Salone del Mobile Announces 2019 Exhibits + Programming
Salone del Mobile.Milano, the world’s preeminent design fair, has announced programming and exhibits for the 2019 show!Salone has taken the word “ingenuity” to heart when looking at this year’s edition. As explained in their 2019 Manifesto, Salone is a hub for connection, creativity, and innovation…with Milan’s history of ingenuity and willingness to experiment at its core. The exhibits and developments for the 58th Salone edition perfectly reflect this philosophy.
Euroluce + Workplace3.0
Euroluce will emphasize a range of lighting innovations and products with a focus on those that are human-centric. In a shift for 2019, Workplace3.0 will feature a new, crosscutting format geared to better illustrate the the current evolution of the the work environment. Because the office is now moving towards a hybrid of work and play, exhibiting companies will have a similar presence across the fairgrounds, as a faithful reflection of the transformation of the workspace into a flexible, dynamic place ripe for both professional and personal interactions.
S.Project
A major change to be introduced is the new exhibit dedicated to design products and decorative and technical interior design solutions: S.Project. S.Project will be a versatile space combining a diverse array of exhibitors, large and small, across design categories to create an integrated, multi-sectoral experience. The exhibition will deliver a 360-degree overview of interior architecture, responding to the latest market demands.
SaloneSatellite
For its 22nd edition, 550 young designers will be a part of this year’s SaloneSatellite, the theme of which is FOOD as a DESIGN OBJECT. This prompt explores a global food revolution in which design, technology, and traditional artisan skills can come together to tackle the challenges of the future.
DE-SIGNO.The art of Italian design before and after Leonardo
Who embodies the term “ingenuity” more than Leonardo da Vinci? da Vinci worked in Milan as an artist, architect, engineer, and scientist, leaving an indelible mark on the city still felt in 2019, 500 years after his death. Conceived by Davide Rampello and designed by architect Alessandro Colombo, this exhibit will celebrate da Vinci’s legacy to the art of design and craftsmanship.
AQUA. Leonardo’s Vision
Honoring da Vinci’s genius, this evocative installation will be devoted to his brilliance and his studies of water. This exhibit will be staged in the heart of Milan at the Conca dell’Incoronata canal lock and will be created by Marco Balich in partnership with Balich Worldwide Shows. AQUA will be on-site at the fairgrounds in Pavilion 24.
These amazing exhibitions are just the tip of the iceberg of what Salone del Mobile.Milano has to offer in 2019!
More details in the press releases below:
58th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano: new exhibition formats and a homage to Leonardo.
During this year of celebrations in honour of Leonardo da Vinci, the Salone del Mobile is adding a new term, ‘ingenuity’, to its Manifesto. It is a deeply intrinsic part of the DNA of the event and of the companies, brands and designers that have made it such a success, as well as serving as a homage to the great Master.
The 58th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano will be held from 9th to 14th April at Rho Fiera Milano. In the wake of the ‘new approach’ launched with the Manifesto in 2018, the Salone is putting the spotlight this year on both the centrality of Milan, which continues to garner international plaudits and recognitions, and on the creative capacity and generosity of spirit of the industrial network that underpins it and works to deliver global excellence.
The Manifesto is thus with another chapter – dedicated to ingenuity, in other words the ability to create and think that triggers new ways of seeing the world and of inventing solutions in which design contributes to the wellbeing of man and of society. A talent that the companies and designers, the protagonists of the Salone, that have made it what it is today, possess and constantly develop, building on the layers of their own cultural heritage, and which a city such as Milan well knows how to cultivate and valorise.
Claudio Luti, President of the Salone del Mobile, had this to say: “At this particular time of great success for Milan, it is important to consolidate the Salone del Mobile’s powers of attraction, offering its visitors not just a wide range of products, but, especially, opportunities for international interface and for reflection on the relationship between creativity and business. Looking again at the keywords of its Manifesto, a statement intended to refocus on the values that have helped make the event the leading appointment for the design sector at international level, the Salone is introducing a new word. That word is ‘ingenuity’, in other words intelligence as the trigger of creativity, the meaning of talent, and the ingenious ability to create and think. All gifts that our companies possess, that our designers develop and that stem from our roots, and a word that constitutes an invitation to keep looking forward, not to rest on our laurels, to believe that everything can always be reinvented and rediscovered with fresh eyes that look to the future. ‘Ingenuity’ also pays homage to Leonardo, in the year of the 500th anniversary of his death, the Master of all creatives, the forerunner of the relationship between creative and entrepreneur, a man of progress, of the future and of the present, who came to Milan for the very purpose of developing his relationship with the form of creating.”
Through the Manifesto, the Salone del Mobile.Milan calls for the emotional and intellectual involvement of all its actors in a bid to push further ahead than ever before, to consolidate the leadership role that the event and the city have carved out over the years and which increasingly attracts new projects and talents.
“The strength of the Salone del Mobile.Milano is closely bound up with the uniqueness of the wood-furnishing chain, a widespread ecosystem of industrial and cultural values that we as a Federation are committed to supporting on a daily basis, and for which our event is the showcase par excellence. In 2018, positive signals for the wood-furnishing sector came from both the domestic market, with a 3.1% rise in production destined for the Italian market compared with 2017, and from the export market, which sustained its positive trend. In the high-end segment, our companies held the largest quota of all the markets, demonstrating our sector’s ability to withstand the ups and downs of the current international macroeconomic situation and to maintain the characteristic competitive edge that sets them apart. Creativity, ingenuity and industry are bound together in an extraordinary web, making Italian design a strategically important strong point for the entire Italian system. It is one of the best visiting cards that the city of Milan – which has always had the ability to interpret its time in an international spirit – can proffer to the world,” said Emanuele Orsini, President of Federlegno Arredo Eventi.
In a bid to respond properly to the structural changes in contemporary society and the ensuing rapid changes in the furnishing and design market, the 58th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano is announcing two fundamental changes to its trade fair format.
As this year is an odd year, it is the turn of the biennial Euroluce and Workplace3.0 exhibitions to be held at Rho Fiera Milano; the latter will feature a new, widespread and crosscutting exhibition format, geared to better illustrating the evolution of the concept of the workspace, right now, ever better, a hybrid space in which duty and pleasure, professional and personal go hand in hand. The exhibiting companies will make their liquid and hybrid presence felt throughout the fairgrounds, as a faithful reflection of the social transformation of the workspace into a flexible, permeable and dynamic space, ripe for professional interaction and engagement with other day-to-day activities.
