Stories The holiday library. 5 important books to savor tranquilly Text by Patrizia Malfatti Add to bookmarks Detail inside page book Compasso d'oro.ADI Design Museum - Historical collection edited by Beppe Finessi - Ph. ADI Design Museum From Robert Wilson’s chairs to fables about the Castiglioni brothers. From the Compasso d’Oro to Beatrice Leanza’s thoughts and a bookazine on luxury. Essential reading for all those with a passion for the topic. "ROBERT WILSON: CHAIRS" Edited by Owen Laub, Ed. August Editions and Raisonné Enchanted by chairs. Ever since he was a boy, when he fell in love with the slender, narrow chair at his uncle’s house, placed in an empty room. And then, given to him at Christmas, it was the best gift ever. Since then, Robert Wilson has identified chairs with sculptural objects, to be looked at and not used. To be walked around and designed specially for his shows. The volume brings together his output from 1969 to 2011, as well as presenting some works that have never been exhibited. A roundup of stylized forms, of various materials, including horsehair and taxidermied legs. “Some of the chairs I’ve designed,” explains Wilson, “represent for me the gods of our time: Freud, Einstein, Stalin, Queen Victoria, Marie Curie. Just as Greek playwrights wrote about the gods of their time.” Others, however, are an extension of space, movement and meaning. The book was published at the same time as the limited edition in polished brass and plated steel of the Queen Victoria Café Chair, designed by Wilson in 1974, a perfect example of his poetic and theatrical minimalism. One chair leads to another! "Storie fantastiche per oggetti reali". Texts by Carlo and Livia Castiglioni, Illustrations Andrea Galanti. Ed. Lazy Dog Press The Castiglioni brothers’ projects, between fables and stories, for those curious to discover the undiscoverable about these Masters of design. There is no better subtitle for this truly lovable volume: a collection of fictional tales that reveal the creative process of what would become the classics of Made in Italy designed by the Castiglioni brothers. Serious projects and texts are translated into fables and comics for adults-children by Achille’s son and granddaughter. This sets the memories flowing, between the unmistakable scent and color of plasticine, the starting point for visualizing the three-dimensional forms of an object, and the weave of the fabric of rice sacks transformed by the visionary eye into a famous lamp. And then many thoughts, even about daisies, which are so much more than just flowers. The volume closes surprisingly with a story about the Arco lamp in a noir vein entrusted to AI! Freshness and irony, or the DNA of the Castiglioni brothers. Ph. ADI Design Museum "Compasso d’Oro. ADI Design Museum – Collezione Storica" edited by Beppe Finessi, Ed. Treccani This work is the Summa of the Premio Compasso d’Oro and its Historical Collection, recognized as an “asset of exceptional historical-artistic interest” in 2004 by the Ministry of Culture. The coveted award, conceived in 1954 by the foresight of Gio Ponti to highlight the value and quality of Italian furniture products, is presented in over a thousand pages of outstanding value, together with a series of previously unpublished materials, which present an overview of Italian design of the last 70 years. From the role of the ADI Design Museum, as a cultural institution and research center, to the Roll of Honor of all the award-winning projects, from 1954 to 2022, with a critical reflection on design as a cultural, economic and social phenomenon and its connections with art, philosophy, industry and innovation, the volume stands as the first systematic recognition of the Historical Collection of the Compasso d’Oro. And also as a pioneer of the MetaBook concept – thanks to the collaboration with the S—iR (Sense – immaterial Reality) studio – transforming the publication into a digital experience, connecting the past and future of design through advanced technologies. Through QR codes, each copy enables the reader to enjoy the digital content of some of the iconic winning projects in augmented and 3D reality. "The New Design Museum. Co-creating the Present, Prototyping the Future". Edited by Beatrice Leanza, Ed. Park Books Presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale in May, a collective book on the nature in progress of design, which today goes far beyond the pairing of form and function, being expanded to take in activism and a relational system on a planetary level. Through a mapping of new institutional practices in different areas of the world, curator Beatrice Leanza highlights the need to transform the cultural spaces devoted to design, from their missions to awareness-raising programs and strategies, so responding to an increasingly broad and discursive vision that goes beyond the traditional definition of object-centered practice.Contributions from authoritative international institutions and independent initiatives highlight the public and professional engagement with this discipline and explore global design practices committed to decolonization, computational, ecological, and indigenous knowledge, presenting alternative educational and collaborative frameworks for the development of institutions. "The Grand Tourist – primo volume".Edited by Dan Rubinstein Design Media LLC From a hghly popular podcast to a bookagazine. Six-monthly, with 3 different covers, with binding in relief and almost 400 pages, The Grand Tourist is the refined creation of Dan Rubinstein, a design journalist with over twenty years’ experience, devised as a pastime during the pandemic. A magazine-book, it is devoted, like the podcast of the same name, to the luxury lifestyle. Design, architecture, art, food and fashion are the main topics featured, together with all the guests in the twelfth season of the podcast. Among various interviews, such as the one with the designer Erdem Moralioglu (who appears on one of the three covers), the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist or the photographer of interiors Roland Beaufre, many articles ranging from the journey on the Nile to the visit to the Italian Art Warehouse of Cold Spring and Milanese creativity viewed through Roberto Palomba’s portraits. Decidedly a collector’s volume, and already a cult. Next issue April 2026. Read also: 12 books on design and architecture for 12 months
Exhibitions The latest outdoor furnishing, championing sustainability, material and colour Comfortable and sustainable, outdoor furnishing lends itself to many different interpretations, channelling innovation and constantly evolving aesthetics Marilena Pitino
Stories The biology of light, according to Manuel Spitschan What does chronobiology have to do with design? Manuel Spitschan, professor at the Technische Universität München, explains why light is essential to our well-being. And why designers should know more about it to design better. Giulia Zappa
Sustainability The Piazze Aperte scheme is really changing the face of Milan Since 2018, the two local governments helmed by Mayor Giuseppe Sala have closed more than fifty of the city’s streets and roads to traffic – but not to people. And this is just the beginning Fabrizio Fasanella
