This year's Milan Design Week brought together designers, architects, producers, and key figures from the design world. The events were divided between the Salone del Mobile at Rho Fiera, a trade fair with over 1950 exhibitors, and Fourisalone, featuring various events across Milan. With numerous installations throughout the city and a wide range of events, conferences, and debates, Milan Design Week stands as one of the most significant design-focused events worldwide. For architects, this represents an opportunity to not only exchange ideas but also to actively contribute through collaborations and explorations across disciplines.
This year, many internationally recognized architects have entered collaborations with furniture and light design companies, exploring the intersection of design and architecture. Despite the change in scale, many of these products reflect the recognizable architectural language of their designers, offering an insight into the principles that guide their practice. In addition to aesthetic explorations, many of the products selected are tackling important themes of interest, from the need to develop more sustainable materials with a reduced carbon footprint, to the potential impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Read on to discover a selection of products designed by architects launched during the 2024 Milan Design Week.
Erosion Collection / Zaha Hadid Architects for Neutra
Recognized internationally for the sinuous lines and fluid shapes that define their unique architectural language, Zaha Hadid Architects are transferring this sculptural character to furniture design. The result is the Erosion Collection, launched with Neutra during the 2024 Milan Design Week. Carved out of a single block of Carrara marble, the Mindera Table demonstrates the intricate interplay between materiality and form, while the Branch Console carefully balances lightness and solidity.
Array Sofa / Snøhetta for MDF Italia
Array is a modular sofa system that reimagines the conventional sofa in order to offer optimal flexibility without compromising comfort or aesthetics. Designed and developed by transdisciplinary practice Snøhetta for MDF Italia, the system contains slim interconnected modules that can be easily assembled and adapted to various contexts. The modularity also facilitates repair, small-scale replacement, and recycling, thus promoting longevity and minimal material use.
Furniture Set / Junya Ishigami for MANIERA gallery
Japanese architect Junya Ishigami has gained international recognition for his understated and delicate architectural designs, featuring seemingly simple shapes that conceal structural complexity. The furniture collection developed for MANIERA reflects the same principles, favoring light, almost translucent textures, and organic shapes. The series, presented at Alcova during Salone del Mobile, includes dining and rocking chairs, atelier, dining, and glass tables, two partitions, and seven lamps, all built out of stainless steel, leather, rattan, glass, and wood. Some of the pieces have been originally designed for Ishigami’s cave-like House & Restaurant, while others are cerates for Junya’s mother’s home, the House, currently under construction.
Osuu Chair / Foster + Partners Industrial Design for Walter Knoll
The Osuu chair, a collaboration between Foster + Partners Industrial Design and Walter Knoll, combines traditional and modern techniques to create a unique piece suitable for both home and office environments. The lightweight yet sturdy design is made primarily of molded plywood and steam-bent dowels, undergoing rigorous ergonomic testing for optimal comfort. Its interchangeable seating pad offers customization options with saddle leather or wool felt.
In-Side / Heatherwick Studio for Magis
Using rotational molding production, the collection showcases a unique material blend of post-consumer and post-industrial recycled polyethylene in multi-colored flakes. This distinctive material, coupled with the production method, reveals an unexpected interior surface, making each piece unique in configuration and color. The collection includes an armchair, sofa, and low table, designed for durability outdoors, with a focus on sustainability and ergonomic comfort.
Elephant Footprint Seats / Boonserm Premthada for NOT COMPROMISED
The innovative collection commissioned by NOT COMPROMISED to Thai architect Boonserm Premthada employs an unusual, yet available material. Each seat, crafted with the dung of a single elephant, is a unique piece documented by its ID card. The project challenges contemporary design trends with its humor and commitment to sustainability, highlighting experimentation as its true protagonist. The collection, including prototypes and videos showcasing the artistic process, demonstrates a dedication to advancing both creativity and environmental consciousness in furniture design.
A.I. Family / Philippe Starck for Kartell
Kartell's A.I. family highlights the use of recycled materials while exploring emerging technologies. It represents the first design creation generated by artificial intelligence, merging Philippe Starck's creativity with a generative algorithm to produce distinctive, comfortable, and sustainable products. This approach accelerates production processes while reducing waste. The collection includes chairs, stools, and consoles, all designed with various color options.
EARTHIC Surfaces Collection / Formafantsma for Cosentino
The Earthic Surfaces Collection has resulted from a Cosentino research project in collaboration with Formafantasma, exploring the properties of materials and their potential for sustainability. The resulting surface, with a maximum of 10% silica, uses minerals, recycled glass, PET, post-consumer bio-resin, and Dekton fragments to reduce the need to extract raw materials, thus limiting soil erosion and CO2 emissions. Formafantasma has also developed the Earthic Lab, a large-scale installation at the historic Gerolamo Theatre in Milan to emphasize the responsibility and potential for change written into a designer’s role.
Void Collection / Snøhetta for Fornace Brioni
Fornace Brioni introduces new wall and floor coverings designed by Snøhetta, evoking a world of sculptural elements. Resulting in a collection of 3D elements and tiles, the collection focuses on material reduction while showcasing soft shapes that enhance light, shadow, and texture. This represents the second collaboration between Italian ceramic tile manufacturer Fornace Brioni and Snøhetta.
Z desk / Foster + Partners Industrial Design and UniFor
During Milan Design Week 2024, UniFor completed the XYZ office system, a collaboration with Foster + Partners Industrial Design, with the launch of the Z desk. Designed to facilitate sit/stand functionality without electronic actuators, the Z desk offers intuitive adjustability. Its unique design allows users to freely customize their workspace by combining and organizing desks according to individual needs. This launch follows the introduction of the X shelving unit and the Y table, completing the collection designed to facilitate flexible working environments.
Andromeda Collection / LSM for UniFor
Designed by architecture and design studio LSM Studio, the UniFor Andromeda collection reflects the studio’s collaborative approach. With polished aluminum as the core material, complemented by glass, travertine, and refined leather, Andromeda embodies modern sophistication. It seamlessly integrates into various environments, including workplaces, representative venues, and homes. The collection is photographed at the Teatro Andromeda, an open-air theater in Sicily, designed by Lorenzo Reina, blending art, architecture, and pastoralism. Additionally, Studio Klass, UniFor's Art Director, curated the installation in Milan, inviting visitors to reflect upon the harmony between Earth and Sky.
Boltons / Herzog & de Meuron for Artemide
Designed by the internationally recognized office Herzog & de Meuron, the Boltons lamp combines hand-crafted glass with an optical design. The body is formed using a unique technique that introduces an air bubble inside the glass, with varying thickness to create a poetic and evocative form. This transparency highlights the material's thickness, while a lens at the base directs light upwards, precisely controlled to be reflected by the adjustable disc. The interplay of light and glass creates reflections without compromising the optical system's efficiency.
We invite you to explore more of ArchDaily’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2024.