This edition will also see the launch of a new crosscutting exhibition concept dedicated to design products and decorative and technical interior design solutions: S.Project, a versatile space in which the keywords are multisectoral approach, synergy and quality.
550 young talents will be the protagonists of the 22nd SaloneSatellite in Pavilions 22-24. This year’s theme is FOOD as a DESIGN OBJECT. Our hope is that these creatives from all over the world will see the slogan as a trigger for responses and solutions in the form of cutting-edge visions, ideas, designs and original contributions.
Adding the word ‘ingenuity’ to the 2019 edition of the Manifesto is a deliberate homage to Leonardo da Vinci, on the 500th anniversary of his death. The great Master left the sophisticated city of Florence, cradle of the Renaissance in 1482, bound for Milan – a city that was already at the centre of one of the most productive regions of the times, and open to every sort and kind of technological development and where he knew that Ludovico Sforza would be a rich and generous patron. He worked here as an artist, architect, engineer and scientist for more than twenty years, leaving indelible signs of his passage.
Leonardo’s creative force, his status as a globally recognised icon, and his innovative, receptive and multifaceted persona thus represent a major asset for the city, conscious of the legacy of its own past while looking beyond it to a future of change and awareness of its own role on the world stage. This is why the Salone del Mobile decided to celebrate Leonardo right in the very heart of Milan, at the Conca dell’Incoronata canal lock, with an outstanding and hugely evocative installation devoted to his brilliance and to his studies of water. AQUA. Leonardo’s Vision will narrate a tiny fragment of the Renaissance and the future of Milan, part reason and part enchantment.
That’s not all, however. Given the huge relevance of da Vinci’s legacy and as a spur for those who all qualify as baton carriers for Leonardo and Ludovico Sforza – designers, young talents, entrepreneurs – the Salone will also be holding another event at the fairgrounds, in Pavilion 24, designed to celebrate da Vinci’s legacy to the art of design and craftsmanship, a theme now more deeply relevant to the world of design than ever before. DE-SIGNO. The art of Italian design before and after Leonardo is an atmospheric narration of Leonardo da Vinci’s ingenuity and his connection with contemporary Italian design.
“One figure in the history of art, of architecture, of engineering and of science reflects the creativity and industriousness of our city: the genius Leonardo da Vinci. The tribute that the Salone del Mobile is paying to him in the 2019 edition is an intelligent and by no means banal way of celebrating Leonardo’s oeuvre in all its farsightedness and complexity. Five hundred years on from his death, Leonardo is still a point of reference for our times. It is thanks to him that designers and planners in this day and age rely on intuition, curiosity and study when it comes to designing furnishing accessories, spaces and objects that will respond effectively and functionally to practical, concrete and everyday problems. This homage to genius in all its forms, and its valorisation through outstanding business experiences unquestionably make up the realm in which the Salone operates and evolves. The Salone is an event recognised the world over, one that is not afraid to experiment and push the envelope, welcoming the latest market offerings with pragmatism and originality, while never losing sight of its role as a mouthpiece for the spirit of Milan and the times in which we live”, said Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan.
Underscoring and valorising its ties with Milan even further and in the spirit of increased openness to the exchange and circulation of ideas, culture and creativity, the Salone del Mobile has entered into a three-year agreement with the Fondazione Teatro alla Scala Foundation, leading up to 2021 and the celebrations for the sixtieth anniversary of the trade fair. This partnership was born of the desire to combine shared values, with the dual aim of promoting and valorising the talent of the Filarmonica della Scala and allowing the design community that breathes life into the Salone every year an opportunity to be involved in a unique experience. This year, for the first time ever, the Salone will open with a great concert: Riccardo Chailly, musical director of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, will conduct le Ouverture da Semiramide e Guglielmo Tell di Gioachino Rossini and Pictures at an Exhibition, composed by Modest Mussorgski and arranged by Maurice Ravel. A hugely powerful and emotionally impactful piece of music that will transmit its energy to all those actors who make it their business to ensure the Salone is a success year after year, without reservation.
Underscoring the international remit of the Salone del Mobile.Milano and the city and their commitment to inclusion and hospitality, the Welcome Project will be running for the sixth consecutive year thanks to the partnership with the Municipality of Milan, the Councillor for Employment, Economic Development, University and Research Policies Cristina Tajani and the city’s leading design schools – Domus Academy, IED, Istituto Marangoni, NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano and the Milan Polytechnic University/Design School. The Salone will be setting up information points at various focal points around the city, manned by 100 students, there to provide visitors with information on how to negotiate the city, on the trade fair itself and the palimpsest of events in Milan organised by the Department.
The Salone del Mobile.Milano sees Federlegno Arredo Eventi work tirelessly with the Italian trade agency ICE, the government agency that supports the economic and commercial development of Italian businesses abroad and works to attract foreign investments in Italy, in a bid to come up with a raft of strategic activities to stimulate the interest and participation of foreign professionals, buyers, architects, interior designers and journalists at the Shanghai and Moscow editions of the Salone in particular.
Again, this year, a great celebration of design will mark the close of the Salone del Mobile.Milan on Friday 12th April at Palazzo Marino, fuelled by the tremendous exhilaration generated by the event and its mission. It will be an occasion for celebrating the enormous productive and organisational commitment of our companies and all the designers and people who help to make Milan the most interesting and attractive place in the world during that particular week.
Euroluce 2019.
New lighting dynamics: smart, sustainable and human-centric
Now in its 30th edition, the International Lighting Exhibition is throwing open its doors from Tuesday 9th to Sunday 14th April at the Rho fairgrounds. It will focus on the new frontiers of ambient lighting, underlining its role as a benchmark for the sector at global level.
Euroluce will be back along with the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2019, boasting more than 38,100 square metres of exhibition space split between 4 pavilions (9-11 and 13-15) and 421 exhibitors (some 48% of them from other countries), underscoring its role as the international point of reference for the lighting world. This edition will feature integrated and intelligent, increasingly designer-friendly lighting solutions, sparking new aesthetic concepts not just for illuminating, but also for ‘experiencing’ and ‘living’ the space. Products encapsulating both magic and concreteness, simplicity and complexity.
