands, so it was impossible to work in the main roles in the family brand if you were a woman," Porro said.

"My generation is the one that can change the rules – times are ready and I'm not the only one, I'm in very good company."

However, Italy still has a way to go, she believes.

"As Italians, we have to learn a lot from some foreign countries about the balance between male and female – we still have to learn a lot, but let's start to break some rules!"

Porro takes over after turbulent period

The Salone del Mobile fair, which begins today and runs until 10 September, was delayed from its original April slot.

It has been dubbed "Supersalone" to mark it out as a special edition of the fair, which has had a turbulent year. The fair's previous president Claudio Luti resigned in May, saying his vision for the fair had "failed."

Luti's leaving came after rumoured troubles for the fair in spring, with bookings from exhibitors thought to be down and visitors seemingly unlikely to travel to Italy in large numbers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala, subsequently urged brands to support Salone del Mobile in order for Milan not to lose its position as the "world's leading city for design."

Salone del Mobile last took place in 2019

Supersalone, which is curated by architect Stefano Boeri and was unveiled in a press conference streamed on Dezeen, has been adapted to accommodate coronavirus prevention measures.

With many trade shows creating digital offerings during the Covid pandemic and the increasing climate crisis, some have also questioned the necessity of physical events, which encourage both global travel and movement of goods.

Sustainability has become something that trade shows now have to more urgently take into account.

"For a trade show it's a very big challenge to be sustainable, but it's a challenge for every field, including the field of design itself, so I think it's something that you do step by step," Porro said.

"It's a revolution; it's not something you change in one day."

Entrance to feature urban forest

The wooden panels used to construct the stands for the Supersalone fair this year are made from 100-per-cent recycled wood while the aluminium structures used for the event will be recycled. Seating areas have been assembled without using glue so that they can be disassembled and reused.

"We put a lot of attention into creating an event for which the materials and projects are all made to be fully sustainable and recyclable," Porro said.

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Read:

Dezeen to live stream Open Talks from Supersalone in Milan

](https://www.dezeen.com/2021/09/03/dezeen-supersalone-open-talks-programme/)

Greenery will also welcome fair visitors right from the start, in the form of a city forest installation, a concept that has become increasingly popular recently.

"As a sort of sign, we decided to create a forest at the entrance," Porro said. "There will be 200 trees at the entrance, which Salone will then donate to the city of Milan to be planted in the Parco Nord."

Digital Supersalone to be "fully mixed" with physical event

The upcoming fair will also have more of a digital presence than in previous years.

"We wanted to create a digital identity of Salone that will be fully mixed with the physical experience and will give another layer to the physical experience. It's also going to help us to reach all the people that will not be able to come," said Porro.

The digital platform will stream some of the events taking place at the fair, and The Supersalone event will also use QR codes to make the fair shoppable.

"I think this is something we need to explore and we need to test; Supersalone will be a big test of a lot of novelties, and then we will decide which ones we will keep and which ones we will not," Porro said.

For the first time, the fair will also be open to the public every day.

"We need to feel safe living together again"

The president also hopes Supersalone will help people get back to normal after the coronavirus pandemic.

"We need to feel safe living together again, not only in private life but in common places. Design and furniture now have a role and a responsibility to redesign those places," Porro said.

"Design has a responsibility to create solutions that will let us be safe again, living together. I think we have this responsibility and Salone is the field where brands can present, experiment and discuss this very important aspect of this new life and this new normality."

Salone del Mobile is taking place in Milan from 5-10 September. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Dezeen to live stream Open Talks from Supersalone in Milan

Dezeen has teamed up with Milan's Salone del Mobile to live stream a panel discussion each day during Supersalone from 6-10 September.

Taking place each afternoon at 2:00pm London time, the talks will cover topics including women in design institutions, radical design and design education and feature designers, curators and critics including Beatriz Colomina, Lilli Hollein, Aric Chen and Stefano Boeri.

The discussions are part of Open Talks, a series of daily talks at Supersalone curated by Maria Cristina Didero.

The special edition of the furniture fair will see exhibits installed on walls instead of branded booths

This year's edition of Salone del Mobile, titled Supersalone, is curated by architect Boeri as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the cancellation of the 2020 edition.

Taking place in Milan in September rather than in its usual April slot, the special edition of the fair will feature products displayed on a series of parallel walls instead of in branded booths.

"I believe that this will be a way to take a risk in the right direction and demonstrate that the Salone is alive, that Milan is alive and that generally, our field is still dynamic and open to new conditions," Boeri told Dezeen in an interview earlier this year.

The 2021 edition of Salone del Mobile is curated by architect Stefano Boeri

The fair will be open to the public all week and visitors will be able to buy discounted products by scanning QR codes located next to products.

The schedule for the talks that will be streamed on Dezeen is below. For details of the full Open Talks programme, click here.

Who can say no to education?
2:00pm London time, 6 September

In this talk, architectural historian Colomina, curator Chen and professor of Design and Social Inquiry at Parsons School of Design in New York Anthony Dunne, will discuss The Lost Graduation Show. This exhibition at Supersalone will showcase 170 design projects by students from 48 design schools worldwide, who graduated between 2020 and 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Moderated by the show's curator Anniina Koivu, the panel will discuss the pressing topics and issues explored by the students in the show that are facing a new generation of designers.

**Women within institutions
**2:00pm London time, 7 September

Moderated by creative director and design consultant Tony Chambers, this talk will explore the experiences of women within design and art institutions. On the panel is the director of the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg Tulga Beyerle, director of the MAK museum in Vienna Hollein and curator of contemporary design at the Smithsonian Design Museum in New York Alexandra Cunningham Cameron.

Foundations between design and charity
2:00pm London time, 8 September

Featuring a panel including Parley for the Oceans founder Cyrill Gutsch, chair of the Swarowski Foundation and Waterschool Nadja Swarovski, House of Today Foundation foundation director Cherine Magrabi Tayeb and design historian Libby Sellers, this talk will explore how the creative industries can help to find solutions to the world's biggest problems.

**Today's radicals
**2:00pm London time, 9 September

In this talk, designer Philippe Malouin and Italian design studio Formafantasma will speak to curator and movie director Francesca Molteni about what it means to be radical in today's design industry.

Architecture is not art
2:00pm London time, Friday 10 September

To round off the week, chief curator of High Line Art in New York Cecilia Alemani, will speak to artist Carsten Höller and architect Boeri about the relationship between architecture and art. The panel will discuss the ways in which the two disciplines relate to each other.

Salone del Mobile and parallel fuorisalone events will take place from 5 to 10 September 2021 in Milan. SeeDezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Dezeen to live stream Open Talks from Supersalone in Milan appeared first on Dezeen.

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