Dezeen promotion: Pieke Bergmans and Studio Mieke Meijer are among the designers set to exhibit at Ventura Lambrate during this year's Milan design week (+ slideshow).
From 12 to 17 April 2016, Ventura Lambrate will present a selection of designs from over 160 exhibitors originating from 29 different countries, as well as a series of events organised by the exhibitors.
Dezeen is the main media partner for the seventh edition of Ventura Lambrate, which will showcase work from furniture designers, studios and academies.
Dutch designer Pieke Bergmans will present her Glass and Argon project, which uses glass-blowing techniques to reinvent the straight neon tube as a stretched form.
Bergmans also created neon lamps formed of uneven tubes for Dutch Design Week 2015.
After presenting a television set wrapped in fabric at Ventura Lambrate in 2013, Amsterdam-based Robert Bronwasser will make a return to the event this year with Home. Bronwasser's project approaches the design of a house by starting with the furniture needed for different functions, including sleeping, eating and bathing.
Selected designers will also use materials from Dutch company Baars & Bloemhoff in a different context.
Called Transitions, the project follows on from the success of their Dutch Design Week 2015 exhibition, during which Dutch designer Mieke Meijer used the company's semi-transparent Triplex as a support material in the Airframe 01 cabinet.
De Intuïtiefabriek, Lex Pott, Visser & Meijwaard, OS ∆ OOS and Michiel Martens will also contribute interpretations.
Studio Simone Micheli, Studio Brieditis & Evants, Atelier Mark Sturkenboom and Wacom will also be exhibiting during the event.
Another group of participants will present work under the theme Thinking Traditions and Academies, which features both designs that interpret the meaning of tradition and projects from 27 international academies.
Ventura Lambrate runs from 12 to 17 April 2016 – coinciding with the Salone del Mobile trade fair – at 20 different locations in the Lambrate area of the city. A booklet containing a map and a full list of exhibitors is available to download.
The exhibition will be open from 10am to 8pm on Tuesday 12 to Saturday 16 April and 10am to 6pm on Sunday 17 April. There will also be an open evening on Wednesday 13 April from 8 till 10pm.
Read on for more information about the projects and exhibitors:
Pieke Bergmans
Characteristic of Pieke Bergmans' work method is her close study of production processes. Using this approach she gives the material room to choose its own way. In this exhibition, Bergmans will show different works that were made under her direction.
Bergmans intervenes at a certain moment in the production process, so that the still freely moving shape is brought to a stop:Freeze. Hence every object is unique. The result is a frozen moment. One of the projects that will be part of the Freeze exhibition is Phenomenon, a spherical body, with (in)visible light.
Glass & Argon: what happens if you transform a perfect straight neon tube into a more free and organic shape? That is a typical question for Pieke Bergmans, which stretches existing production techniques in order to discover the new. Experts believed that a straight neon tube was necessary, otherwise it wouldn't work. After extensive research Bergmans did a reversed invention showing that neon hardly lights up when it gets more space.
In the parts where the glass is wider the light seems to disappear, but it's still there. Bergmans used traditional glass-blowing techniques to form these neon light objects with uneven tubes. Bergmans noticed that neon was always encased within tubes with a consistent diameter measurement, so began to create organically-shaped forms to see how the light was affected when more widely dispersed. As part of these initial experimentations, Bergmans created the essence of this Phenomenon and blew a large bubble in the middle of a regular neon tube. The light remained strong and bright in the cylinder and it became invisible in the spherical area. An interesting Phenomenon.
Robert Bronwasser
The solo exhibition by Robert Bronwasser in 2013 attracted considerable attention; this year Robert Bronwasser will present his brand new project called Home. Houses are normally built from outside to inside: first the house, then the layout of the rooms and the furniture.
For the project, Robert Bronwasser began with the furniture. For each of the four main functions in a house – sitting, eating, sleeping and bathing – he designed a piece of furniture. As a result, new furniture arises that enable new ways of use.
"With this presentation I want to show how we can create new products not just in aesthetics and materials, but also looking at the manner of use and people's changing needs," Bronwasser explains.
Studio Simone Micheli
Simone Micheli is an Italian architect who is well known all over the world. During Ventura Lambrate, Micheli will present The BaR, a permanent work that overcomes borders of its own definition, becoming a dynamic meeting tangle.
The content of the project will be shown through fascinating and interactive video-installations. Thanks to the wise use of Augmented Reality, visitors can be catapulted and then they freely move into The BaR, exploring its spaces. The BaR project will be shown at Simone Micheli Studio Gallery in the Lambrate area.
Baars & Bloemhoff
Studio Mieke Meijer, De Intuïtiefabriek, Lex Pott, Visser & Meijwaard, OS OOS and Michiel Martens were the designers approached by Baars & Bloemhoff for their project Transitions. For this exposition they were challenged to design a collection based on the wide range of decorative materials from Baars & Bloemhoff's assortment.
The idea of presenting Baars & Bloemhoff's materials in a completely different context was a great success during the last Dutch Design Week. Due to this success Baars & Bloemhoff is proud to present the work of these exciting Dutch Designers on an even bigger platform during the Salone del Mobile this year.
They asked De Intuïtiefabriek to create a totally new exposition design to give this diverse collection an international stage abroad. The Transitions exposition will be shown in Via Ventura 6, Undai 4 Room B in Ventura Lambrate from 12 to 17 April.
Studio Brieditis & Evants
Re Rag Rug design and make experimental handmade rugs, of materials considered worthless. The exhibition shows 12 rugs made in 12 months in 12 different techniques, without using a loom. They explore the value of objects and the importance of design in manufacturing and recycling processes.
Atelier Mark Sturkenboom
Mark Sturkenboom will present his reflection on love and time. During the Salone he will show works such as Watching Time Fly By and 21 Grams. He will also exhibit his latest work such as his new Ark and a series of chandeliers that appear to be relics from a desolate flooded world.
Wacom
Among Wacom's highlights will be a workshop dedicated to the creative workflow from the concept phase to the finished 3D model using the Cintiq creative pen displays. Held by Alessio Tommasetti, an architect, designer and teacher at IED and Accademia del Costume e Moda will demo all digital steps from the first sketches in Sketchbook Pro to creating the 3D space in Photoshop, followed by the 3D modelling and 3D printing of the prototype.
Subalterno 1
Subalterno1 gallery, in collaboration with The Fablab and Tecnificio, presents Microfacts, an exhibition curated by Stefano Maffei. Investigating new product typologies, 15 Italian design studios explores micro-artifacts, each one designed to fit an imaginary cube of 6x6x6 cm.
Logotel
In a globalised society in which homogeneity could be found in expectations, capabilities and visions, we have realised that we are not capable of creating anymore. Poiesis. Poesia. Poetry. Which is also project, design, able to use or cause détournement. What does poetry mean in projects?