The vast array of products, unique in terms of variety and comprehensiveness, ranges from the latest in ambient lighting appliances to innovative lighting systems, light sources and lighting technology software and the harnessing of new eco-friendly materials. Lighting for indoors and outdoors, as well as for the contract and office sectors, and products developed for the lighting technology sector make Euroluce the most stimulating international platform for the lighting sector and an unmissable appointment for market operators.
Euroluce isn’t simply business-orientated; it is also a trigger of stimuli and inspiration. Technological advances, the evolution of control systems and the miniaturisation of light sources have thrown up new opportunities for designers, both as regards designing individual appliances and as regards designing lighting effects. In this edition, the contemporary lighting design keywords will be experimentation and technological innovation, sustainability, human-centricity and aesthetic research.
One of the most frequently explored angles in every single field is ‘smart everyday living’, and at Euroluce the sectoral leaders will be presenting intelligent and wireless solutions, cutting edge technology, appliances boasting even more integrated functions such as adaptive intelligence and wireless connectivity, higher performance sensors and systems for regulating the colour and temperature of light. The advent of ‘wireless’ lighting means that portable light sources can be created for both inside and outside the home, bearing out the trend towards the steady hybridisation of domestic spaces whose lines are becoming increasingly blurred. Light will be the ‘star’ of the smart home and terms such as Smart, IoT ready, Digital Light, Tunable White and White Changeable will become increasingly familiar.
The challenge facing the sector is the quest for energy efficiency, sustainability and cost reduction. The new lighting products and systems will combine traditional appliances with extremely high quality LED and OLED solutions, with digital controls to ensure the desired results. The companies will demonstrate their commitment to using (easily) recycled or low environmental impact materials, ensuring that neither their manufacture nor their disposal will damage our ecosystem.
Man constitutes the final frontier for innovation in lighting technology. This is borne out by the growing importance attached to Human Centric Lighting (HCL), which analyses the effect of light on people’s emotions, their wellbeing, their health and their motivation. Credence is increasingly being given to the idea of therapeutic artificial light that can bring one’s physical and mental demands into line by also stimulating the rhythm of natural light inside domestic spaces, by means of three factors: the colour and temperature of the light, its intensity and the direction of the beam of light. Studies by biologists have shown that reproducing temperatures and colours that mimic the circadian rhythm as closely as possible is the way forward. Accordingly, and for the first time at Euroluce, biologically efficient products and solutions are being showcased that replicate the solar cycle, altering colour, temperature and intensity to provide healthier lighting.
Good looks, however, are the real star of this edition. Having overcome the limitations of a univocal style threatening to impose itself as a ‘trend’, lighting design is now embracing different suggestions and stimuli and coining new and multiple aesthetic and decorative concepts in a bid to side-swerve the obvious and the banal. The seductive lure of minimalism, with its simple shapes and soft colours, seen in many of the products, is counterbalanced by luminous objects with strong personalities and by the return to a more figurative and markedly decorative style; natural materials and artisan-inspired techniques will alternate with hyper-technical assemblages; petite proportions and portability will vie for space with the grandeur of objects guaranteed to make a theatrical and dramatic impact.
Workplace3.0 2019.
The new workspace: shared, fluid and public
Workplace3.0 will be back with a new, wide-ranging and crosscutting exhibition format from 9th to 14th April. It will illustrate the evolution of the concept of the workspace, right now, ever better, a hybrid space where duty and pleasure, professional and personal go hand in hand.
The 2019 edition of Workplace3.0 will debut with a new exhibition format. The 52 exhibiting companies will make their liquid and hybrid presence felt throughout the fairgrounds, another way of underscoring their mission to promote experimentation in design. This new exhibition format is a genuine reflection of the social transformation of the workspace into a flexible, permeable and dynamic area, ripe for professional interaction and engagement with other day-to-day activities.
Workplace3.0 will act as a think tank for exploring and understanding future and necessary changes to collective spaces, a catalyst for developing ideas responding to new market demands. The exhibition will showcase the top design solutions for supply, reception and working areas.
Along with business opportunities, Workplace3.0 will provide a 360° overview of the design of new working environments: stimulating, varied and creative areas that put the amalgamation of office, home interiors and public space into practice. Rigid and hierarchically organised spaces will give way to a more dynamic approach, with real time smart, transformable and adaptable furnishings to suit every need: objects that are versatile, hard wearing and functional enough for work but are equally good looking enough to be used as domestic or decorative solutions. Tactile, textured materials, fabrics, finishes and colours that make workspaces feel less cold and more comfortable, like one’s own living space. That’s not all. The office is destined to filter into public spaces, from airport lounges to hotels and restaurants, especially with the professional affirmation of the millennials and generation Z. The design response is to adopt a more ‘playful’ and ‘social’ approach.
Within this macro-context, Workplace3.0 can be summarised in the following keywords:
Liquid Space. The office as a deconstructed space without fixed workstations, where the flexibility of movable partitions and the furnishings themselves ensure that it can be adapted easily and quickly as required. This can be achieved with products such as individual and modular upholstereds used to create islands, linear or curved compositions or modules that can also function as work surfaces or occasional chairs, room dividers or for filing and storage purposes. Traditional desks seem to have become almost obsolete, giving way to large sofas, which make up the focal point of the new working order, especially in public spaces.
Privacy. In today’s flexible and open work environments, companies and designers must not lose sight of the need for privacy and concentration. Sound proofing and dedicated focus work areas will be guaranteed by phone booths and discrete spaces, or in the form of seating for one or more person, designed like office capsules and equipped with accessories such as electric plugs, USB ports and work surfaces.
Smart Office. Increasingly cutting edge technology is integrated into furnishing elements and the structural components of the space, allowing for rapid connection and constant exchange of information. However, it will no longer be on show, becoming soft tech.
Worker-centred design. A great deal of attention these days is paid to the correct balance of natural and artificial light in working environments, to the choice of healthy furnishing materials, proper ventilation and noise insulation to prevent stressful situations. Areas devoted to relaxation are becoming ever more popular, in the form of pods or rest areas with couches, and spaces fitted with sporting and recreational equipment, where people can recharge their batteries, boosting concentration and encouraging inspiration.
