Michele De Lucchi and Poltrona Frau Present Connecting Experiences

On the occasion of Milan Design Week 2019, visionary architect Michele De Lucchi brings Connecting Experiences to Poltrona Frau’s via Manzoni flagship, his previously unrealised architectural project, Earth Stations.

In the future, the nature of human interactions will be drastically different from how we experience it today. The evolution of technology will inevitably change how we interact with work, how we live and how we collectively experience space. How can architects adapt to this rapidly changing landscape? Michele De Lucchi Earth Stations, the product of two years of extensive research, as places that will shape relationships among humans.

Michele de Lucchi’s Earth Stations at Poltrona Frau

From Michele De Lucchi: “Earth Stations are active architectures that form networks that are easy to reach and are built in places that form or regenerate urban and infrastructural nodes. They respond to our evolving lifestyles where artificial intelligence increasingly frees man from bureaucratic and repetitive tasks, establishing an opportunity to create places that express personal freedom and harness the enormous potential of technology.”

In Connecting Experiences, Michele De Lucchi will reinterpret Poltrona Frau’s Milan flagship according to his vision of this new typology. The space – divided into several nodes promoting communication, work and leisure – will be open to the public throughout the week for visitors to work, relax and attend lectures and workshops with Poltrona Frau’s designers and collaborators.

The zones Michele De Lucchi has mapped out will include: a large co-working space with complimentary wifi; a conference room for meetings and conversations; a reading room for individual study; a space to relax, unwind and listen to music; and a coffee bar to refuel. A dedicated workshop area will host lessons on how to work with Poltrona Frau’s signature leather, while a cinema will show a program of design-related films and documentaries. An exhibition space featuring Michele De Lucchi’s renderings, models and research will be on display introduce visitors to his Earth Stations project. Within the palazzo’s interior courtyard, a pavilion will be built that echoes the form of an Earth Station.

  • Workshop_Roberto Palomba
    • April 10 || 4-6PM
  • Workshop_Alberto Lievore
    • April 11 || 11:30A-1:30PM
  • Workshop_Pietro Gottardi (Foster+Partners)
    • April 12 || 2:30-4:30PM

The orthogonal plan of the former palazzo will be softened by a wooden ‘double skin’, creating a fluid transition between each zone while allowing for moments of enclosed privacy. A genuine connection with the environment is an essential part of the Connecting Experiences concept: trees and plant life will be interspersed throughout the space, connecting man to the natural world.

For the installation, Poltrona Frau have pulled a selection of classic and recent designs to animate Michele De Lucchi’s vision. The historic furniture brand’s carefully designed workplace systems meld perfectly with the Connecting Experiences concept: Roberto Lazzeroni’s handcrafted leather Fred chair and desk set, Lievore – Altherr – Park’s customisable office system, Trust, which comprises desks, self-supporting walls and storage units, and Foster + Partners’ brilliant Cove lounge chair will define the work-focused zones. Iconic pieces such as Renzo Frau’s Chester One sofa from 1912, Ludovica and Roberto Palomba’s deeply relaxing Let it Be sectional and Jean-Marie Massaud’s elegant GranTorino modular seating will inspire tranquillity in the leisure areas.

“I am pleased to be partnering with Poltrona Frau for Connecting Experiences to present, for the first time, my Earth Station project. Over the past seven years of our collaborations, we have grown and learned together. Their enthusiasm to explore new areas of design research has fuelled this project and I look forward to many more years of working alongside Poltrona Frau,” Michele De Lucchi says of the project.

“We are delighted for this partnership with aMDL that testifies a fruitful cooperation of many years with our Brand. We believe Earth Stations is the ideal the vehicle through which Poltrona Frau can explore the many and different areas covered by its activities and represent in an innovative way its solutions for home and working environments, public spaces and hospitality areas.” says Nicola Coropulis, General Manager of Poltrona Frau.

Poltrona Frau Showroom
Via Manzoni, 30 – Milan

9th –  14th April 2019

Tuesday  10.00 AM – 5.30 PM
From Wednesday to Saturday 10.00 AM – 9.00 PM
Sunday  10.00 AM – 7.00 PM

Connecting Experiences at Salone del Mobile

Poltrona Frau presents “Connecting Experiences”. A strong design concept, almost provocative in a modern world characterized by fast, contradictory and fleeting stimulus, that often overlap and merge on the surface.A products collection that express a single shared philosophy, a concept of living that prioritises comfort and conviviality. Which has been connecting experiences since 1912.

On Tuesday afternoon from 2-4pm the designers behind the new Poltrona Frau collection, including Tristan Auer, Gam Fratesi, Roberto Lazzeroni, Jean-Marie Massaud, Neri&Hu, and Ludovica + Roberto Palomba, will be at the Poltrona Frau booth (Hall 20, E01/F04) at Salone del Mobile sharing the process behind the designs and answering questions. One of the notable new pieces that will be on display is Poltrona Frau’s re-edition of the historic model 823 swivel bookcase designed by Gianfranco Frattini. This unexpected classic, titled ‘Turner,’ is a 3-level bookshelf whose design enables its user to add or remove dividing panels to create different combinations.

Turner, Paltrona Frau’s re-edition of the historic model 823 swivel bookcase designed by Gianfranco Frattini

Come to discover the new Home Collection 2019 @ Salone del Mobile

Poltrona Frau
Salone del Mobile – Rho Fiera
Hall 20 | Stand E01 – F04

From 9th to 14th April 2019

From Tuesday to Sunday
9.30 AM ­ 6.30 PM

www.poltronafrau.com