25th April 2024
Last week, Foster + Partners Industrial Design made their annual visit to the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Launched in 1961 as a vehicle for promoting Italian exports of furnishings and accessories, the Salone is now recognised as a global benchmark for the design sector.
Find out more about the four new products the team launched at this year’s event – and their other pieces on display.
Osuu, Walter Knoll
On display in the Brera Design District, the Osuu chair consists of a molded plywood seat, steam bent dowels, and machined timber. The chair’s pared-back aesthetic and fluid lines make it a unique addition to the office or home.
Timber comes from the Black Forest, and all materials are processed within a 450-kilometer radius of Walter Knoll’s factory in Herrenberg. All wood variants are FSC certified, which guarantees sustainable forestry.
Desk Z, Unifor
The team unveiled Desk Z at Unifor’s showroom on Viale Pasubio. This is the final component of the modular XYZ office system, which seeks to deliver more agile and tailored workspaces.
The desk has a patented spring and cam mechanism, housed within an aluminium frame, which maintains consistent tension to hold the worktop at any height. It can be adjusted quickly and efficiently by gently pulling or pushing the surface. The double-sided frame also accepts a range of materials, from acoustic fabrics to timber veneer.
VEA, Artemide
Exploring the themes of poise and balance that underpinned the IXA collection, Foster + Partners Industrial Design displayed a concept for a large adaptable light fixture at Artemide’s showroom.
A tall stem with an adjustable light source at the top, VEA is capable of providing a wide pool of light from above that can be lowered to create a more intimate lighting effect. The lamp is designed to be suitable for both outdoor and indoor settings.
MA Elements, Falper
On Wednesday 17 April, MA won ‘Best in Bathroom’ at the ELLE DECO International Design Awards, which was held during the Salone. The team also showcased an extension to the MA collection, MA Elements, which focuses on tailored solutions suited to a wide range of spaces and projects.
The bathroom furniture range continues to derive from the concept of ‘in-between space’ in Japanese art and culture with compact basins and tapware for smaller environments, modular furniture for larger, more flexible configurations, and multiple basins, both with and without storage.
IXA, Artemide
The high-powered LED lamp has an inherent dynamism that allows it to inhabit different typologies of light – from task focussed lighting to decorative and ambient compositions. Inspired by Alexander Calder’s sculptures, the design interprets the idea of ‘elegant balance’ through precision engineering.
Takku, Artemide
The understated portable battery-powered lamp can be used as an intimate source of light for the bedside or table-top. Its form is reminiscent of a pin used to temporarily affix notes to a surface, alluding to its inherent portability and flexibility. Takku’s versatility allows it to adapt to spatial layouts that change through time, be it the home-office, indoor/outdoor hospitality settings or a variety of dynamic spaces.
Karimoku, NF Collection
Karimoku’s bespoke collection of furniture, the NF Collection, was designed by Norman Foster. It comprises a dining chair, two stools, a lounge chair, a sofa, and a dining table. All sharing the same distinctive smooth and organic design, each item has been manufactured by Karimoku’s state-of-the-art woodworking machines and has been hand-finished meticulously by artisan craftsmen.