S.Project 2019.
A multifunctional space in which multisectoral focus synergy and quality are key
The Salone del Mobile.Milano presents S.Project, the exhibition devoted to design products and to decorative and technical interior design solutions. From Tuesday 9th to Sunday 14th April at the Rho fairgrounds.
The way in which the interior space is thought and organized is in constant evolution. That also goes for the way in which it is narrated. S.Project will be making its debut as part of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, in a new crosscutting exhibition format dedicated to design products and to decorative and technical interior design solutions. In complete synergy with all the other events, S.Project will collect and promote solutions from companies with a view to delivering a 360-degree overview of interior architecture and responding to the latest market demands.
66 participants will be ranged over 14,000 square meters in Pavilions 22-24.
The leading companies from within the sector involved are as follows: Abet Laminati, Alki, Amini, Anour, Antolini, Antonio Lupi, Atelier Vierkant, B&B Italia, Boffi Living, Budri, Carl Hansen, cc-tapis, Citco, Cleaf, De Castelli, De Padova, Dedar, Editions, Effegibi, Emeco, Ercol, Ercuis, Expormim, Exteta, Extremis, Florim Ceramiche, Flos, Fredericia, Fritz Hansen, Gibus, Gloster, House of Finn Juhl, Imperfetto Lab, Inkiostro Bianco, Jannelli e Volpi, José Martinez Medina, Karakter, Kristiina lassus, Kvadrat, Laminam, Londonart, Louis Poulsen, MA/U, Maruni, Massimo Copenhagen, Missoni, Muuto, Nero Sicilia, Nikari, Olivari, Pratic, Radici Pietro, Raynaud, Rex – Kralj, Rosenthal, Roversi, Rubelli, Sambonet, String, Sunbrella, Tabu, Tecnografica, Wall&Deco, Zanat.
Multisectoral focus is a distinctive feature of S.Project. It is a space showcasing a vast array of goods ranging from interior and outdoor furnishing, to wellness products, fabrics, lighting, acoustic solutions, coverings and finishes.
It is not just an event; it is also an opportunity for reflection on the new perspectives that enable companies to work increasingly ‘synergically’ together. S.Project will act as a new business-to-business platform that underpins the alliance between retail, designers and companies, providing an inclusive experience and the ultimate networking environment. It is the ideal place for showcasing manufacturing quality and excellence and new design concepts and innovative solutions for designing spaces.
SaloneSatellite 2019
FOOD as a DESIGN OBJECT
This is the 22nd edition of the leading design event for talented young designers. An edition that also invites reflection on the future of food from a responsible perspective, exploring ways in which design technology can be combined with ancient artisan practices.
Creative young people with a real thirst for making their mark and communicating through their own very personal design make up the generation of talents spawned by SaloneSatellite over the last twenty-one years – a real breath of fresh air that has successfully revitalised the looks and remits of furnishing products. Many of these young people already vaunt numerous collaborations with leading design companies keen to take them on and to look towards the future together. On the eve on the new edition, which runs concurrently with the Salone del Mobile.Milano from 9th to 14th April, SaloneSatellite is reprising its role as a talent scout and a catalyst for discussion, reflection and exploration around the future of design.
Around 550 exhibitors will be ranged over 3,000 square metres in Pavilions 22-24 at Rho Fiera Milano, with free public entry from Cargo 5.
This year’s event also aims to focus on the relationship between design and food and, with the slogan FOOD as a DESIGN OBJECT, is joining the chorus of voices calling for what is now a much needed global food revolution in which design, technology and traditional manual skills can come together to tackle the challenges of the future – from climate change, which affects the food system at every level, to the lack of resources and the crucial diversification in food production and consumption. In this day and age, we are having to rethink food production methods, packaging, distribution, consumption and disposal. Our hope is that the young SaloneSatellite protagonists, who hail from every corner of the globe, will see the slogan as a trigger for responses and solutions in the form of cutting-edge visions, ideas, designs and original contributions. Geared to creating a hypothetical way forward based on experimentation and memory – not just new forms of cutlery, crockery or kitchen spaces and original ways of eating, but also new production tools.
Michetta bread will have a concrete presence, both as a symbol of the theme and as a homage to the city of Milan, whence it originates. Made from 5 grains from all 5 continents, it will embody the hope of a future comprised of renewed prosperity, health and integration at table. SaloneSatellite’s initiative is being held in partnership with Pane Quotidiano, the non-profit association set up in the Lombard capital in 1898 to provide food for those most in need on a daily basis. This special michetta will be handed out at the organisation’s various offices on 10th and 12th April.
As always, a prestigious Selection Committee, made up of internationally renowned figures from the world of design, planning and communication, headed by Marva Griffin Wilshire, Founder and Curator of SaloneSatellite, has cast an eye over the submissions from a great many new designers. The committee includes the designers Stephen Burks, Francesco Faccin and Francesca Lanzavecchia; Emiliana Martinelli (President, Martinelli Luce), Gianluca Mosconi (President and CEO, Tecno and Zanotta), Monica Pedrali (Commercial and Marketing Director, Pedrali); the journalists Loredana Mascheroni (Domus), Veronica Orsi (IDFM) and Norman Kietzmann (designjournalist.com); gallerist and talent scout Jean Blanchaert; the architect Ricardo Bello Dias; design teacher and critic Beppe Finessi and Patrizia Malfatti, Head of Communication and Press Office, Salone del Mobile.Milano. The selection process is always highly competitive in order to preserve the extraordinarily high reputation of SaloneSatellite, which ‘honours’ promising young designers destined for the market and the design star system. The 2019 process has been particularly rigorous and demanding and the Selection Committee has seen fit to reject many of the candidates, encouraging them to put themselves forward again in the future with more carefully honed proposals.
The selected new rising stars will join ranks with designers who have already taken part in previous editions (up to a maximum of 3), the winners of the 2018 editions of SaloneSatellite Moscow and SaloneSatellite Shanghai, and specialist sectoral Italian and foreign schools and universities.
The now traditional SaloneSatellite Award – now into its 10th edition – marks a further step in facilitating interface between supply and demand, between entrepreneurs and designers, between creativity and manufacturing. The competitors have also been informed of this year’s theme, while being absolutely free to adhere to it or not when working up their prototype entries. The Award is assigned by an international jury of figures from the design world – chaired from the very first edition onwards by Paola Antonelli (Senior Curator of the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA and curator of the XXII Triennale di Milano) – which will select the top 3 contenders.
