Mutated Panels by Richard Meier with Italcementi and Styl-Comp Group.
Courtesy Respective Manufacturers
I Saloni, the annual orgy of furnishings, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. And along with the expected round-up of avant-garde teasers, sumptuous stunners, and thoughtfully recyclable ingenuities, there was a full spectrum of highly-sophisticated lighting designs that transformed LED solutions from dreary requisites to exciting options.
With over 2,500 exhibitors, every one of the 321,320 visitors who pile into the swoopy 2.2 million-square-foot exhibition hall—or track down the hundreds of other displays sequestered in fresco-flaking palazzi, chic courtyards, retooled factories, and drafty warehouses around the city—can find their own selection of favorites. We decided to spotlight a solid 50, basing our choice on our own quixotic standards: technical interest, elegance without fuss, knowing wit, and ecological smarts. We tore through the halls and pounded the pavement until our heels broke in hopes of bringing back some lasting winners.
Spazio Rossana Orlandi A surreal table with hand-cast iron hooves, laminated plywood legs, and coated foam upper torso.
Flip Flop Story by Diederik Schneemann
Studio Schneemann Used flip flops wash up by the thousands on East African shores and are collected by the Uniqueco Foundation. Dutch designer Schneemann makes lamps and objects out of them.
Piana by David Chipperfield
Alessi Smartly engineered, multi-colored folding chair made of polypropylene with glass fibre in many colors.
XXXX_Sofa by Yuya Ushida
Ahrend Assembled without tools from eight recycled plastic units (pipes, rings and studs), this two- or three-seater sofa expands, concertina-style.
Domus chair by Ilmari Tapiovaara
ARTEK From a collection designed by the Finnish master in the 1940s and now reintroduced.
Polaris by Frederic Gooris
AlessiLux Part of a new collection of seven LED bulbs with a lot of personality.
POH by Raphael Navot
Cappellini It’s table, bench, and sculpture in wood by a new designer to watch.
Ren by Nemo by Yasutoshi Mifune
Cassina Lighting Three cones support stacked wooden discs that can be adjusted for different lighting effects.
Sfatto by Francesco Binfarè
Edra It looks loose as a shar-pei puppy, feels like a cloud. Available in a range of suede, leather, and tapestry fabrics.
Armchair 4801 by Joe Colombo
Kartell A reissue of the iconic Colombo piece first designed in the Sixties. Then the curves were in wood, now it’s all plastic.
Stool by Fernando & Humberto Campana
Klein Karoo Malleable ostrich leather covers a small foldable stool that also comes in acid green and pink.
Sellier Chair by Denis Montel
Hermes As is their custom, Hermes turns exquisitely crafted leather into high-luxe furnishings.
Pebble by Benjamin Hubert
De Vorm Easy to assemble and ship, a seating collection of chairs and stools with oak legs and pebble-smooth recycled plastic seats.
Pavo Real by Patricia Urquiola
Driade Outdoor rattan furniture exotic in scale, detail and craftsmanship.
Tubo LED
FontanaArte A borosilicate glass tube reveals and celebrates finned heat sink of anodized metal. Available in 1, 2, or 3-tube versions.
Lounger Round by Christophe Pillet
Emu Long lines and deep molding express the essence of outdoor comfort in a black or white chaise.
Kelvin LED Green by Antonio Citterio with Toan Nguyen
Flos A desk lamp with a green sensor. A brush of the hand and it detects ambient light, adjusting accordingly.
Chouchin by Ionna Vautrin
Foscarini With the Japanese name and shape of a traditional bamboo lantern, now made of opaque lacquered blown glass in olive, burnt orange or grey.
Felix by William Sawaya
Sawaya & Moroni Indoors or outdoors, kitchen or reception area, this steel bench is meant to conjure Pierre Chareau.
Tool Boxes
Line Depping Danish design from 1978, a stack of drawers made of solid ash within a lacquered steel frame.
