Again in 2016, one of the most awaited events in the Fuorisalone’s busy programme of happenings took place in the 5VIE design district is the exhibition at Palazzo Litta, the building itself being a fascinating example of Lombard Baroque architecture in the city. This third edition explored the theme of “Tradition & Technology”. For this express purpose, the courtyard of the Palazzo, the heart of the event, was being interpreted by Diébédo Francis Kéré. Born in Burkina Faso, the Berlin-based architect transformed the space into a “Courtyard Village”. The meeting pavilion celebrated and animated the theme of tradition and technology, and accommodated a series of talks and activities that include live interviews recorded by Sky Arte HD and 3D Produzioni (on air daily on SKY channels 120 and 400). Enriching the installation was the Alu collection of round tables and chairs, designed by Muller van Severen for valerie_objects, and a collection of bowls and plates called DISC by Atelier Ternier for Labt. Also presented on this occasion were the ZIBA stools designed by Kéré and produced by the wellknown manufacturer of high quality wooden furniture, Riva 1920. On the first floor of the Palazzo, in the Mirror Room -where Napoleon celebrated his conquest of Milano by hosting a dance party, poetic engineer and designer Alberto Meda
was taking over the space with a unique exhibition interpreting Tradition & Technology by telling the story of his Physix chair for Vitra, where he revealed all that concerns the application of materials and contemporary technologies in creating dynamic seating.
Renewing the collaboration that began last year with The Aesthetics of Misery, this edition featured Michele De Lucchi and Andrea Branzi with Francesca Balena Arista, who were investigating the theme of “chaos” in the contemporary world. This was the result of a project by students of Interior Design at the Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with Oikos, colour and matter for architecture. The 7th presentation by Belgium is Design in Milan, Belgian Matters, featured the results of pairings between 13 designers and companies, many of the latter coming from sectors far removed from that of furniture design. Each project has been commissioned especially for the event and was seen for the first time during the Salone del Mobile 2016.
The RectoVerso table and trestles in marble are the result of an intense research both in form as in material. By adopting a sandwich construction of honeycomb aluminium and different types of marble, while experimenting
with the formal optical perception and structure, the table gained a light and slim presence. This innovative construction equally enabled designing and building the impressive
marble trestles, the first in their kind. The collaboration between Van den Weghe and Frederik Delbart was initiated by DAMn° Magazine for the exhibition “Belgium is Design” at the Salone del Mobile 2016 at Milan.
