Brera Design District: Design Takes Off Again from Milan

28/07/2021 - Brera Design District is coming back for the 2021 Fuorisalone event, from 4 to 10 September, with a special edition, symbol of the pickup and relaunch of events in the city, following the star of design and creativity. The district’s fascinating streets and squares, rich in history and beauty, become animated again after the summer break, with appointments, exhibitions and installations. 

 

Online and offline no longer represent opposite systems, converging thanks to the experience of the previous digital editions. This September edition will be projected towards future challenges, going in the direction of inclusivity and sharing, with the goal of confirming the city of Milan as international reference for furnishing and design. 

 

For the 2021 Fuorisalone edition, Brera Design District has defined Media Partnership agreements with the most prestigious national and international design and architecture papers, aiming to present and promote projects, activities and events in the District. Among these Archiproducts, which with its Design Selection guide collects the most interesting locations and installations of the MDW through a path that crosses the entire city of Milan.

 

Brera Design Week 2021 promotes the theme “Forms of Living' suggested by Fuorisalone.it, an opportunity for exchange and debate on new domestic spaces and living needs, as a direct consequence of the pandemic. This pandemic has transformed and will continue to transform, on top of many other things, our cities’ spaces and identities, encouraging architects and urbanists to search for new sustainable development solutions, to improve social, environmental and territorial quality. In this context we find the “15-minute city”, based on the concept of proximity, according to which citizens should be able to reach within a 15-minute time span, on foot or by bicycle, all necessary services. In these years we have seen the fastest changes and transformations than ever: design can be a useful tool to detect them, understand and offer effective solutions.

“Fuorisalone’s September edition represents an ever more challenging goal for all involved professionals, companies, Associations and Institutions which, following this long break caused by the COVID emergency, are together committed to reaffirm Milan’s role as primary international point of reference for design culture”, as stated by Cristina Tajani, Milan Councillor for Job Policies, Productive Activities, Fashion and Design. She adds: “We believe that the commitment shown by companies, participating with great courage in this unusual edition, will be appreciated both by professionals and the general public. With this view, the Council Administration has decided to allow free use of public spaces for events with a cultural value, to encourage as much as possible participation in this edition, which can truly represent the first step to give back to our city its international appeal”.

 

The project is by Studiolabo, creative studio and agency including a team of professionals specialized in communication design, from digital marketing to concept and graphic design, from web projects to strategic design.

 

“Innovative Living” is the name of the project created by Xiaomi, main sponsor for Fuorisalone.it, aiming to investigate innovation as an integral, almost invisible part, of our daily life. During the Design Week, Xiaomi, with its smart life products, strongly connected to design, will be hosting a series of talks, with eminent guests and special initiatives, held inside Casa Xiaomi, at the Brera Design Apartment, and shared digitally to involve the general public. Casa Xiaomi will thus be transformed into the ideal venue to share ideas and creativity.

National and international brands that have chosen Brera Design District as the stage for their event, bringing some of the most renowned names in Italian and international design. Here is a selection:

 

During Fuorisalone, Manerba proposes a series of design solutions that meet the new needs of co-living and co-creation in three types of spaces: home-office, office as a hub, meeting & lounge. A series of specific configurations based on the type of environment, designed by Federica Biasi Studio, to present the Manerba novelties together with a review of some iconic products in the catalogue.

The collaboration between Florim and the Matteo Thun & Partners architecture and design studio gives life to a new collection of ceramic wall tiles that matches the 'Sensi of Casa dolce casa' series, giving a tone of colour. The layout designed for the Fuorisalone reflects the synthesis of innovation, design and sustainability.

Elena Salmistraro's talent and communicative power are translated into a capsule collection that interprets the 'Hotel CHIMERA' installation designed for CEDIT with a new, equally expressive cut, but with a value content.

In the renovated setting of the Milanese showroom in Foro Buonaparte, which inaugurates the restyling designed by Piero Lissoni on the occasion of Fuorisalone 2021, Lualdi presents its new collaboration with Philippe Starck. The French designer will be the brand's guest for the event on 6 September 2021, during which it will be possible to visit the new exhibition that tells the story of Lualdi, from icons to new products.

 

'Natural Capital', the project created by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati for Eni, recreates a three-dimensional representation inside the Orto Botanico di Brera in Milan. The installation aims to be one of the largest data visualizations ever created and shows Eni's commitment to the protection and conservation of forests. The project aims to highlight the role of plants and trees in the production of oxygen, showing the amount of CO2 that individual species are able to capture and accumulate. 

 

Atlas Concorde continues its dialogue with the world of design and presents, in its Milan showroom, the projects born from the collaboration with renowned architects and designers. 'Boost Natural' is the collection created in collaboration with Matteo Brioni: inspired by raw earth surfaces, a natural and ancient material, it expresses all its aesthetic value. Dialogo is the line of design washbasins designed by Mario Ferrarini for the Atlas Concorde Habitat furniture project. 3D Sign and 3D Squares, the two patterns designed by Piero Lissoni for the three-dimensional surface collection, 3D Wall Carve.

