Isola Design District makes its debut this year for the first time — the neighbourhood dedicated to craftsmanship, creativity and sustainability within Milan's Design Week.
The Fuorisalone of the Design Week 2017 strengthens its hold on the city of Milan with a new addition: Isola Design District joins the design event taking place in the Lombard capital until 9 April for the very first time. An event that marks an important milestone for the neighbourhood, giving the craftspeople who populate the area a showcase in which to display their eco-sustainable and self-produced design creations to an international audience.
At Spazio O' in via Pastrengo 12, the focus is on the future of design with the awareness that "efficiency and self-sufficiency will become the new standards once humanity, faced with global challenges, shifts from consumerism to a new form of recycling." In the running for the Milan Design Award, Harvest by Dutch Invertuals presents ten possible solutions to the scenarios that will concern humanity in the coming years. Among the various projects on show, worthy of mention is that of studio Edhv, which proposes an object capable of capturing and releasing energy by exploiting the physical laws of thermodynamics; and Léa Baert, who in collaboration with a Panamanian community of craftspeople has conceived a wall lamp made from a recycled old fan.
Now in its second edition, the self-produced design trade fair Milan Design Market moves to Isola Design District with a not-to-be-missed selection of projects and artisan producers. On show is Robotrip, born from the collaboration between Caracol Design Studio and WeMake, who have transformed a still-functioning industrial machine into a tool specialising in 3D printing of clay or bioplastic artefacts; Recycling boards, a project that rescues old skateboards and repurposes them in the creation of jewellery, stoppers, coat hooks, furnishing accessories and much more; and finally Suspended Garden, a suspended garden conceived by Elif Resitoglu with Bici&Radici.
Via Pastrengo is home to many other noteworthy ventures. First among them is Haigo, a space in which a typically lunar landscape has been recreated, housing Green in for Green, a collection of seven objects made by the collective of industrial design students at the Swedish University of Gävle. These are items of furniture combined with plants whose purpose is to purify the air and cool living spaces.
Also at the heart of Isola Design District, inside the vintage shop Ambroeus, designer Clara Rigamonti presents Resurrection, a collection of furnishing accessories born of a remarkable talent for giving new life to objects salvaged from the tip. Old oil tins, jerry cans, biscuit tins, plumbing components and road signs: from the most unexpected objects, Clara crafts unique lamps, pictures and pieces of furniture, adapted to suit each client's needs.