Alchemy Lounge – Yves Béhar for SodaStream

It might look like an Apollo Lunar Module crash-landed into the Hall of Mirrors, but this installation is in fact a working bar. Designed by Yves Béhar, The Alchemy Lounge is a drinks station with 360-degree service counters built to launch Béhar’s new appliance for SodaStream. The new MIX is said to be the first appliance capable of carbonating any beverage, including alcoholic ones, and will open up possibilities for innovation in cocktail making. The appliance is equipped with a digital interface, an app and bluetooth. It is the first SodaStream machine to be connected to a cloud containing customisable recipes and the app allows users to upload and share their own creations with users around the world. The spacecraft-shaped bar is made from various materials – copper, plywood, steel rods and mylar – each expressing the bar’s geometries in a different way. The bar is located inside the Teatro Versace in central Milan, surrounded by an oval-shaped wall of mirrors which creates a sense of infinity within the space.

mix-sodastream.com

Cos x Snarkitecture

Fashion brand Cos gave New York-based experimental design studio Snarkitecture a blank slate to create an interactive installation inside the Spazio Erbe. The brand’s only brief was it had to be inspired by its 2015 Spring/Summer collection. Snarkitecture’s Daniel Arsham and Alex Mustonen were both drawn to a particular garment in the collection made from a perforated fabric layered with translucent fabric. They used the fabric to create an ethereal, cave-like space, hanging over 100,000 strips of it from the ceiling. The design duo cut some of the strips to create a meandering pathway that leads to the fashion collection at the end. Visitors can choose to follow the path or wade through the curtain of strips to explore the space.

cosstores.com

Rotunda Serotina – Kolman Boye Architects and Benchmark

Commissioned for Wallpaper Handmade, Danish/Swedish architects Kolman Boye teamed up with English furniture maker Benchmark to create the lolly shop inspired installation. Collaborating with the American Hardwood Export Council, the barrel-shaped structure is made entirely from natural American Cherry, using traditional Japanese joinery techniques. The Rotunda uses 3083 separate pieces of timber and over 1008 joints to make up the skeleton of the structure, all without any nails, screws or clue. The cylindrical structure displays 528 limited edition snack trays, also made from American Cherry, which visitors can take home, leaving the skeleton bare at the end of the exhibition.

americanhardwood.org

Movements – Philippe Malouin for Caesarstone

For the Caesarstone installation, Canadian designer Philippe Malouin created a two-part exhibition borne from material- and process-led experimentation. The first part is an eight-piece swing set inside the grand hall of the Palazzo Serbelloni. The swing seats are made from the 2015 new surface designs from Caesarstone, hung from a frame, transforming the opulent hall into a playground. The second part, located in the adjacent rooms, is a series of displays of handmade planters Malouin created during his experimentation with the material.

caesarstone.com

Moooi Carpets

Dutch-brand Moooi announces a new off-shoot, Moooi Carpets. The company uses a new Chromojet printer to print carpets with unlimited-colour designs in sizes up to 400 centimetres in width and 100 metres length. Moooi Carpets consists of three collections – Signature (by world renowned designers), Moooi Works (basic collection with customizing options) and Your Own Design (tailor made carpets). The Signature collection consists of 48-photorealistic designs by the likes of Moooi’s own Marcel Wanders, Ross Lovegrove, Studio Job and Maison Christian Lacroix (pictured).

moooicarpets.com