Ouverture: architecture and design, an inseparable affinity

The architect Andrea Maffei and Ceramica Fioranese together at Milan Design Week

From 9 to 14 April, enthusiasts of creativity from all over the world have gathered at Milan Design Week 2019 to discover the latest trends and enjoy the unmissable Milanese atmosphere of the FuoriSalone which, like every year, has accompanied the Trade Fair with its eagerly awaited series of events, exhibitions and initiatives scattered around the many districts of Milan. The FuoriSalone and the Salone del Mobile are, without doubt, the most important architecture and design appointments in the world; the whole city is ready to host the best expressions of Italian and international creativity among hundreds of installations, presentations and parties. Ceramica Fioranese, together with the architect, Andrea Maffei, has taken part again this year in this important event, thanks to the FuoriSalone circuit with “Ouverture“, a unique and original installation inserted inside the Interiors exhibition – Interni Human Spaces of Interni Magazine at the University of Milan.

The FuoriSalone 2019 gets under way: location – University of Milan

The Interni Human Spaces event has transformed the University of Milan into an open-air museum, filling it with installations. A number of works are really imposing, like the large written HELP in the centre of the main courtyard, created with plastic bottle tops, which symbolize a real cry for help for the environment, or the “Giraffes in Love”: two enormous giraffes supporting lamps, created to pay tribute to the species today at risk of extinction; inside this particular exhibition there is also the refined Ouverture installation by Fioranese. Many varied works enliven this programme rich in emotions, making Interni show an unmissable visit as part of FuoriSalone.

Where does the inspiration for the Interni Human Spaces show come from?

The inspiration behind the show organized by Interni is “Life is more important than architecture”, a phrase of Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012), who loved to repeat it in his conversations. In the world of today it’s necessary to encourage an anthropocentric vision in architecture, but also in design, able to cater for people’s wellbeing as a point of reference, especially in relation to the various spaces in which they live and work. This gives rise to the need to create objects and surroundings that improve people’s own and shared lives, through new technologies, advanced materials and high production quality.

Relationship between man and urban architecture: presenting Ouverture

The Ouverture installation by architect Andrea Maffei analyses the complex relationship between architecture and design, between ancient and contemporary, allowing geometric forms and materials to interact in a timeless dialogue. The three entrance doors to the prestigious Aula Magna of the University of Milan have been covered for the occasion with a massive wall, which opens dynamically with three great doors that rotate by 30°: an invitation for the visitor to enter. The protagonist of Ouverture is the porcelain stoneware from the DOT collection, created by the architect, Andrea Maffei, exclusively for Ceramica Fioranese; for him concrete is the material that best defines modern architecture: it’s presented in the installation in a triangular pattern that creates geometric continuity in the entire surface, highlighting the circular holes – DOTs – left by the matrix on the concrete. The architect, Andrea Maffei, makes this comment on the installation: “The empty spaces that are created in the three great doors highlight the frames, the lesenes and the capitals of the old doors behind and establish a dynamic relationship between ancient marble and modern concrete.” A dialogue is thus created between past and present, between material and form, in a dynamic passage from the outside of the cloister to the interior of the Aula Magna, which welcomes the visitor offering a personal interpretation of the Interni Human Spaces 2019 concept. The architect adds: “Concrete is apparently neutral, but at the same time it’s irregular, speckled, alive and vibrant. Its irrational and unpredictable variety of tones and surfaces is akin to the irrationality of man, who finds that the material offers many different possible perceptions. Looking closely at concrete we can read many different, parallel, overlapping and richly complex stories.”

The DOT Collection: the concrete effect becomes the main attraction

The DOT Collection, one of the latest developments proposed by Fioranese, is composed of concrete-effect porcelain stoneware tiles, inspired by a particularly “rich” architectural concrete, taken from the construction systems used by a number of the masters of contemporary architecture. A distinctive feature of this bare concrete is precisely the DOT, that is, the point left by the matrix on the concrete, which creates a geometric continuity in the entire surface. A common material such as concrete, rarely found, however, in standard buildings with similar architectural results and sophisticated characteristics, is made accessible to everyone with DOT. Every space can find a new material quality and a new light with the DOT concrete: practicality, elegance and sobriety for a timeless style and a refined effect, for surroundings with character.
We invite all lovers of creativity to investigate the relationship between architecture, man and design by visiting the Ouverture installation from 8 to 19 April inside the Interni Human Spaces exhibition at the University of Milan, Via Festa del Perdono, 7.
All the details of the event can be found at this link: www.fioranese.it/en/fuorisalone-2019-ouverture-an-installation-inspired-by-the-dot-collection/

Courtesy of Interni Magazine
Foto:
SLV SAVERIO LOMBARDI VALLAURI
CP PAOLO CONSAGA
MC MATTIA CAMPO