Salone del Mobile.Milano 2019. All the figures for the 58th edition right here
The 2019 edition promises to be crammed with people and projects, with over 205,000 m2 of net exhibition space and more than 2,350 exhibitors – including the 550 SaloneSatellite designers – and a 34% quota of foreign companies (excluding SaloneSatellite).
Preparations are in full swing for the upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, the furniture sector’s outstanding showcase for quality, innovation and creativity and an unmissable appointment for both professionals and interested parties, attracted by the wide range of goods and the packed programme of appointments and projects.
Five trade fair events, plus a completely new exhibition format, will be held contemporaneously at the Rho Fiera Milano fairgrounds, from Tuesday 9th to Sunday 14th April, open to trade visitors every day from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm, and also to the public on the Saturday and Sunday.
The Salone Internazionale del Mobile and the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition – split into the following style categories: Classic, Design and xLux – the latter is bigger than ever and will also be shown for the first time in Pavilion 4 – will be joined by the biennial Euroluce and Workplace3.0 exhibitions, and SaloneSatellite. Making its debut is S.Project, a crosscutting space dedicated to design products and decorative and technical interior design solutions.
THE FIGURES
Salone del Mobile.Milano
Over 205,000 m2 of net exhibition space and more than 2,350 exhibitors – including around 550 SaloneSatellite designers – with 34% companies from other countries (excluding SaloneSatellite).
Salone Internazionale del Mobile, International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition and Workplace3.0. more than 1,300 exhibitors over 149,500 m2 split into 3 style categories:
– Design – 843 exhibitors – Pavilions 5-6-7-8-10-12-14-16-18-20
– xLux – 349 exhibitors – Pavilions 1-3-4
– Classico – 140 exhibitors – Pavilion 2
Euroluce
421 exhibitors, 48% from abroad, over more than 38,100 m2 – Pavilions 9-11 and 13-15
S.Project
66 exhibitors, 32% from abroad, over roughly 14,000 m2 – Pavilions 22-24
SaloneSatellite
550 designers and undergraduates from international design schools, over 3,000 m2 – Pavilions 13-15
The Salone del Mobile.Milano is online with its website www.salonemilano.it and social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube and Flickr), with full information, news and clips relating to the 2019 trade fair.
The official hashtags for the 58th edition are: #SaloneDelMobile #Milano #SaloneDelMobile2019 #iSaloni #Euroluce
The Salone del Mobile.Milano 2019 app (for iOS Apple and Android devices) will be available for download, making visits to the fair as enjoyable and seamless as possible.
The Salone del Mobile.Milano Events: a homage to the genius and design skills of Leonardo da Vinci.
Ahead of the city celebrations to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the Salone del Mobile.Milano is presenting two great installations. The installation in the city will celebrate the originality and visionary depth of the artist’s scientific studies, and the one at the fairgrounds the experience of Italian design and craftsmanship, from the time of the great Master to the present day.
The Salone del Mobile.Milano is renewing its powerful links with the city of Milan at its 58th edition with a homage to its most brilliant and eclectic ‘adopted son’ in the form of two outstanding and hugely evocative installations – on in the city and one at the fairgrounds, guaranteed to provide a memorable cultural and emotional visitor experience.
Milan is the only city to have had the privilege of hosting Leonardo for such a lengthy and fertile period. It was a connection that lasted for around twenty years, during which time he gave the absolute best of his creative genius to Duke Ludovico Sforza. Of the artist’s many projects, his studies of water reveal just how greatly his eclectic and brilliant mind was gripped by this element, which he explored as an artist, an architect, a scientist and an engineer.
It is precisely because of this that the Salone del Mobile.Milano has chosen the Conca dell’Incoronata canal lock – where Leonardo is likely to have overseen the building work as well as designing the lock gates – and water as the protagonists of the traditional city event, which runs from 5th to 14th April. AQUA. Leonardo’s Vision is a site-specific immersive experience conceived by Marco Balich and developed in partnership with Balich Worldwide Shows, which narrates a tiny fragment of the Renaissance and the future of Milan, part reason and part enchantment.
The Conca will be covered over with an architectural insert in the form of a great expanse of water, on the edge of which a huge LED screen will become a window onto a future Milan, showing a skyline that changes according to the time of day. Beneath this structure, inside the canal itself, a wunderkammer will be created, where visitors can experience all the beauty, energy and shape of water, enfolded in image and sound thanks to the use of cutting- edge technology, in a totally self-contained environment.
An information foyer by the Ponte delle Gabelle will provide a space where waiting visitors can discover more about the connection between this historic site and Leonard’s multifaceted genius.
5th – 14th AprilConca dell’Incoronata, Via San Marco10.00 am – 10.00 pm
The Salone del Mobile.Milano’s installation in Pavilion 24 at the fairgrounds, from 9th to 14th April, celebrates his work and especially his legacy to the art of design and craftsmanship, a theme that is more fundamental to the world of design than ever before. DE-SIGNO. The art of Italian design before and after Leonardo is an atmospheric narration of Leonardo da Vinci’s genius and his links to contemporary Italian design.
When Leonardo lived in Milan, it was an extremely dynamic city – the arts and crafts workshops were hotbeds of creativity and craftsmanship, while disciplines such as engineering and architecture were extraordinarily advanced. The art of design thus constitutes the real link between the genius of Leonardo and the world of Italian designers.
DE-SIGNO will be an immersive installation that will marry the languages of film and theatrical scenography in an inclusive and exciting way. It will house a show of images and music illustrating Leonardo’s approach to design and the industriousness of the Renaissance workshops and laboratories as related to the savoir-fair and design of contemporary design companies: all under the banner of the Italian art of beauty.
Conceived by Davide Rampello and designed by the architect Alessandro Colombo, the installation will occupy a 400 square metre space. It will be characterised by a monumental set, dominated by two portals 6 metres high and 3 wide, made entirely by hand in wood by master sculptors and painters and inspired by original drawings and original studies by Bramante, the most prestigious architect in Milan during Leonardo’s time. 4 cinema-sized screens will project a show of music and light that will envelop the visitor.
