Exploring 10 large-scale installations at Milan Design Week 2023

The large-scale installations at Milan Design Week, are often those projects that the public loves because of their ability to bring them a little closer to the world of design—which once aspired to be democratic, is ultimately a niche. Designed with the hope of becoming the most 'Instagrammable' during Milan Design Week, these public projects are also those that designers and professionals hate because they distract attention from their work.

These site-specific installations are usually preferred by big brands—Kohler with its Divided Layers, Hermes with In Search of Lightness, Lexus with Sparks of Tomorrow, at Milan Design Week 2022—to represent corporate values and visions and are ones that make Fuorisalone a truly pop event, enabling the city to show off its best. It is no surprise then that people queue endlessly for these installations at Milan Design Week—these spaces where visitors can immerse themselves and dream of fantastic worlds for a few seconds.

STIR shares a list of large-scale installations that are set to transform Milan during Milan Design Week 2023.

Vieni a Vedere by Gaetano Pesce and Bottega Veneta

At Bottega Veneta Store Milano Montenapoleone (April 15-22, 2023)

The collaboration between maestro Gaetano Pesce and Bottega Veneta continues after the first two phases during Milan Fashion Week 2023 and the latest Design Miami/ event. Vieni a Vedere is an immersive installation inside the Bottega Veneta shop in Montenapoleone. A sort of cave that extends throughout the shop, employing resin and fabric to create a unique experience that accompanies the visitor and frames an edition of bags, made by Bottega Veneta based on Pesce’s drawings.

Panter & Tourron

At Spazio Maiocchi (April 17-23, 2023)

XL EXTRALIGHT® has asked Lausanne-based design studio Panter & Tourron to creatively interpret their innovative material Organix 3.0. In response, the duo conceived SOFTSCOPE, an architectural urban installation in the courtyard of Capsule Plaza at Spazio Maiocchi. Panter & Tourron, known for their work at the intersection of technology and society, have conceived a pseudo-domestic interior: part conversation pit, part public stage. The pyramid-shaped monolith invites users to sit and relax on the low bench that borders the perimeter or in the hollowed-out central section, complete with integrated seating.

Human Mandala by Sara Ricciardi

At SIAM, 5VIE ART+DESIGN district (April 17-23, 2023)

The installation by Sara Ricciardi is a celebration of the interconnectedness of human beings. The exhibit at SIAM (5VIE ART+DESIGN district) features a series of real human bodies arranged in a circular mandala formation, with everyone standing naked and vulnerable, yet connected to others through a network of root-like structures, like a mycelium organism. The installation invites viewers to contemplate the ways in which we are all connected to each other, and how the world is connected to us.

Cancel Patriarchy by Claire Fontaine

At BASE Milano (April 11-23, 2023)

BASE will welcome visitors to its extensive programme of events entitled We Will Design with Cancel Patriarchy, a large-scale installation by Claire Fontaine. The project consists of two works, Patriarchy kills (love) and We are all clitoridian women. These are illuminated LED phrases that question our usual emotional and social context, bringing intimate issues into the architectural space. Claire Fontaine's work gives materiality to words and by interacting with bodies transforms our perception of reality. It is a tribute to Carla Lonzi—a feminist, art critic, writer, theorist, and poet.

Dry Days, Tropical Nights by Agostino Iacurci

At Palazzo Treves, largo Treves 1 (April 17-23, 2023)

Italian illustrator Agostino Iacurci's installation will transform the exterior facade of the imposing Largo Treves tower—soon to be demolished—by intervening with bright colours, palm tree silhouettes and lights reminiscent of tropical sunsets. Inspiring Agostino were two climatologists who imagined what our peninsula could become with the current management of the planet. What awaits us is nothing but desert and tropical landscapes. Hence the name of the work is borrowed from two environmental indicators showing the severity of heat.

Health Through Water by GROHE

At Pinacoteca di Brera (April 18-23, 2023)

An immersive, multi-sensory experience that interacts with and (literally) reflects the architecture of one of the most prestigious art museums in Italy, the Pinacoteca di Brera: the GROHE SPA Health Through Water installation is destined to become one of the most visited destinations by the Fuorisalone public, both for the centrality of the project—in the heart of the Brera Design District—and for its spectacular nature.

Light – Floating Reflection by Ingo Maurer

At Caselli 11-12 (April 17-23, 2023)

Lighting manufacturer Ingo Maurer will delight the public with a fascinating open-air light installation at Porta Nuova, Caselli 11-12, while new products are presented in the buildings of the old city gate. The installation creates an impressive symbiosis of (light) art and architecture, demonstrating the ability of Ingo Maurer to playfully switch between traditional lighting concepts and experimental, innovative staging.

Beyond the Surface by OMA

At Spazio Cernaia (April 17-23, 2023)

The project by Dutch architecture firm OMA for SolidNature guides visitors through a dreamlike, immersive landscape, drawing a parallel between the birth and extraction of natural stone and the realisation of dreams. Inside Beyond the Surface, visitors can discover the history of the geological formation of stone, from the earth's metamorphosis to the high-tech stone finishing machinery used today. The journey takes you through seven different rooms, starting with an impressive staircase leading to the underground level.

Walk the Talk – Moving Energy by Italo Rota and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati

At Orto Botanico di Brera (April 17-23, 2023)

Placed among the path of the Brera Botanical Garden, the installation by Italo Rota and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati for Eni transforms one of Milan's most fascinating green spaces into a large living game board. Hundreds of squares, including multimedia ones, trace a path that winds among trees and plants of the Garden, creating luminescence and sound effects that change the space during hours of the day. Developed together with a game designers collective—Blob Factory Gaming Studio, Walk the Talk addresses issues such as the transformation of mobility in a sustainable way.

La Macchina Impossibile by Piero Lissoni

At Università degli Studi di Milano (April 17-26, 2023)

For this year, as every year, just one of the many installations will invade the Università degli Studi di Milano for the Interni Design Re-Evolution exhibition event. La Macchina Impossibile (the impossible machine), designed by Piero Lissoni for the Sanlorenzo shipyard, narrates the future of yacht propulsion. The installation, conceived to narrate the search for ever-new technological solutions to problems linked to the environmental impact of yachting, consists of an imposing metal structure, carefully crafted, with every detail. With its large propellers and serrated wheels in motion and owing to a backlighting system, it draws the spectator's attention to the hydrogen system with which it is powered.

STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2023 showcases the best exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands, and special projects to look out for. Explore Euroluce 2023 and all the design districts—5Vie Art and Design, Brera Design District, Fuorisalone, Isola Design District, Tortona District, and Milano Design District—with us.