Salone del Mobile.Milano, a tribute to Milanese ingenuity and Leonardo

The 58th edition of the trade show that celebrates Milan, creativity, and the genius of Leonardo da Vinci was presented today. A new format for the Workplace 3.0 biennial

The next edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano will look to the future, drawing inspiration from the past. This acclaimed trade show, scheduled to take place from 9 to 14 April at the Fiera Milano Rho and always on the look out for innovative solutions and answers to modern needs, will be guided by a new keyword in its ‘manifesto’: “ingenuity”, as it connects directly to an artist like Leonardo da Vinci, an emblem of futuristic science, this year marking the 500th anniversary of his death.

The presentational press conference took place today, at the Triennale di Milano, and was attended by President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, Claudio Luti; President of FLA Eventi, Emanuel Orsini; Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala; Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Alberto Bonisoli; and President of the Triennale, Stefano Boeri.

Presidente del Salone del Mobile.Milano Claudio Luti, il Presidente di FLA Eventi Emanuele Orsini, Sindaco di Milano Giuseppe Sala, Presidente della Triennale Stefano Boeri © Andrea Marani
Presidente del Salone del Mobile.Milano Claudio Luti, il Presidente di FLA Eventi Emanuele Orsini, Sindaco di Milano Giuseppe Sala, Presidente della Triennale Stefano Boeri

There will be many new developments this coming April, starting with the updated format of the Workplace 3.0 biennial, which will debut with a new exhibition. The 52 participating companies represent the social transformation of work areas into flexible, receptive, and dynamic spaces that are open to professional exchange and cross-contamination with other daily activities. The companies dedicated to ‘the office’ will therefore punctuate the entire grounds of the trade show, while pavilions 22 and 24 will be devoted to new entry companies.
Euroluce is not to be missed, subdivided into four pavilions (9-11 and 13-15) with 421 exhibitors (approximately 48% of which foreign) and focusing on integrated and intelligent lighting.

AQUA by Marco Balich
AQUA by Marco Balich

The trade show is inextricable from the context of Milan, a place where innovation, dynamism, and modern ideas prosper. Concepts that can be applied to Leonardo da Vinci as well, whose twenty-year connection to Milan proved fruitful to both parties. It was da Vinci’s creative push that inspired Marco Balich in his conception of Aqua, an installation mounted at the Conca dell’Incoronata (which will be inaugurated on 5 April) and dedicated to the artist’s studies of water: a small fragment of the Renaissance and of the future of Milan.
But that’s not all. DE-SIGNO. The culture of Italian design before and after da Vinci is the title of the immersive installation conceived by Davide Rampello and designed by architect Alessandro Colombo within the trade show, which compellingly and emotionally brings together the languages of film and theatrical spectacle to represent the creations of Leonardo da Vinci in relation to the know-how of Italian companies.

De-Signo, ideato da Davide Rampello e progettato da Alessandro Colombo
De-Signo by Alessandro Colombo

Also among the new developments this year is the collaboration between the trade show and La Scala because “the cultural aspect is always of fundamental importance” (as President of the Salone, Claudio Luti, reminds us). For the first time the exhibition will open with a concert in the prestigious theatre, while it will conclude, as always, with a design party on 12 April, at Palazzo Marino.

Teatro alla Scala
Teatro alla Scala

The 2019 edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano (which occupies a surface area of 205,000 square meters) gives over 2350 companies the opportunity to present their products to the world. The exhibition confirms its influential role in the world of design. “It is important that this trade show dedicated to interior design strengthen its attractive capacity,” explains Claudio Luti, “offering visitors not only a wide range of products but, above all, a moment of international dialogue and an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between creativity and business.”