9th – 14th April Pavilion 24Fiera Milano, Rho9.30 am – 6.30 pm
Salone del Mobile.Milano 2019: partnerships and facilities
This edition sees the Salone del Mobile.Milano more attuned to visitor needs than ever, ensuring that visits to the trade fair are not merely interesting but also easy, user-friendly and enjoyable experiences. As well as our established partnerships, the special agreements for booking accommodation, getting around the city and air and train travel are again in place for this year.
The 58th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano sees the consolidation of the partnerships forged over the years, starting with the Audemars Piguet Maison de Haute Orlogerie, still run by the founding family, which has been making timepieces combining tradition and innovation since 1875. Audemars Piguet will again be acting as Official Timekeeper at this edition of the Salone, welcoming visitors by the main entrances to the fair, and showcasing an exclusive selection of pieces from its new CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet collection. Classic by nature and unconventional by design, these models encapsulate the DNA of a manufacturer that has always defied convention and paved the way for evolution in watch design. This partnership with the Salone del Mobile.Milano sees two global high players come together to promote and support extraordinarily high quality, ideas and projects informed by creativity and savoir-faire.
Again in the food & drink sector, premium coffee brand leader illy will be back again this year. The company is known for disseminating the coffee culture around the world, producing and marketing its unique 100% Arabica espresso blend in the high-end segment of the coffee market. Illy coffee will be served to guests in dedicated spaces at the fairgrounds.
Our partnership with Ca’ del Bosco, the internationally renowned prestigious Italian wine producer, is now into its sixth consecutive year. An official sponsor of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, Ca’ del Bosco will have its own space on Corso Italia in the fairgrounds, open to all visitors. A vertical garden, reminiscent of the green Franciacorta vineyards, will encourage fans to sample the famous Franciacorta wines.
The 2019 edition will take off thanks to Alitalia, back again this year as official carrier and Salone del Mobile.Milano partner. Italy’s national airline is offering special fares to all visitors to Milan, which can be booked through a dedicated landing page, and will welcome all passengers arriving at Milan’s Linate and Malpensa airports on their way to the Salone del Mobile with dedicated services.
Enjoying and improving the Salone del Mobile.Milano is without doubt one of the major focuses of the 2019 edition, which is why our partnerships with leading hotel and hospitality service booking agents have been renewed. Individual visitors can also avail themselves of the Booking.com platform, accessible through the Salone del Mobile.Milano website, and make the most of special offers, thanks to our collaboration with one of the leading online hotel booking providers.
Exhibitors and professional groups will be able to book their accommodation online along with any ancillary services (such as transfers, event location, entertainment, activities and much more besides) thanks to our partnership with HelmsBriscoe and Mutika DMC & Events, taking their stay in Milan to a whole new level.
On the mobility front, the BMW group’s car sharing arm DriveNow, active in 12 European cities, will again be a Salone del Mobile.Milano partner for 2019. 500 BMWs and MINIs will be available throughout Milan as part of a pan-European fleet of vehicles. Italian and internationals visitors in possession of valid entry documents will be able to access the dedicated car park at the Rho fairgrounds from Cargo1 and travel to and from Linate and Malpensa airports and within the city of Milan easily and quickly.
With regard to rail travel, the special HS Italo and Freccia and EuroCity Trenitalia train stops have been improved and put into use at the Rho Fiera fairgrounds.
The trade deal with the Municipality of Milan and the city transport system ATM has been renewed, enabling visitors to the Salone del Mobile.Milano to buy discounted combined urban transport and fairground entry tickets.
Underscoring the international mission of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, the Welcome Project is being run for the sixth consecutive year. The project is the result of a partnership with the Municipality of Milan, Cristina Tajani, Councillor for Employment, Economic Development, University and Research Policies, the Fiera Milano Foundation and the city’s leading design schools – Domus Academy, the IED Institute of European Design, the Marangoni Institute, Milan’s NABA Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti and the Polytechnic University of Milan/Design School. The Salone del Mobile.Milano is also setting up a number of information points in partnership with Fiera Milano, the Milan airports authority SEA and ATM at focal points around the city (Malpensa and Linate airports, the Central Station and the main underground stations), manned by 100 students primed to provide information to the public on getting around the city, on the fair itself and also on the raft of events taking place in Milan, organised by the Department.
CA’ DEL BOSCO RENEWS THE EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH SALONE DEL MOBILE.MILANO
In 2019, for the sixth consecutive year, the collaboration between Franciacorta excellence and the world of design has been confirmed
Milan, 9-14 April, 2019 – Ca’ del Bosco is again the official partner of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, which will take place from 9 to 14 April 2019 at Milan Fairgrounds, Rho.
The collaboration is now at its sixth year. This renewed spirit of mutual esteem is another opportunity to represent Italian wine excellence in the vibrantly creative international context of design, where passion, style, imagination, brilliance and innovation inspire craft skills and tradition, values that have always been synonymous with Ca’ del Bosco.
Ca’ del Bosco will be present with a 190-square meter stand in Corso Italia at Milan Fairgrounds, Rho. The space reflects the inimitable Ca’ del Bosco style and echoes the winery’s architecture. Its undulating roof is reminiscent of the gently rolling Franciacorta hills where the vines grow. Blue wolves – Blue Guardians by the cracking Art group, previously displayed on the winery roof at Erbusco – watch over the stand and its guests at the Fair. A vertical garden recalls the verdant vineyards. The Franciacorta experience is rounded off by an opportunity to taste Ca’ del Bosco’s Franciacorta wines paired with the highest quality finger food.
Ca’ del Bosco is the leading producer of fine-bubbled Franciacortas. A position achieved thanks to the enthusiasm, the passion, the effort and the work that since the Seventies allowed to transform a house in a wood into a vanguard winery.
One overriding principle underpins all procedures at Ca’ del Bosco, from bunch selection to bottling. That principle is quality, or rather just one level of quality. Excellence.
The Manifesto
The Salone del Mobile, which has its roots in Milan, endeavours to condense and underscore its strong points and its connections with the city, in a bid to carry forward the process of internationalisation that both have embraced, and to flag up design concepts to the design community for imminent use.
