house of switzerland milano 2024
In a collective exhibition bringing together emerging designers, studios, universities, brands, and galleries from across the country, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and Presence Switzerland are once again showcasing a wealth of Swiss-related talents from the world of contemporary design. With a new theme each year, House of Switzerland Milano is the physical culmination of the project, taking residence in Milan’s iconic Casa degli Artisti in Brera. Split across three floors, with indoor and outdoor installations, the House draws from the country’s design heritage, while addressing themes through a current lens and a future-focused vision during this year’s design week.
Hosue of Switzerland Milano 2024 | all images © DSL Studio
exploring the nuances of joy and its connection to design
Addressing this year’s project with an intrinsic curiosity, creatives are invited to explore their emotional connection to the design process. In contemplating the sentiments and feelings experienced, on both a collective and individual scale, immersive installations situated within the house and its surroundings invite us to reflect upon the contentment found through our connection to design topics like circularity, wellness and our connection to nature. Eventually, each project at House of Switzerland Milano offers a unique interpretation of the joy found in ingenuity and innovation. ‘In exploring the nuances of joy, and its connection to design, we hope to re-establish its importance more than ever within today’s world, while focusing on the need to encourage a culture which allows it to be distributed in equal measure,’ share the organizers.
Ground Floor
This immersive experience guides visitors through all three floors with the help of interactive graphics, objects, and instructions that encourage us to lose track of time and find ourselves absorbed within the house’s contents. Through distinct interpretations of the theme, two and three-dimensional works appear; some with a touch of joviality while others address thought-provoking concepts that may challenge our own discernment of joy. Ropes, swings, ladders, and seesaws invite us to stay in the moment, while games and amusements stimulate childlike curiosity. Often associated with a rigid and serious aesthetic, this experience also revokes the singular perception of Swiss design by highlighting its playfulness. ‘And, through embracing the spirit of the playground, it allows us to step outside of our own individual worlds for a moment before revisiting them with a fresh, and albeit more joyful, perspective,’ reflects the team at House of Switzerland Milano.
Ground Floor
GROUND FLOOR
ECAL / University of Art and Design Lausanne × FREITAG present: Access Over Ownership
Led by one of the guiding principles of the FREITAG manifesto,we prefer access over ownership, this project focuses on having access to products versus owning and maintaining them. This model makes particularly good sense with travel bags, and FREITAG is continually experimenting with different loan offers. For this year’s Milano Design Week, the Zurich-based brand has come together with ECAL Bachelor Industrial Design students, under the guidance of designer Christophe Guberan, to create a series of enjoyable yet practical product cases that embrace those values of sharing and community. This project also addresses wider issues of our consumption habits and concentrates on solutions which contribute towards a more virtuous circular economy. And, in responding to the theme, it reflects on the circularity of joy itself and how it is passed on from creator to its users, altering the consumption experience.
Sula × Micasa present: SOLE
In an immersive installation titled SOLE, Zurich-based design studio Sula is collaborating with Swiss homeware and furniture retailer Micasa, transporting viewers to lakeside summers. Through depicting the beauty of the sky’s colors reflecting on the water’s surface, a magical moment of wanderlust fills us with optimism and positivity. Resulting in a textile and tableware collection which radiates such happiness, the two brands invite us into a joyful world, celebrating the natural beauty that exists in such locations. Presenting design as a transportive medium to help us lose track of time or place, this is a sensory moment which draws viewers in to appreciate and admire the collection on display.
Ground Floor
Karimoku New Standard × BIG-GAME
Specialist in contemporary wooden furniture, Japanese manufacturer Karimoku New Standard has refurbished the House of Switzerland’s restaurant Degustazione utilizing a collection of furniture designed by Swiss studio BIG-GAME. Partnering with each other since 2009, this symbolizes the successful crossover between the two groups, merging the heritage and expertise of Japanese craft with the dynamism of Swiss design. The Castor series, which is exhibited here, is crafted from sustainably sourced Japanese hardwoods while the aesthetic of the Castor chair is based on the ergonomics of traditional Swiss café-style furniture. This cross-cultural collaboration blends the unique perspectives of Karimoku’s craftspeople with an international group of designers, presenting new standards in Japanese furniture design.
HAY / New Works / Vero × Hannes & Fritz present: The Joy of being Outside
With the three outdoor furniture collections — designed for HAY, Vero and New Works — the Swiss-German studio is allowing visitors a moment of conviviality and joy as they convene outside. With the designers finding joy from working outside, they hope to translate this happiness through the pieces created. The duo wants to reflect on how their design practice takes them outside of their individual social and professional spheres and outside of their own country. With fresh air, sun, the scents of Spring and the sound of glasses clinking and laughter, the duo is excited to bring people together in an outdoor environment as a reminder that good design can facilitate joyful moments. After meeting during their studies at ECAL, Johannes Breuer and Fritz Gräber went on to set up their own design studio working across the designer’s two resident cities, Stuttgart, and Zurich.
Ground Floor
FIRST FLOOR
4321-Market presents: Swiss-Korean Souvenir Market
4321-market, launched by ECAL alumni in Seoul in 2020, is a market that opens yearly around the holiday season where the public meets new products designed by emerging designers. In 2023, for the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Switzerland, 20 designers have collaborated and contributed by crafting unique souvenirs that symbolize both countries around the theme of blooming friendship between Switzerland and Korea. These souvenirs serve as tangible reminders, capturing the essence of joyful moments experienced during travels in each other’s country. Swiss-based Designers: Victor Moynier & Amandine Gini, Anne Bachmann, Nina Treichler, Kevin Dizami, Anthony Guex, Eva-Maria-Beer & Flavia Brändle, Laurin Schaffner & Kosha Ahmadi, Milagros Rodriguez Korea-based Designers: Chelsea Jihong Park, Yesul Jang, Mingoo Yoon, Minoh Song, Yeyeon Park, Youjeong Jeong & Jakob Reuter, Soyoung Kim, Seungmok Lee.
HFTG Zug — The School of Technology and Design presents: Taking Joy in Responsible Design
The School of Technology and Design (HFTG) is working with its students to find new, innovative ways of cooling public spaces. Under the project title Taking Joy in Responsible Design, they are configuring an urban cooling system that can capture wind, provide shade, or disperse water. Using new technology, the project aims to create a space where visitors can feel comfortable under intense sunlight, so that they can continue enjoying the city. In a world where climate patterns are becoming more extreme because of human impact, projects such as this seek to find a balance for the environment and human comfort. Students are showcasing their innovative research and development by addressing issues surrounding public spaces and simultaneously demonstrating the joy found within responsible design.
