Double macchiato
A double macchiato in the sun. The eventual result of scrappy communication to the waiter in Spanish. Our broken but semi successful order sparked small talk with an elderly couple from Chile, who were testing their Spanish to the waiter with more success. I have been told Spanish is close to Italian but it doesn't really work, for me anyway. We have our coffee and try to dig around for Italian in our heads, upon which, we both have matching bumps. How, is a mystery, we have no recollection of headbutting each other, which seems to be the only explanation. We are in Milan because, like lots of people, we are moved by ideas and this week, this city has promised to be full of them.
Our way of communicating with each other in our studio is by observing how others express themselves through materials. Most of our significant observations are not from overly designed situations. They can come from circumstance, or a secondary fix or solution. You see someone manipulating the objects around them with their own understanding of size, weight, form and colour. The woman from Chile levels her cappuccino with a paper napkin wedge under her saucer.
Milan at its worst is the opposite of observing, it's ‘the loudest voice wins’. At its best you encounter projects which have considered Milan as a city, its architecture and its culture. Projects that seem to make sense in the ruckus of the city.
What we were hoping for in Milan was to see a sense of self interrogation and transparency, to explore the power of simple gestures made with the right materials, observations on the nature of our lives, a light touch, exposing traces of production, attempts at circular systems, exciting applications of existing technologies, to see and meet people who are asking similar questions. To us these principles aren’t just a preference, they’re the only logical approach to producing physical work in todays world.
What we got, was the feeling that we were entering a herd we had little interest in being a part of. We were swept up as 2 people amongst 400,000, from about 200 different countries, shepherded through vapid corporate exhibits, insipidly wasteful. The desperate pursuit of ‘spectacle’ seemed to trump any conversations surrounding circularity, temporality, material selection and process. At best these were reduced to tokenistic nods, tagged on to the project as a smug, back-patting addition.
We found solace in a few notable projects - ones that felt both responsive to the city, and responsible as to their role as designers:
Parasite 2.0 Book Launch - Presented in a Kiosk, the book explores Key Words and how they can help shape practice. Parasite had several considered interventions across Milan, including their cultural centre at Dopo space and the makeshift campsite atop BASE which addressed the increasing hostility of the rental market during design week.
1 x 1 Systems Design - A project selling designs and manuals for self build furniture
Okolo - Elements - Unique details of 20th century architecture and interior design
Wasp 3D printing - Printing clay is just so satisfying to watch and feels like it's going to be commonplace in the future.
Legno Metallo Plastica by Michael Marriott - From a man who understands there is too much design.
David Zilber at Capsule- A true virtuoso talking about the power of the microbiome, preserving and fermenting food and culture.
Panter & Tourons Diurno - Soothing speakeasy referencing Milans old underground day hotels, providing moments of peace, self care and community connection.
Computer Room - Found in Translation - a study on language and objects. Things that go unsaid, that are found through material culture and legacy.
Hydro - According to the brand, Hydro Circal 100R is the first aluminium product made entirely from post-consumer scrap that can be mass-produced on an industrial scale.
Crippled by the palpable excess, we gave ourselves a few rules to make sure we can decipher the process amongst the pomposity: ‘Focus on approach and detail’ & ‘make decisions based on interest’ & ‘let’s go to the toilet wherever we see one’ & ‘let’s try and see the people we love’ & ‘follow sense’. They are attempts to hold a mindset, to see the wood for the trees in a forest of ego.
The only explanation for the matching bumps on our heads came from a picture Freya took of me on the return journey. My head planted on the seat in front, it must have been a headbutt coordinated by turbulence. See you next year… maybe.