All the news and events of the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024
The 62nd edition of the most eagerly awaited event of the year at Rho Fiera opens with a rich program of exhibitions, talks and almost 2,000 exhibitors
The aim of the 62nd edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano is to produce lasting value for exhibitors, create quality experiences and generate synaesthesia and cultural short-circuits. Today, the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the world’s most important furniture trade fair was performed by its President Maria Porro together with the President of Federlegno Claudio Feltrin, accompanied by the Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala, the Governor of Lombardy Attilio Fontana, the President of the Fondazione Fiera Milano Enrico Pazzali, the Minister of Made in Italy and Enterprises Adolfo Urso, and the Minister for Tourism Daniela Santanchè.
“Where experience evolves” is the title of the new communication campaign of the Fair, which from 16 to 21 April will host over 1,950 exhibitors from 35 countries in 174,000 square meters of exhibition space at Milan Rho Fiera. This year’s events include the two biennials EuroCucina and the International Bathroom Exhibition, the celebration of the 25th anniversary of SaloneSatellite devised by Marva Griffin with the theme “Connecting Design since 1998”, the major installations “Interiors by David Lynch. A Thinking Room”, “Under the Surface”, the project “All You Have Ever Wanted to Know About Food Design in Six Performances”, the series of conversations “Drafting Futures. Conversations about Next Perspectives” in the Arena Drafting Futures space designed by Formafantasma. Here are all the unmissable innovations at the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024.
EuroCucina 2024 looks to the challenges of the future
The 24th edition of EuroCucina / FTK, Technology For the Kitchen, in Pavilions 2 and 4, reflects on hybridization of contexts, sustainability and artificial intelligence. The kitchen, traditionally a private space, is evolving towards new forms of socializing and new experiences, becoming a relational “hyperworld” interconnecting the various aspects of home living. Boundaries between the kitchen and other parts of the home are becoming more blurred, requiring flexible and harmonious designs with the rest of the living spaces. There is a strong emphasis on environmental and social sustainability, integration with outdoor spaces and the adoption of smart technologies for kitchens. Among the events not to be missed, “All You Have Ever Wanted To Know About Food Design in Six Performances” is a large, fluid and welcoming stage hosting six independent food magazines. With artists, designers and chefs from around the world, they will be presenting an original and innovative vision of the present and future of cuisine with a rich program of food tastings and performances that will follow one another from morning to afternoon all through the Event.
International Bathroom Exhibition 2024, between experimentation and innovation
The 10th edition of the International Bathroom Exhibition, in Pavilions 6 and 10, presents new aesthetic and design languages, focusing on nature, responsibility and innovative materials for well-being. The bathroom has undergone a significant change, evolving from a purely functional space to a regenerative room fostering well-being. This evolution includes built-in furnishings better suited to a coherent home context and expanding the physical boundaries, with bathtubs emerging from the bathroom and furnishings entering it. The novelties on display reflect this change, showing that the bathroom has become a place of self-care for connecting with the deepest self, incorporating water-related rituals. Don’t miss the immersive exhibition “Under the Surface” devised by Accurat, Design Group Italia and Emiliano Ponzi (Salotto.NYC). The striking installation, located in Pavilion 10, represents a symbolic submerged island, reflecting on the challenges related to water resources by highlighting innovations for sustainable water use.
“Drafting Futures: Conversations about Next Perspectives”, curated by Annalisa Rosso, presents encounters divided into two formats: Talks in the morning at 11 a.m. and Round Tables in the afternoon at 4 p.m. They are hosting outstanding figures such as Francis Kéré, John Pawson, Jeanne Gang, among others, to discuss the role of design and architecture in perceiving and imagining the future. The afternoon Round Tables will address topics such as yachting in design, artificial intelligence and hospitality. The event takes place in the Arena Drafting Futures, with regenerated seating by Formafantasma and a Salone del Mobile Library, which brings together books recommended by the speakers. Next door, the Corraini Mobile Bookshop offers a wide selection of international publications on design, art and illustration, including children’s books and limited edition art objets. In the city, Salone del Mobile.Milano is present with Design Kiosk: an outpost offering a rich cultural program, a selection of publications and exclusive designer products.
“Interiors by David Lynch: A Thinking Room” is an installation in Pavilions 5 and 7 devised by David Lynch and curated by Antonio Monda. Here the Master invites visitors to have an immersive experience of silence and reflection before entering the Fair. The site-specific installation consists of two identical, scenographic and symbolic rooms, set up with a large central armchair, evocative images chosen by the filmmaker, a mirror, a clock and a setting swathed in undulating drapery. Lynch guides visitors through these rooms, permeated with blue, gold and silence, to prepare them to face the crowds and buzz of the Fair. “Just thinking about being able to imagine a room for thinking in is a pleasure. A room that helps make it happen. Thought, I mean,” says Lynch. The Thinking Rooms are conceived as profound and evocative places stimulating reflection and contemplation, offering a quiet break before the intense experience of the Fair. The Lombardini22 group designed the architectural masterplan to integrate Lynch’s rooms with the setting of the Fair, creating a comfortable and scenic transitional space to welcome visitors. The project involved the Piccolo Teatro di Milano in the creation of the installation.
With 600 participants in Pavilions 5 and 7, the SaloneSatellite is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the theme “Connecting Design since 1998”. The event serves as a hub and incubator of connections between young professionals and global companies with celebrations that include mentoring with designers from past editions, including Sebastian Herkner, Patrick Jouin, Francesca Lanzavecchia, Daniel Rybakken and Nao Tamura, to name only a few, the SaloneSatellite Award 2024 tol be presented on Wednesday 17 April at 3 p.m. with a new trophy by Daniele Basso, Round Tables on emerging designers and design practices with experts such as Nasir Kassamali and Tony Chambers. Then SaloneSatellite is partnering with FrankBros to promote products online. The twenty-fifth edition is accompanied by the Milanese exhibition “Universo Satellite” at the Triennale Milano, curated by Beppe Finessi and Ricardo Bello Dias tracing the history of the event.
What’s new at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile and the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition
Not only kitchens and bathrooms but also indoor and outdoor furniture. Like every year, the finest firms representing Made in Italy together with international design companies choose the Salone del Mobile.Milano to launch new products and partnerships. This is the case, for instance, of the new partnership between Minotti and designers Hannes Peer and Giampiero Tagliaferri. It has given rise to a system of large modular seats and lava stone tables with the former and an entire collection inspired by the sixties and seventies with the latter. And the collaboration between Kartell and Liberty London is inspired by the fifties, with new floral prints that distort our image of the iconic firm, but whose heritage is enhanced by a jewel table designed by Fabio Novembre. Japan is a source of inspiration for many companies, including Porro, which proposes collaborations with Nao Tamura, together producing a console table with a bench recalling the tailoring of kimonos, with Gamfratesi, who design a bed with an ashwood frame that seems to float, and a table by Piero Lissoni that recalls azuki beans. Not just minimalism but also decorativeness, like The House of Lyria, the company in the province of Prato that presents cozy and exotic atmospheres with its wallpapers and warm furnishings. Then there are many other furniture companies that launch new products, from Molteni&C to Poliform, from Turri to Gufram, from porcelain by Villari to linen by Quagliotti.