Launched in 2018, the Manifesto of the Salone del Mobile.Milano is an affectionate tribute to the city, a declaration of intent geared to channelling the powers that be in Milan to work together to preserve the leadership role of both the trade fair and of the city, and attract ideas, projects and new resources. In 2019 it was amplified with a new word, “ingenuity.”
Why the Salone del Mobile is not just a trade fair.
The Salone del Mobile is a system of connections, creativity and innovation. Within the space of a week, more than three hundred thousand people converge on Milan: entrepreneurs, journalists, collectors, intellectuals, critics, designers, architects, creatives, purveyors of knowledge and nurturers of beauty.
They meet up again each year during Salone week in a place where they know they will be greeted with a great raft of opportunities.
The Salone is an emotion first and foremost, transmitting positivity, enthusiasm, initiative and cheerfulness. Companies that work and design are proud to invest in an event on which the eyes of the world will be trained; architects and designers channel their creativity in order to express it at the Salone. Emotion lies in putting together a project that will, in turn, transmit emotion and empathy; the event’s organisers work closely with the companies for a year, in order to provide them with the best possible platform.
This is why the Salone is so much more than just a trade fair. It is a global experience that attracts professionals who are directly involved with the sector as well as people from outside the design business.
Everybody wants to attend the Salone, to come into contact with creative people, innovative people, people who produce and people who buy. Companies, creatives, trend-seekers, all want to be in Milan, protagonists of the Salone del Mobile.
This sets in train a virtuous design – product – quality – innovation – city – value chain – that reflects the uniqueness of the Milan Salone.
This virtuous process is made up of a number of essential parts, each of which is an important piece of the jigsaw that sets out the intentions of the new Manifesto.
ENTERPRISE
More than 2000 companies take part in the Salone del Mobile (30% of them from abroad), showcasing furnishing products that range from classic to design. Behind the images of theatrical-looking stands and displays perfect right down to the last detail, lies the work of the factories, the local production network (companies from Brianza) and the more distant network represented by the Veneto, the Marches, Tuscany and Apulia, as well as top quality goods from Germany, France, Belgium, America and more besides.
It is this industrial network, this manufacturing system, made up of small, very small artisan enterprises alongside the big manufacturers, that creates a solid basis for a successful fair, featuring foreign exhibitors amongst the top producers, enabling it to present the very best of a sector and its creative and productive fabric to the rest of the world.
The success of the Salone del Mobile.Milano is due entirely to the production system that underpins it, allowing it to showcase innovative products and processes every twelve months. The affirmation of the Salone exhibitors and therefore of the Salone itself rests on this capacity for ongoing innovation. Innovation with regard to lines, to shapes, to market approach and sales, innovation in communication, even questioning some of the brand’s anchor points without denying its history. This is a duty that the Salone companies are bound to fulfil to an even greater extent than in the past, because competition has got sharper, time scales shorter and the market super-demanding. Only with continual innovation and high quality can the global challenge be won.
The Salone also has a duty to innovate itself, without compromising its very nature. It has to know how to challenge methods and criteria in a bid to raise standards and remain ahead of the game, with regard to both exhibition model and client service. The phrase we’ve always done it like this has ceased to exist, replaced by a commitment to strive to do even better and achieve more than we already are.
QUALITY
Quality these days means sustainable quality, which involves keeping a close eye on all the parts of the production process – from design to industrial development, financial planning and the marketing and communication process, right up to after-sales service. Sustainable quality does not consist of the green outcome in itself, i.e. the cardboard chair or bamboo mug. Sustainable design is a new way of doing business that takes the end life of products into account, products that, by their very nature, are eternal because they are iconic objects still need to be potentially recycled.
It is the sort of design that increasingly encompasses the principles of the circular economy and greater environmental awareness, that considers an object well beyond its function alone, fostering and encouraging practices of sharing and reuse. Creating design these days means thinking about the future, its sustainability, not just in terms of the use of the materials but also of the productive processes, upholding certified and universally acknowledged quality standards first of all, but also thinking about design that will endure over time.
The next Triennale International Exhibition will focus on sustainability and the intrinsic quality of design, but right now the Salone is exploring the relationship between nature and living, with an exhibition/installation in the heart of the city that will trigger reflection on tomorrow’s living and on how to relate the design of an interior space to the nature of the external space.
DESIGN
The designers and architects, the main actors, along with the companies and the success of the home furnishing system, owe their fame partly to the Salone and partly also to the industrial city of Milan. It has welcomed them and believed in their creative abilities, nurtured so many great Italian architects and designers, not just from the city itself, who have gone on to leave their mark, their prestigious signature all over the globe.
Great masters whose projects were launched at the Salone del Mobile, who have netted Golden Compass awards for designs for everyday objects, are now putting their stamp on multi-award-winning architecture in Dubai, New York, Beijing, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Chicago and many other international cities.
Designers and architects come to Milan from all over the world, and the Salone is a more or less obligatory staging post, for getting to know themselves and others, for doing research and for garnering well-deserved recognition for their work or for laying the ground for future projects.
Today’s invitation from the Salone to Milan is addressed to its masters, to the architects and the designers who have contributed to the success of the event, to the growth of the brands and the evolution of the city. It is now time for the Salone and Milan to look to the future and engage together again in a team game in which everyone has their own part to play, the accent must not merely be on physical architecture for the city, not just on new furnishings to showcase at the Salone, but also on new models of creating design and architecture, a new way of thinking and planning. Design that goes beyond the things themselves, that looks at the people, the needs of a changing world searching for new signals, as well as at beauty and emotion in the little everyday things. Let us continue to help Milan grow with fine new futuristic architecture as well as with conversions of old buildings, let us think in terms of a joint effort to create the model of a city that is increasingly beautiful and welcoming, not just during the Salone del Mobile.
NETWORKING
Networking means cultural inclusion, first and foremost. Visitors from more than 160 countries make their way to the Salone. It also means spatial inclusion (the Salone spreading through the city, in the centre and in the suburbs), the inclusion of experiences and new forms of welcome.
Share is undoubtedly one of the most used and abused words at this moment in time, but for the Salone sharing begins with its dialogue with the city. Milan does not exist without the Salone and there can be no Salone del Mobile without Milan. Design week provides the great multinationals from a variety of sectors – from informatics and technology to the food industry – with an exhibition space, all these businesses come to Milan at this particular time precisely because of the spirit of sharing that characterises it. During this particular week a communication, industry and creativity networking system enables unique connections to be made in one space and at one time.
