Milano Design Week 2019: Nature and Sustainability Take Center Stage

The 2019 Milano Design Week, held from April 9 to 14, featured numerous exhibitions and installations focusing on sustainability, nature, and eco-friendly design. At Tortona Rocks, major companies like Hyundai and Peugeot presented ecological mobility innovations, while British artist Alex Chinneck created a surreal environmental installation for IQOS World by Philip Morris. Sony Design showcased human-robot relationships at Spazio Zegna, and Samsung offered a multisensory labyrinthine path. The Belgian collective 'Generous Nature' at Opificio 31 highlighted sustainable projects, including Roel Vandebeek's Pique fleurs using local craftsmanship and Sep Verboom's tableware from certified local wood for the Peruvian market. Other Belgian designers presented laser-perforated wood panels, suspended furniture, and lamps made from unusable ash cuts. Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry Group, specializing in wood since the 1600s, debuted at the Design Week with modular rounded elements for interiors and announced plans for the W350 tower, a 350-meter wooden skyscraper to be completed by 2041 as part of their 'Changing City into Forest' project. The Dutch exhibition 'Future (H)eart(H)' at BASE Milano presented eight design visions, including Kuang-Yi Ku's Tiger Penis Project using synthetic biology to replace animal parts in traditional Chinese medicine, and Studio Nienke Hoogvliet's Mourn urn made from cremation ash and bioplastic PHA that slowly degrades to prevent soil pollution.