In the rapid pace of today's world, mass production and continuous consumption have pushed humanity to the edge of depleting natural resources. The more we produce, the less we reuse and also create a shorter life span for products. In privilege of availability, we often have layers of materials that go into a single product, and what seems like discarding one thing, in turn, creates complexity in the disposal. At the Milan Design Week, a showcase titled The New Paradigma reacts to this trend through objects and process demonstrations which open a new paradigm for designing, projecting, and producing. With respect to the concept, the exhibition will be hosted at a small abandoned ex-factory at Via Confalonieri 21 within the Isola Design District. The event brings together six designers who create design pieces from waste materials and new technologies, and initiates a conversation on the way we live and consume.

Speaking of the idea behind the showcase, Isola’s Creative Director and Curator Elif Resitoglu shares, “I wanted this space to celebrate that design and creativity have no limits, even if we have limited sources and different parameters to consider as designers of the time.”

Here are a few works from The New Paradigma that caught our eye:

1. Turning glass into glorious forms
The Alchemy of Glass by Annalisa Iacopetti

With the belief that like an alchemist, designers are skilled experimentalists with the knowledge of the matter, Italian designer Annalisa Iacopetti explores glass as an amorphous solid in her work titled The Alchemy of Glass. The installation includes furniture and lamp by Iacopetti, made from the technique of glass blowing, celebrating the relationship between the ingredients and forces that creates it. Along with the initiative to perceive materials holistically with respect to nature, the surrealistic installation adapts water to be a messenger of this thought. Inspired by the water reflections on the façade and bridges of Venice on certain sunny days, the liquid reflections also take up space in the installation. Apart from The Alchemy of Glass, Iacopetti also launches the new Solve et Coagula blown glass side tables and the new Wall Lamp Goccia.

2. A story of the restless objects
Oggetti Inquieti II by Jonathan Bocca

In an era where the world consumes more resources than required, Italian designer Jonathan Bocca brings forward a solution of reinterpretation. In response to the startling revelation that 81,200,000 metric tonnes of paper is wasted every year, Bocca initiated his experiments of recycling it into products and furniture. But more than the material, his designs draw attention for their quirky and distinctive style. Bocca mentions, "All my objects come from my dreams". Visibly so, the products exhibit an organic and uniquely imperfect shape. While his design style anchors in abstract dimensions, his interpretation of the material is entrenched in the context of Lucca in Italy, the city he comes from, which is also well known for the production of paper. This blend of his roots and creativity writes the intriguing story for Oggetti Inquieti II.

3. Colouring outside the lines
Molten Memories by Sarah Roseman

A visually sensorial journey through the perspective of a toddler could be used to describe Sarah Roseman’s Molten Memories. As the Canadian designer based in The Netherlands states, "Remember how the couch cushions were like mountains to climb? How creaking floorboards seemed to come alive? What the relief of cool tiles felt like or the tickling grass between garden stones? Just like memories, the sections melt together and the lines between fact and fiction start to blur." The floor piece by Roseman was born from her material archive comprising discarded layers of cotton, jute, wool, acrylic, vinyl, ceramic tile, rubber, and laminate wood. Tapping into the potential of combining materials from contrasting industries to create a holistic product also reflects Isola’s theme of the year, 'Together as one'.

 4. Vertically shifting from dream to reality
Parallel by Tom Jacobs

Reminiscing the childhood memory of building new worlds with things like empty yogurt cups, Eindhoven-based designer Tom Jacobs presents a series on the playfulness of creating from leftover materials. Parallel exhibits pieces made from the repetitive placement of slender cylindrical volumes complementing each other. “I play with the different dimensions that are needed to highlight or support one other. I translate this in a landscape that reflects the ideal natural harmony. Also, the products can be combined as one parallel as the lines continue vertically," Jacobs tells STIR.

STIR takes you on a Milanese sojourn! Experience Salone del Mobile and all the design districts - 5vie, Brera, Fuorisalone, Isola, Zona Tortona, and Durini - with us. STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2022, Meanwhile in Milan showcases the best exhibits, moods, studios, events, and folks to look out for. We are also excited to announce our very own STIR press booth at Salone del Mobile - Hall 5/7 S.14, Fiera Milano RHO.

The article has been put together by Zohra Khan (Senior Features Writer, STIR) and Sunena V Maju (Intern, STIR).