Urban Perspectives by MINI
MINI commissioned Jaime Hayon to work on its Milan installation tucked away in a delightful courtyard in the hipster Porta Genova district. Tasked to rethink driving in the future, the Spanish artist and designer took on the company’s latest Citysurfer decorating two of these foldable scooter concepts in dynamic colours and textures; then displaying them in an imaginary living space.
He refers to this multi-faceted installation as his ‘urban jungle’, explaining that this scenario for the future isn’t cloaked in dark automotive colours. Here streets are made of thick slabs of white marble, furnished with giant copper street lamps, oversized clothing and curious helmets.
MINI design director Anders Warming seems visibly excited by the project noting that his team has learnt a great deal by working with Hayon in his treatment of colour and material.
The artist insisted on working with marble and ceramics, with materials that are ‘noble’ he says. One of his scooters is cloaked in his signature polished copper, whilst the handlebar grips are made of natural leather and anodised metal. ‘I wanted to give the objects a more sexy, fantastical look.’
Hayon mainly works with museums and galleries to create dynamic spaces. ‘MINI asked me to work on the object, but I also wanted to work on the context in which it is displayed,’ he explains as we wonder around his playground. ‘I come from the world of art and design and the idea was to explore mobility in my accent.’
A Journey of Senses by Lexus
Lexus also chose the Porta Genova district for its highly conceptual installation. As the name suggests this is a sensory journey that invites you to experience the ‘cycle of life’ through sight and taste.
‘It is a playground for adults,’ whispers French Italian designer Philippe Nigro as he leads us through his modular wooden structure that subtly plays with contrasting material and textures — metallic mesh, soft transparent fabrics, blond untreated wood.
We move through a series of delicate cocoons, designed to heighten the senses and evoke the inside-out Lexus design philosophy encouraging our enjoyment of driving through design.
We are challenged to see beauty in rain as we enter a dark room where ball chains illuminate to produce an illusion of falling rain. We consume sparkling candy ‘raindrops’, created by celebrated Japanese chef Hajime Yoneda, that crackles and pops like the sound of rain somewhere in our mouth.
In the next space we experience the beauty of nature as we swallow a ball wrapped in cacao butter – the aroma of fresh, verdant green washes over our senses evoking the sensations of the forest. It is surprisingly delicious too.
Finally we sip ‘earth soup’ composed of the essence of vegetables, meat and fish beneath an image of the earth and twinkling stars.
Yoneda says the idea is to calm the nerves through sight, sound, feel and taste. ‘Joy has to be in everything we design and experience,’ he observes. This, he believes, is the role of the car in the future — to create such an environment when driving.
