FEATURED PREVIEW – MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2024
PAOLA LENTI
Paola Lenti has long been closely associated with Milan and Design Week. In many presentations with bright colours, it has transformed various locations in the city into coveted destinations. For this year, the furniture manufacturer has teamed up to revitalise an industrial complex in the multicultural Maciachini district – and open its first flagship store. Away from the hustle and bustle of the design capital, in collaboration with Pnat (Project Nature), a multidisciplinary studio coordinated by Professor Stefano Mancuso, the brand has transformed the existing architecture into a green oasis. Rather than a classic showroom, Paola Lenti wants to open a dynamic laboratory for ideas – a physical space in which nature merges seamlessly with the built environment. And where the company's own products for indoor and outdoor use harmonise with the flora that provides urban biodiversity in six different ecosystems. Light, smell and colour impressions transform a walk through the rooms and terraces into a sensory journey.
Like a living organism, the building integrates various functional areas such as lounges, offices, gardens and greenhouses. The product series Hana-arashi (The Dance of Petals) from the collaboration with the designer Nendo will be presented in the venue’s "gallery", utilising leftovers from internal production. Besides this, a solo exhibition by Oki Sato under the title "Nendo: Whispers of Nature" can be seen on the occasion of Fuorisalone. This is where Paola Lenti Milano will continue to grow and flourish after Milan Design Week: a bistro and a boutique hotel will make hospitality and well-being an integral part of the concept.
With this unconventional approach, Paola Lenti realises the desire to put nature back at the centre of human life and at the same time link culture and business more closely. "Oltre lo Sguardo" (Beyond the gaze) enables all visitors to explore beyond familiar boundaries, to go beyond the obvious and to engage more deeply with sensory perception. (eb)
Paola Lenti Milano
via Giovanni Bovio, 28
Opening hours:
15 to 21 April 2024
Monday: 3 pm to 7 pm
Tuesday to Saturday: 10 am to 10 pm
Sunday: 10 am to 7 pm