The multinationals come to Milan to showcase their products during the Salone del Mobile because it is here and only here that they meet their target audience, the interlocutors that they would otherwise fail to intercept.
Sharing ideas, needs, experiences, sharing real contacts, networking in order to grow together, means building a virtuous process in which the respective skills, characteristics and abilities serve to empower each other, to increase the positive outcomes for the event and for the city. Then, after the Salone, synergies can be forged that create the very reasons why these leading global economic system brands establish themselves in Milan, bringing projects and resources. This is the common goal: optimising the centripetal force of the Salone, to shore up and retain the investments that would otherwise be allocated elsewhere.
Sharing the city’s many spaces to help the Salone steadily become the City’s Salone, and sharing converging thoughts in a bid to elevate the overarching quality.
YOUNG PEOPLE
The Salone del Mobile has been nurturing promising young designers for more than twenty years at SaloneSatellite. The event is a springboard for talented young people from across the globe, along with their own creations, prototypes of objects that could prove to be their passport into the world of design. Many of them have been successful, finding the right companies to manufacture their creative designs; equally, these young creatives’ ideas often provide the lifeblood companies need for reworking the design of their own products. It is at the Salone del Mobile that demand and supply meet, with a view to commercial, creative and cultural interchange.
These young people come from all over Italy and all over the world because Milan is a learning platform for creating knowledge that is then exported.
When they return to their countries of origin or are scattered about the world, they take with them the cultural bases, the methods and the styles they have learned in Milan.
Milan is a way of being, hard working, concrete, sincere and dynamic.
COMMUNICATION
Milan is the city of publishing; the leading national newspapers have traditionally been located in Milan or decentralised offices, and design and fashion publishing takes place in Milan; furthermore, the Salone attracts more than 5,000 journalists from all over the world. Agencies, creatives and graphic designers create the integrated communication system and make up the great community that is mobilised for a week and amplifies the history of the Salone. A community that has expanded over the last few years, thanks to the digital world, to which the Salone looks with great interest and an eye for new projects. The aim is to harness these new tools to create opportunities for development and ways in which to improve its own dissemination of information, breaking down barriers and frontiers.
CULTURE
The Salone del Mobile provides an extraordinary opportunity to spread the culture of design, amongst other things. History melds with the contemporary, the cultural and artistic heritage inspires the creativity of the future. It is a chance for different forms of expression and different languages to meet and cross-pollinate, triggering extremely high- level events and happenings. It also provides an opportunity to experience and valorise the city of Milan’s immense cultural heritage to the full – the La Scala theatre, the network of City Museums, Palazzo Reale, the Pinacoteca di Brera, the company museums and Milan’s Historic House museums, and, especially, the Triennale. Together they make up a treasure trove to be discovered and rediscovered, through their cross- pollination with creative expressions of design.
The time has come to make the Triennale into a dedicated space for design and architecture, a museum space that tells the story of so many other stories, of people, objects, businesses, happenings. A Museum that does not exist, but one that Milan thoroughly deserves.
MILAN AT THE CENTRE
Milan is the city with which other cities compare themselves most frequently and on which they model themselves. It is an international city. Milan is now made up of several different dimensions and its openness to the world and dynamism is projected in so many different ways.
Milan is the moral capital of a beautiful and culture-rich country – Italy – and has allowed its cosmopolitan character to emerge over the last few years, going beyond the industriousness that its inhabitants have always acknowledged.
Milan has become the “great Milan”. Despite its small geographic footprint, like other great metropolises around the world, it has managed to centralise a number of excellent enterprises that now form the beating heart of the city itself.
It is the 4.0 version of “Milano da bere” [Milan, good enough to drink], the “place to be” as the City Council claim goes, but it really is the place in which things take shape and are communicated.
The new toponymy of the city has altered people’s perspectives and flows, there is no longer one single nerve centre, rather more spaces, history and the new.
The Salone del Mobile’s exhibition space is of particular importance in the relationship between the event and the city. The fairgrounds, designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, aroused a great deal of scepticism ten years ago, with critics deriding the decision to move the exhibition pavilions out to Rho. The Salone del Mobile has proved them wrong. Connected to the heart of the city by an efficient and practical underground system, with the High Speed train that gets to Turin in 50 minutes, Bologna in 60 minutes and Florence in 100 minutes, the Salone is the centre of the city of design.
For one week the geography of the city is redesigned and re-equilibrated, using areas normally vacant or seldom frequented as showcases and laboratories for experimentation and creativity all at once: this is the “Widespread Salone”, the evolution of the Fuorisalone concept.
Milan’s trump card during design week is without doubt the Salone del Mobile itself, drawing in the general public and business. With the spontaneity and generosity of an inclusive city like Milan, this concentration of opinion leaders became the Fuorisalone, all the things that take place outside the boundaries of the fairgrounds.
Going beyond the concept of the Fuorisalone, the Salone transforms the city into a fluid space, open to a great many experiences and a great many opportunities for meeting and sharing.
The centrality of the Salone in terms of the geography of Milan should serve as a virtuous example and a possible model for the rehabilitation of the former Expo site, to enable that space to also become a central and attractive part of the city.
INGENUITY
Historically, the course of the Salone del Mobile has been marked by ingenuity, largely manifest as the concept of intelligence that fuels creativity, a sense of talent, an inventive ability to create and think. All gifts characteristic of and deeply inherent in the companies represented at the Salone for generations, constantly developed by the designers working with the companies and which the roots on which the tradition of the manufacturing system has been built continue to pass down and nurture.
Ingenuity is a valuable asset, which grows and develops in situations capable of picking up its signals, and manifests itself in the ability to intuit new and different pathways. The space where ingenuity grows and develops is now the economy of knowledge, through which creative thought takes shape and substantiates the idea, be it an object, a product or a concept. Ingenuity today is an invitation to look forward, not to rest on one’s laurels, to realise that everything can always be reinvented and rediscovered with new eyes that look to the future. “Ingenuity” is also a homage to the multifaceted genius of Leonardo da Vinci, the 500th anniversary of whose death Milan is celebrating, to his ability to dialogue with the great patrons of the times and to hand down the finest legacy of his works and the visible signs of twenty years spent in Milan creating works of genius.
