Milan, Italy
“In this way, each space becomes a local broadcaster that helps to shape and convey the international program, presenting the LAUFEN brand as the urban focus of cultural debates, said Roger Furrer, Marketing Director, Laufen.
We’re moving away from prestige. we’re moving towards dialogue.”
Matteo Fiorini with Studio LYS has created a new space for the Swiss brand Laufen located on the second floor of an elegant building in via Manzoni during Milan Design Week-—perfect point of contact between the fashion district, Piazza della Scala, the Duomo and Brera, one of the most fascinating districts of the city, synonymous with art and design.
The temporary installation created by the same designers bears the provocative title ‘Am I open-minded?’
The suspended installation, where LAUFEN products are scattered throughout the space just like sculptures in an art gallery, is marked by hanging iridescent elements, which reflect the light on the walls and ceiling in a play of colors and transparencies.
At the entrance the visitors can discover a space in the space: LAUFEN presents the first LAUFEN virtual space, a digital artificial world created by the experiential designer Annabelle Schneider in collaboration with the Swiss architects Gabrielle Hächler and Andreas Fuhrmann.
The visitor is invited to an immersive digital journey that leads to dreamlike and futuristic bathroom experiences.
In the internal courtyard, which opens onto via Manzoni the visitors can relax under the gaze of the young models portrayed by the international fashion photographer Hugo Comte for the KARTELL by LAUFEN campaign and that stands out on the windows around the space.
The question posed by the installation ‘Am I open-minded?’ defines LAUFEN’s vision and the desire to establish, through the various LAUFEN spaces around the world, a dialogue between art, design, and architecture.
A new showroom concept that moves away from the classic presentation of bathroom environments to a place where debates and suggestions can be triggered, where new forms of visual art can be realized in a continuous change of the space itself.
The temporary installation for the Design Week allows us to understand what the new LAUFEN space Milano will be like: a fluid space, where flexible elements, characterized by transparent and semi-rigid wings delimit the environments to give life to new installations in collaboration with artists and designers.
As in a theater—La Scala is not far away —the LAUFEN space Milano is conceived as a stage on which the various voices of LAUFEN come to life in an incredible and surprising brand experience.
Through the various Laufen spaces scattered around the world—Madrid, Moscow, Miami, Vienna, Berlin, etc. —as well as with the Laufen Forum in Switzerland, the company offers a broad vision of its identity, leaving creative freedom to internationally renowned designers and artists.
Project: LAUFEN space Milano
Designers: Matteo Fiorini with Studio LYS
Client: Keramik Laufen AG