Milan 2

Milan

Looking on the internet I've found some examples of recent exhibitions - trade fairs which I am imagining will be similar to what we will experience in Milan.

Images taken from 100% Design 2008 London - http://www.100percentdesign.co.uk/page.cfm/link=363 and the link is to a video.. get this, with John Miller on it talking about the show, it's really interesting and in light of what we are doing quite informative.

The buzz words for the show as stated by "that's design" are: innovation, sustainability and interactivity. So the design of the stand, and exhibits that we come up with must be reflected in these words.

I imagine innovation to mean new, exciting, different, unusual, experimentation.
I imagine sustainability to mean, materials, process and also desirability (links into innovation).
I imagine interactivity to mean, tactile, movement, audience participation.

Again all of this reflected within the work and the stand.

My view on the ideas that have so far been put forward amongst the group

...Before I write this, I want to make clear that this is my opinion and not that of the group.

Boxes

Pro's

Easy to stack or configure
Uniform - people can get on with there work and not worry about display
They are generally made of recycled material


Con's

They are cardboard, brown, not particularly attractive to look at and could easily look shoddy.
Although they are "recycled" so are a lot of other things, and we should not assume that everyone is blind to this.
They are not very durable and could easily bend crush in transit or on the stand.
Cardboard has been used before, and will not look truly original unless we can be very original with it.

Reinforced cardboard may work - but could be hard to work with - cut (band saw, router) - though needs to be considered, would be the better option.


My own view is that the stand should have objects within it, either in the form of plinths (which we can customise) and/or hanging objects. It will make for a much more interesting exhibition and it will draw peoples focus around the stand and this in turn will create a form of interactivity. The space is 6m x 3m, which is about the size of a container and the it would seem a shame not use the space to it's full potential.

Having looked at other stands on the net, I would be interested in putting a false wall, an illusion of a wall, maybe a textile with shapes cut into it, or cards hanging on fish wire, an object which people must move around.

contractworld - http://www.bustler.net

bouroullec_litclos_award_09_11 - http://www.scarlet.be

“The « Lit Clos » puts forward a simple idea. It’s a box that’s sufficiently closed to accommodate a bed and the intimacy that it presupposes, and at the same time sufficiently open not to be claustrophobic. The box is on an architectural scale, between a bed and a bedroom. It uses techniques from furniture manufacture: painted plywood, soldered steel, and above all there’s the DIY assembly of the kind that you get with a piece of Ikea furniture. These characteristics give you a certain ease of assembly and of installation. While it's admittedly more complex than an ordinary bed, it’s still simpler than putting a bedroom together. There is a play on the scale of the space. The « Lit Clos » frees you from the necessity of building a whole bedroom, and opens up numerous possibilities in relation to the place where one sleeps. The « Lit Clos » exists in a low and a high version, respectively 70 cm and 180 cm off the ground. “

Extracts from the book “ Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec” released by Phaidon in 2003.

http://www.d4th.com/31

Colony

I really like this idea, there is more to work with than in the boxes (I think), I recon I'm going down the route of having a space which contains objects of different shape and size, these could all be hexagonal but the size could change - the repetition of the shape would go some way towards creating a harmonized view, and still allow for one offs (peoples work)

salon_satellite,_Milan_Furniture_Fair,_Italy_2006 - http://www.bihain.com/

Materials

Boxes do not necessarily mean light weight, unless they are flat packed and assembled on the stand, they could be cumbersome to carry and very easy to break (unless they were made from reinforced cardboard)

I think that we could achieve a much better look using a different material, possibly a light weight ply (could be expensive) but we can cut it and it is strong, and because it is wood, it still falls into the green material.

We could create a good look and we could more easily make things with the ply - stacking system, shelves/hexagons, use it as something to print on, make something with.

These are ideas which will change.