UniFor unveils new Milan showroom by Herzog & de Meuron

UniFor (a part of the Molteni Group) has opened the doorways of its Herzog & de Meuron-designed showroom at Viale Pasubio 15, Milan. The Viale Pasubio complicated, situated in Porta Nuova, town’s new enterprise district, has been residence to the headquarters of Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli since 2016 – it was the primary constructing in Italy designed by Herzog & de Meuron, and UniFor was commissioned for the furnishing and partition methods.

UniFor Milan showroom: ‘an open house in dialogue with town’

The brand new UniFor showroom additionally serves as a window and a information lab. ‘Structure is concerning the one-to-one scale, and that is additionally why we examined our concepts for the showroom by means of numerous cardboard mock-ups within the precise house. Earlier concepts that appeared to make sense on drawings and visualisations didn’t persuade within the sketchy prototypes we constructed within the empty showroom,’ says Herzog & de Meuron senior accomplice Ascan Mergenthaler. ‘The ultimate design was mainly developed throughout the house, with form, format and proportions being selected the spot, custom-tailored for the house and constructing.’

The ground, product of wood finish grain tiles with a magnetic backing and specified by a sample impressed by conventional Milanese tile flooring, unifies the inside like an infinite puzzle. The fixed sequence of the triangular columns and transparency are defining components of an area that not solely shows furnishings and equipment, but additionally features as an setting representing the corporate’s know-how, as Carlo Molteni, the model managing director, underlines throughout the opening: ‘A spot which conveys the very essence of UniFor in all its technological excellence. An open house in dialogue with town, for analysis, the place professionals of all fields can meet and work together with all the businesses of Molteni Group.’

The recurring geometries that delimit the inside are three-dimensional wall boiserie, through which vibrant colors stand out: pink, yellow, and deep blue. The system consists of specifically designed extruded aluminium components that permit for the dry hanging of vertical slats completed in cloth, wooden, and steel, diversifying the inside’s character in 5 areas.

A gathering and presentation space within the coronary heart of the showroom is surrounded by pleated cell partitions in pink and pure wooden. A powerful mirror-polished stainless-steel monolith serves because the welcome space on the entrance, and is surprisingly accomplished with a full-view kitchenette.

The working house consists of Herzog & de Meuron-designed desks for the Fondazione Feltrinelli challenge, and the exhibition house, which appears to be like out over the quiet Pasternak Gardens, options probably the most recognizable Vitra assortment items. A personal convention space is hidden behind an enormous, vivid yellow custom-made tilting portal. The board room’s inside is furnished with a desk from Foster + Companions’ ‘Components Workplace’ assortment and an AV wall, which is as soon as extra hidden by two doorways that characteristic a complicated sliding system.

‘The showroom is conceived as a versatile and reconfigurable house that can be utilized in some ways. It isn’t only a showroom for the most recent merchandise, however an area that can be utilized for talks, exhibitions, and occasions,’ Mergenthaler says. ‘The room dividers are moveable, and will be modified in size, configuration, materialisation, and color. And even the wall panels are constructed with the identical clip-on system that enables change of fabric and color. This offers UniFor the liberty to regulate the design over time and based on their wants.’