(15 Apr 2016) LEAD IN:
Wood you lick, high-tech sofas, and Dolce&Gabbana fridges are attracting visitors to Milan Design Week.
The annual event is bursting from its pavilions to also fill the city’s historic locations and busy cobbled streets.
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Here the sofas have a mind of their own.
In collaboration with the Salone del Mobile, eleven "living concepts" have been imagined by Italian architects, such as Claudio Lazzarini, Alessandro Mendini and Francesco Librizzi.
They’re gathered in an exhibition called "Rooms. Novel Living Concepts".
International design and innovation firm, Carlo Ratti Associati, with the support of Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra, has filled its space with this "Lift-Bit".
It’s claimed to be "the world’s first Internet of Things sofa". The dynamic chair moves on its own for visitors to see different arrangements available.
The chair can be controlled by holding a hand over certain seats or through a smartphone app.
"Technology today is transforming the way we live, we work. In a certain sense we are much more flexible," says architect, Carlo Ratti.
"And what we wanted to do with this project is actually create an environment around ourselves that responds to us in a dynamic flexible way."
Milan’s Design Week is getting just about everywhere.
Behind the Basilica di San Simpliciano, in the centre of Milan, designer Nendo has installed "50 MANGA CHAIRS" of all different shapes.
Lined up in a grid, each one has a manga-inspired design, such as a speech bubble.
"It’s incredible. He explodes the chair, he gives so many derivative ideas about a chair. And he’s an amazing designer," says visitor, Diane.
Visitors are free to see various installations across the city.
It’s a chance for design aficionados to experience many different events in just a few days.
Design Week is composed of two parts, the furniture fair, referred to as "Salone del Mobile" and all the other events spread across the city, in its plazas, museums and stores, called "Fuorisalone".
At Fuorisalone, visitors are experiencing wood in a totally new way.
The Slow Wood laboratory is giving curious visitors a chance to taste wood and better understand its fragrances.
"If I just bring this piece of wood to my nose and try to smell it’s fragrance I cannot detect it," says Gianni Cantarutti, co-founder of Slow Wood movement and wood expert, while holding a piece of ‘Bois de rose’.
"So how can I detect it? By removing a thin layer, by simply scratching it a bit, and by doing this (licks wood), the fragrance is released.
"Our saliva allows us to release this incredible and unique fragrance, which is the essence of the rose and we are able to do so after 50 years".
Cantarutti says it’s the fragrance of ‘Bois de rose’ which gives it its name.
The raw material is fast-becoming a star at this year’s Design Week. After tasting it, visitors can admire it in various forms.
At the Poldi Pozzoli Museum, an entire exhibition is dedicated to drawers, many made from wood.
"This year, we decided to both celebrate and investigate the drawers, which actually is one of the few elements in the history of furniture which remains exactly more or less the same after the fifteenth century when it started to appear in our world," says exhibit co-curator, Elisa Testori.
The exhibit runs until 25 April at the Poldi Pozzoli Museum.
The actual fair, Salone del Mobile, is held in pavilions at Rho-Fiera Milano.
Many visitors appear drawn to Italian manufacturer SMEG’s stand, where these green, white and red refrigerators in the shape of FIAT 500 cars are on display.
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