Evolution and innovation are the key words for the 62nd edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, which from a strictly trade fair event is increasingly becoming an inclusive, value-based, responsible context and fabric, generating relationships, narratives and projects relevant to the design community all year round reports Surfaces Reporter (SR)
The 62 nd edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano will take place at Rho Fiero Milano from 16th to 21st April, not only bringing "beautiful" and "well made" products back onto a uniquely important international stage, but doing so with a new, bold, literally "out of the box" approach, a necessary condition for innovating itself and evolving. A challenge that has called for vision, listening, the ability to analyse, enthusiasm curiosity and a good dose of resilience and elasticity to bring benefits to the entire design system with a view to constantly improving the trade fair experience. All this within the context and for the good of ecological transition.
The upshot has been the relaunch of the optimisation of the layout and visitor paths in EuroCucina and the International Bathroom Exhibition, thanks to the contribution of neuroscience and the adoption of a human-at-the-centre philosophy; a total redistribution of the pavilions with a view to grouping the exhibitors by content and visitor target so as to amplify the value and meaning of the visitor experience; an exceptional, packed and multidisciplinary cultural offering throughout the entire event; a constantly evolving communication campaign which, by harnessing artificial intelligence, picks up on the conversations of the international design community; the collaboration with the Department and School of Design at Politecnico di Milano University, in a bid to study the Salone-asecosystem, exploring the phenomenon and its socio-economic impact on the region. Added to this are the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of SaloneSatellite with an exhibition at Triennale Milano which goes beyond the traditional exhibition canons, and will be a very real Wunderkammer of objects, prototypes, sketches, stories, images and testimonials.
Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, had this to say: "Capturing new trends, the evolution of an entire sector, by involving and listening to communities near and far,identifying new approaches, methodologies and technologies, experimenting, being on the frontier, as they say: this is still the ambition of the Salone del Mobile today. Neuroscience, artificial intelligence, new formats and paths, a unitary but widespread cultural project, encompassing consistency and multi-disciplinarity. David Lyncs thinking rooms, the Salotto NY installation that takes us underwater, using poetry and numbers to take stock of the state of the art of the bathroom industry. Then there are the talks with a large number of guests, including the Pritzker Prize-winner Francis Kere and the visionary performances of artists and food designers: everything has been designed to offer visitors and exhibitors an exceptional experience in terms of content and container, impossible to replicate except here, at the Salone di Milano, unthinkable to miss, even though it is not limited to a single week, but is spread throughout the whole year thanks to the driving and inclusive force of our digital platform."
The 2024 events will bring together more than 1,900 exhibitors, including 600 young talents under 35 and 22 design schools. The Salone will create worlds - the Salone lnternazionale del Mobile, the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, Workplace3.0, S.Project, EuroCucina with FTK, the International Bathroom Exhibition and SaloneSatellite - the single storey layout, the aesthetic paths, the experiential spaces and the rest and relaxation areas will be renewed; there will be conferences and round tables with international guests, vertical workshops on hot design topics and formative meetings for young people; there will be immersive and interactive site-specific installations for learning about the state of the art of the industry or reflecting on the physical and emotional value of interiors; it will stage artistic performances generating visions of tomorrow; it will build a circular bookshop and arena, as well as a new design library. All this in a bid to give visitors the opportunity for an exciting, subjective and memorable exploration, the only one capable of creating long-term connections (business connections included).