Tide by Zaha Hadid
Magis It’s a bookcase and shelf any way you arrange it; but not free standing.
Comfortable Jean-Michel Frank Collection
Hermes The classic armchair comes in leather, of course, but natural sheepskin speaks more to the name.
Brick Plan by Rock Wang with Pei-ze Chen
Yii The marriage of Taiwan craft and design brings forth an improbably delicate concrete and brick vase and bowl collection.
Balance by Lakiya Weavers of the Negev
BCXSY Hand-woven area rugs by Bedouin artisans using the wool of desert sheep through an initiative by the non-profit organization, Sidreh.
Mutated Panels Richard Meier with Italcementi and Styl-Comp Group
Interni Mutant Architecture & Design An installation beautifully expressing the plasticity of this self-cleaning high-tech cement that now can be made an even whiter white.
Belisaire by Christian Lacroix
Sicis The fashion designer went for opulence galore in a collection inspired by Byzantine mosaics.
B2_Light Fields LED
Zumtobel An LED light series noted for its uniform intensity and glare control presented in a discreet aluminum-frame panel.
Exhbited at Spazio Rossana Orlandi A series of steel pendant lights lined with high texture materials, including peacock pelts, horsehair, and iron dust “sable.”
Flash Factory Geodesic-inspired pendant of etched brass plates is digitally manufactured in a process borrowed from electronic production.
LED Biolite by Makio Hasuike
Yamagiwa Extreme flexibility in arm and head, this sculptural desk lamp is made of extruded aluminum.
Fred by Roberto Lazzeroni
Poltrona Frau Elegantly-detailed desk with saddle leather top and solid ash frame.
Vienna by Jean Nouvel
Wittmann A modular collection originally designed for the Sofitel Hotel in Vienna; available in leather, suede and 100% “scuba” black from Kvadrat.
Tip Ton by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby
Vitra Ingeniously designed to tick forward to an ergonomic position for desk work or tock back to relax, the chair is also made of 100 percent recyclable material.
Rothko Terra by Carlotta de Bevilacqua
Artemide Triangular in plan, a light column offering a full chromatic scale of 40W LED to match any Rothko-esque mood.
Layer by Arik Levy
Viccarbe Acoustic panels made of foam not fabric that come in two sizes and depths to be layered in a pattern.
Adhoc Storage by Bruno Fattorini & Partners
Zanotta Flexible storage units made of light sheet metal with open compartments in red, yellow, or anthracite and closed sections with discreet folding doors.
Petite Gigue by François Azambourg
Moustache Constructed with the efficiency of a boat with beveled edge and hollow legs. In natural oak, red or black lacquered oak.
Fortepiano by Rodolfo Dordoni
Molteni & C A modular system that can extend vertically or horizontally in matt lacquer, wood, and steel aluminum.
Story Vase by Lobolile Ximba, Kishwepi Sitole, Beauty Ndlovu with Front
Editions in Craft Made in collaboration with South African craftspeople beading their stories into hand-blown Swedish glass by Front.
Endless By Jason Miller
Roll & Hill Modular lighting system made of white glass sections with metal bracing in straight and bent components.
Haiku Sofa
Gam Fratesi Danish design from 1975, a small sofa with a hard exterior enclosing soft inner upholstery.
Veliero by Franco Albini
Cassina Bookcase designed by Albini for his home in 1939 and an instant icon of Italian design once it dressed the cover of Domus in 1941.
H371 by Leon Krier
Fusital Door handle made of brass with chrome or satin chrome finish.
Synpase by Francisco Gomez Paz
Luceplan The Argentinean designer’s translation of the atomic leap rendered in luminous polycarbonate configurations.
111 Navy Chair
Emeco The famous metal chair now comes in colorful plastic; each made from 111 plastic recycled bottles. A joint venture with Coca Cola.
Zartan by Philippe Starck with Quitlet
Magis With a seat made of hemp and legs from corn husks, this chair prototype is said to be still too fragile for use.
