Milan design week has wrapped for another year, but there is still plenty to digest and reflect on. This year there was no dedicated office show – Workplace at Salone del Mobile takes place every other year and is due in 2019 – but nevertheless there was some interesting launches and installations worth noting.
In terms of products, the major takeaway from Salone del Mobile was certainly the blurring of the boundaries between work and living spaces with plenty of brands investing heavily in modularity, flexibility, and design; leaving behind the sterile corporate workplace style once and for all.
Arper launched Ichiro Iwasaki’s new Kiik collection, a partnership with the eponymous Japanese studio. This modular line of seating, tables, ottomans, and consoles creates moments for working, gathering, or relaxation in graphic forms with myriad configurations. Kiik’s fundamental structures can be created with seats with and without backrests and tables in triangular, circular, square or rectangular shapes and completed with ottomans and low or raised consoles.
Patricia Urquiola’s Radical Fake desk for Cappellini was a stand-out in an already well-rounded stand. The desk is coupled with a small shelving unit, but its the polished materials – oak and Venetian marble, both exquisitely faux – that make this special. The colour alone in the non-Venetian marble version is sure to spruce up any workspace.
Patricia Urquiola's Radical Fake desk for Cappellini.