Dezeen promotion: Ventura Lambrate has revealed the participants who will exhibit under one of its themes, Thinking Traditions and Academies, for its event during Milan design week from 12 to 17 April 2016 (+ slideshow).

Ventura Lambrate is the flagship event of Ventura Projects, an organisation that aims to present ideas at the forefront of contemporary design. Held in the Lambrate district of northeast Milan, the event runs alongside the annual Salone del Mobile furniture and design fair.

Each year, Ventura Lambrate announces a series of themes to be explored by a variety of designers, including established brands, emerging talents, galleries and institutions.

This year, the seventh edition will feature both designs that interpret the meaning of tradition and projects from 27 international academies.

Designs exhibited under the Thinking Traditions theme include Constructed Feast by design firm Tinkah LLC, based in the United Arab Emirates.

The designers will explore the traditional nomadic dining experience and ceremony of eating, and products that make it possible for large gatherings of people to eat together, such as woven floor mats.

Breaking with Finnish stereotypes is a project titled No Sauna, as a reference to the famous tradition in Finland.

"We are designing objects that reveal a hidden face of Finnish design and image of culture," says No Sauna designer Lea Randebrock.

Other exhibitors within Thinking Traditions will include Sugiyama & Okamuro and Paja & Bureau.

VIA Design is one of the academies chosen to present its students' work. Its Feel It showcase will feature a range of new products connected to the sense of touch.

Students of the University of Lapland will display visions for the future in Interactive Arctic Design exhibit, while Royal Academy of Art The Hague will attempt to explore the idea of Reset.

"In addressing societal urgencies and design developments, this show aims at a Reset of disciplinary borders through collaborative processes, boldly expressed in our motto: design equals collaboration," explains Herman Verkerk, head of Architecture and Furniture Design of the Royal Academy of Art The Hague.

Other academies at Ventura Lambrate 2016 include Design Academy Eindhoven, Aarhus School of Architecture and HDK School of Design and Crafts.

In 2015, Lambrate addressed the theme of Unite and Connect, encouraging crossovers between design and fields of science and social progress, material research and pioneering design–fashion hybrids.

Dezeen is main media partner for the event, which takes place from 12 to 17 April 2016.

For a full list of confirmed exhibitors and further details about the event, visit the Ventura Projects website.

Read on for more information from the organisers:

Ventura Lambrate 2016

Its dynamic curated format balances renowned designers with emerging talents, independent studios with established brands, design academies, galleries and institutions. Conceptual experiments are juxtaposed with professional presentations. In this way, visitors are challenged to view design from different perspectives, and participants are connected with others working beyond their own domain. In line with the widening scope of design, the event's open approach gives participants flexibility to present their work in a way that best suits their practice.

Thinking Traditions

Consciously and unconsciously we have inherited traditions acquired from our family and friends. Traditions, resulting in customs and habits, are passed on from generation to generation. And so traditions have found their origin within cultures, families, friendships and personalities. Traditions are everywhere, and form an important source of inspiration for today's designers.

Tinkah LLC

Mealtimes are a social occasion and are seen as a time when family and friends come together. The project Constructed Feast by Tinkah LLC from the United Arab Emirates draws inspiration from the traditional nomadic dining experience and ceremony of eating. Central to this tradition was the use of thick woven floor mats and vessels that made it possible for large gatherings of people to eat together. The collection is designed not only to bring us together in a traditional manner, but also aims to celebrate the traditional natural materials and resources that we have around us, such as sand, clay, pewter, textiles and leather.

No Sauna

Within Thinking Traditions the opposite will be presented as well, namely breaking with a tradition. With No Sauna, the group of designers want to break with the current conception of Finnish design. The sauna is a major part of Finnish culture. For No Sauna the sauna is taken as a metaphor for the Finnish mind. "We are designing objects that reveal a hidden face of Finnish design and image of culture", says designer Lea Randebrock. "Our idea is to go beyond the stereotypes". No Sauna has a new approach which you can discover at Ventura Lambrate 2016: not typical and not average.

Other exhibitors within the theme Thinking Traditions will be Sugiyama & Okamuro, Paja & Bureau and more.

Academies

In order to help you understand what's going on in the design world, Ventura Lambrate will give you the chance to meet the new generation of designers. From Mexico to Lapland, from Japan to Chile, from Denmark to Finland and back to Thailand. We are excited that there are 27 international academies who will present their design projects to you.

VIA Design

Students of VIA Design will exhibit under the project Feel It!. Tactility is becoming highly topical now that technology, research and development constantly enable new production methods, alternative uses of materials and embedment of features. With Feel It! VIA Design has carried out research and designed new products and concepts which influence, surprise, nourish, challenge or arouse our tactile senses and perhaps even improve our quality of life. "Our students are working very hard on their haptic designs –and they have very different angles on how to interpret the theme and how to turn their interpretations into furniture", says Eva Paarman, designer and teacher at the VIA Design. "We are looking forward to show the results of this process."

University of Lapland

Interactive Arctic Design will be on display for the project named Kaiku, which means echo in Finnish. The exhibition, by the design students of the University of Lapland, aims to bring the possibility to experience the unique arctic ambience to Milan. The exhibits illustrate the combination of artistic design visions and technological innovations. Arctic Design is used as an approach to demonstrate and communicate the possibilities of future technologies. The work is part of the Naked Approach, a national Finnish research project that is building a vision towards a gadget free, hyper connected society.

Royal Academy of Art

The exhibition Reset will present the Royal Academy of Art The Hague as a unique place for experimental and interdisciplinary developments, where students embrace and reflect on a society of plural perception and constant change.Reset communicates their attitude towards design and towards the Salone del Mobile. "We have invited a collective of young artists and designers to explore a completeReset in the context of a design fair. In addressing societal urgencies and design developments, this show aims at aReset of disciplinary borders through collaborative processes, boldly expressed in our motto: Design = Collaboration", explains Herman Verkerk, Head of Architecture and Furniture Design of the Royal Academy of Art The Hague. The Reset project will be presented at a never seen before roof top location in Via Ventura, with a breath taking view on Milan.

www.venturaprojects.com/ventura-lambrate-2016