After the experiences in Courmayeur and Pietrasanta, Design Week-end opens its first edition in Ostuni, from 6 to 9 June. Based on the spread of Design Weeks, this format brings together companies, designers and communicators in smaller cities where local identity, history, landscape and cultural context create a perfect setting for new approaches to communication and interaction.
“Bringing Design Week-end to southern Italy was something I have desired for some time, and among the possible destinations Ostuni was our favorite. A unique context where Baroque architecture alternates with the typical white volumes of Salento, between the blue of the sea and sky and the green of the olive groves: a breathtaking tableau in which to insert design products and imaginative installations,” says Paola Coronel, art director and inventor of Design Week-end.
The theme of this edition, spanning exhibitions, installations and conferences, is the concept in astrophysics of the “singularity of space,” in a specific perspective connected to locations. The event puts an accent on outdoor living to link back to the typical Mediterranean tradition of evening socializing just outside the door of the home. On the narrow lanes of the white city, design brands will set up temporary salons at the corners with the most striking views, replacing the classic chairs in straw and wood with icons of excellent design.
At the Museo Diocesiano there will be an exhibition (curated by Giulio Cappellini) of design products, all strictly in white, while in the space in front of the City Hall and in the adjacent inner courtyard of Piazza della Libertà designers and companies will have room for small open-air installations. The implementation of the event has been entrusted to Gino Garbellini of Piuarch and Michele Rossi of Park Associati, who have also overseen the iterations in Courmayeur and Pietrasanta.
Returning to the 3.0 current of immaterial design, coordinated by D.O.S. Design Open Spaces, also curating the contents of augmented reality and the concluding conference, the initiative – with the support of ADI Puglia and the involvement of the Architects’ Association of Brindisi – will be accompanied by a sporting event and an interesting calendar of talks still to be announced.