With the September 2021 collection, Dedar presents new textile wall coverings that bring matter, texture and colour to surfaces, making the yarn the protagonist with its vibrations and irregularities. Among the novelties is a new Mohair velvet, naturally resistant and with fireproof properties, capable of combining tactile and aesthetic quality with practicality and ease of use. Finally, in a delicate balance between light and matter, a collection of veils comes to life that combines materiality and transparency.

 

The Sala Sironi at Palazzo dell'Informazione is transformed into Spazio Neven, a place for promoting high technology applied to luxury private environments, to host Samsung's The Wall Experience. Steeped in culture and art, the location becomes the perfect base for presenting the latest generation of high-end solutions, capable of combining highly innovative audio and video experiences.

Pianca & Partners gives space to new generations of designers with an exhibition dedicated to the work of 3 young talents: Giuseppe Arezzi, Maddalena Selvini and Flatwig Studio. This is the first appointment of the 'Emerging lines' format, conceived by the Milan contract hub to promote the creativity of the future.

The Light Gate opens its doors to the public to accompany them in the discovery of 'Works Together': iGuzzini has always collaborated with the best architects, lighting designers, engineering and design studios in the world to develop standard and bespoke solutions that respond promptly to their design needs and to those of the people who live in the spaces.

Mutina is pleased to present the exhibition project Luigi Ghirri – Between the Lines conceived for the spaces of Casa Mutina Milano. The show – curated by Sarah Cosulich with works from the collection of Mutina’s CEO Massimo Orsini – has been developed in dialogue with the architecture of the showroom designed by Patricia Urquiola and its newly created ceramic display, the latest collection by Konstantin Grcic.

 

A maxi-installation immersed in a luxuriant nature transforms the courtyard and cloister of the Church of San Marco into an oasis of greenery, beauty and conviviality. Leading outdoor design brands create refined outdoor settings, showcasing a range of design, furnishing and equipment solutions, enhanced in their natural environment.

During the Milan Design Week 2021 Ceadesign presents 'DESIGN CROSSING', an itinerary that highlights how the production of taps and fittings has changed over the years, recounting the innate passion for stainless steel, the love for design, the strong attitude to technological innovation that has always distinguished all CEA products. Among the novelties, HOOK stands out, the new tapware system designed by Parisotto + Formenton and Natalino Malasorti.

The most famous bike shop in the district, Rossignoli, will host the collaboration between the Swiss brand USM Haller and Monocle magazine. 

Two bicycles born from the synergy between the two brands will be unveiled for all cycling enthusiasts. 

All of this will take place within a setting designed by USM Haller and focused on the green theme.

 

During Milan Design Week, Visionnaire unveils an evocative installation in its showroom, called 'Insula', designed by Marco Bonelli and Marijana Radovic - aka M2Atelier - transforming the space into a new dimension in which architecture, nature and dreams take centre stage. A secret garden that houses the 'Caprice' collection designed by M2Atelier and presents a setting in which architecture and nature dialogue in unison. The main floor of the gallery also hosts the products of the Babylon Rack collection, designed by Alessandro La Spada, harmoniously integrated in the 'Insula' project.

 

A tribute to the earth, nature and authentic flavours. The Signature Kitchen Suite showroom is transformed into an immersive garden, intoxicated by the scents of aromatic herbs, with P'arcnouveau's plant installations, the pop-up farm market under the arches of Porta Nuova and True to Food themed tastings.

A space where you can plunge into the universe of the Spanish company. All of the Group's brands will be on display, offering an extraordinary selection of the latest trends in ceramic floor and wall tiles, natural materials, kitchens, bathrooms and construction solutions for both private individuals and professionals in the architecture and interior design sectors.

 

Jannelli&Volpi presents the JV OPEN format: a series of projects, companies and events, hosted in two new spaces in Milan: JVstudio and JVstore. Inaugurated in spring on the occasion of the company's 60th anniversary (1961-2021), the two spaces are located in the heart of the district. On the occasion of the Fuorisalone, JV OPEN hosts the brands TWILS and CELLULARLINE, together with designer Matteo Ragni, as well as the London-based interior design studio THDP and TEATRO DELLA MODA.

MATERICA is a cultural association founded in 2020 by Marianna Galbusera, Gregorio Lioce and Lajdi Sulaj, with the aim of creating mono-material objects, through direct commissions, open calls, events and exhibitions. During the Fuorisalone, marble is the protagonist of the 2021 edition thanks to an exhibition whose scenography is the result of a fruitful collaboration between STUDIO VLORA, Gregorio Lioce and Atelier Zav.

On the occasion of the September edition of Fuorisalone, architect Michele Perlini redefines the interior of the historic K35 tram, housing Lapitec's Musa collection, the result of a production process covered by 25 patents based on a mixture of 100% natural and silica-free minerals.

These are just some of the events on the calendar. On the website and the dedicated Facebook and Instagram pages, you can discover all the daily events and activity promotion.

To find your way among the Brera Design District events, an integrated communication system has been designed: Map of Events in free distribution over all the district and in mobile info points; Itinerant InfoPoint using exclusively cargo bikes, coordinated with CDM - Corrieri della Madonnina, to welcome the Fuorisalone audience, distributing the printed map of programmed activities; Territorial Sign posts with flags and banners to mark the area and indicating totems at the entrance of every event; Indicating Totem on entrance of every event.