Exhibitions The top stands at the Salone del Mobile 2023 Text by Marianna Guernieri Add to bookmarks Preciosa at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2023, ph. Diego Ravier Simple and modular materials to reduce waste, enveloping sets, mirrored and inflatable labyrinthsthat could be folded up and taken away by car at the end of the fair. Here are the best stands seen at the Salone del Mobile 2023 Il Salone ha dato dei segnali chiari sulla necessità di rendere più sostenibile la fiera. Quest’anno niente moquette lungo i camminamenti tra gli stand e più allestimenti disassemblabili e riutilizzabili: un messaggio recepito da molte aziende. But what type of pavilions did we see at the fair? Trends, styles and colors of the pavilions The predominant trend this year was luxuriant, tropical green, as seen in Nardi and San Giacomo’s modernist spaces with their Mediterranean-imbued, tactile and natural, finishes as well as in the Arflex space designed by Bernhardt&Vella and Baxter, and pure, monolithic volumes, such as Ferruccio Laviani’s for Oluce and Francesco Librizzi’s for FontanaArte. Pink clung on in all its different shades, as seen on Lucy Kurrein’s stand for Molinari, Alessandro La Spada’s stand for Re Clan Milano, and the Arrmet stand, followed by earthy browns and sandy beiges, as in Evolution 21 designed by Belgium’s Franken. On the subject of earth and sand, many of the stands used them as flooring, symbolically drawing visitors closer to nature, on the Poliform and Firmamento Milano stands, for instance. Then there were those keen to drench their visitors in vivid washes of colour, like Fabio Novembre on Driade’s stand, and then again, of course, great monochrome curtains, such as those chosen by Gino Carollo for Nature Design. This year as never before, plasterboard walls gave way to more neutral components, such as MDF panels and wooden laths, devoid of glue and disassemblable, as seen on Caccaro’s No Wall House stand. Nardi at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2023, ph. courtesy The selection of the best stands of the Salone del Mobile 2023 Many of the stands were designed by leading architectural and design firms, from AMDL Circle for Ethimo to Patricia Urquiola for Kettal. Here is our selection: Preciosa One of the most spectacular installations seen at the Salone, Crystal Beat, designed by the art directors at Preciosa, Michael Vasku and Andreas Klug, was made up of a grid of linear lights composed of Crystal Grid elements that lit up to the rhythm of electronic music. Knoll Designed by the Belgian practice OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen, the Knoll stand played on visitors’ perceptions and their sense of disorientation as they walked in to find a winter garden alternating with metallic, mirrored walls. Oluce at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2023, ph. Diego Ravier Roche Bobois The artist Joana Vasconcelos wasn’t simply commissioned to design the Bon Bon collection, she also devised the set for the Roche Bobois stand at the Salone. Fluid waves, psychedelic colours and fluorescent furnishing characterised a space that stood out strikingly from the others. Midgard The German brand Midgard responded to the Salone’s call for more sustainable stands with a space that, although small, was made entirely of cardboard so as to be disassembled, recycled and transported waste-free and to put the spotlight squarely on the lamps, its flagship product. TM Leader Contract The stand of the Spanish company TM Leader Contract, designed by María Ortega, was extremely simply arranged whilst also being effective. A large green parallelepiped highlighted the vivid colours of the chairs and the large monochrome niches in complementary colours. Knoll at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2023, ph. Andrea Mariani Innova Keen to avoid waste products at the end of the fair at all costs, the young designer Eleonora Barillari of Innova came up with the idea of using an inflatable as a frame for the stand walls. Specialising in furnishing fabric, it was easy for the company to create inflatable walls, held together by a system of zips, making them easily disassemblable and transportable, and taking up very little space. Midj The stand designed by Studio Vassalli for Midj was reminiscent of two large jellyfish, each covered with triple semi-transparent pyramidal drapes, fading from blue to white. The material was conceived to be recycled and reused as padding for the furnishings produced by the company. Infiniti Designed by Studio Boeri Architetti in 2019, the Infiniti stand was demarcated by poles made of fir from the forest of Vaia, where some 14 million trees were brought down during the storm of the same name. Infiniti decided to reuse it several times, with requisite alterations, to keep waste down.
Exhibitions Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024: outdoor furnishings combine research, experimentation and innovation C. S. Bontempi Sciama
