Salone del Mobile.Milano 2016: innovation in progress

The eyes of the world will be on the 55th edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano: a fascinating and evolving platform showcasing products and services of the  highest  quality, at the Milan Fairgrounds, Rho, from 12th to 17th April 2016. Also featuring three exhibitions, a short film, an award and the city as a   whole.

The Salone del Mobile is sold out again this year, confirming yet again its position as the go-to appointment for companies, operators and visitors within the sector. A global  platform for all the latest in home furnishing, the Salone is now into its 55th year, championing innovation and internationality – in fact the number of foreign exhibitors has risen again, now making up almost 30% of all the manufacturers at the fair.

“We are ready to embark on this landmark 55th edition. It shows clear signs of being interesting and robust, in terms of both the wide-ranging commercial offering from a phalanx of the foremost companies on the national and international market,  and  in terms of the balance achieved between tradition and innovation in  the name of  quality and refinement. The ever-increasing interest show by operators, journalists and members of the public is testament to the variety and quality of the event: the Salone del Mobile, along with the city of Milan, manages to capture the attention of more than 300,000 visitors, from 165 different countries”, said President Roberto   Snaidero.

This edition, at the Rho Milan Fairgrounds from 12th to 17th April, will feature the Salone Internazionale del Mobile along with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, more than 1,300 exhibitors ranged over 145,000  square  metres  (to  date),  split  into  Classic and Design sections, making for a  visitor-friendly  floor  plan  and  a  360°  insight  into the world of furniture and furnishing  accessories.

The biennial EuroCucina and its collateral exhibition FTK (Technology For the Kitchen) are back – in Pavilions 9-11 and 13-15 – along with the International Bathroom Exhibition in Pavilions   22-24.

EuroCucina will showcase all  the latest in the realm of high quality kitchens, responding      to the escalating demand for functionality  from  increasingly  savvy  consumers.  Its collateral event, FTK (Technology For the Kitchen), specialises in built-in appliances and cooker hoods, presenting the latest technology for “cooking” and living the kitchen space    to the full.

The focus at the International Bathroom Exhibition, on the other hand, will  be  on  absolutely cutting edge bathroom furniture and accessories, shower cubicles and saunas, sanitary ware, radiators and coverings, bathroom and/or kitchen taps, bath and hydromassage tubs, for putting a personal stamp on the domestic space devoted to  wellness  and pampering. 

The 19th edition of SaloneSatellite will be in Pavilions 13 and 15,  along  with EuroCucina,  with free entry from Cargo 4. Its corollary, the SaloneSatellite Award – now into its 7th  edition – is devoted to young designers under 35, with prizes for the three best prototypes on show conforming to the product categories at the exhibition.

The Salone del Mobile.Milano philosophy is to combine  business with  culture, and  this  year is no exception. Within the framework of the XXI  Triennale,  Beppe  Finessi  has  curated the “Rooms. New Domestic Landscapes” exhibition, at  the  Triennale  di  Milano from 2nd   April to 12th   September 2016. Given that the Salone del Mobile.Milano was one     of the first to take part in the project consolidating the front line role of FederlegnoArredo  in the Italian home furnishing sector, and its  championing  of  the  Italian  System,  along with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Triennale di Milano and Confindustria – the exhibition is intended to underscore the particular remit of interior architecture and to provide a forward-looking vision of how living will   evolve.

The upcoming of the Salone del Mobile.Milano will also  pay  special  homage  to  what  came before “true” design. “Before Design: Classic” – a short film by Matteo Garrone –     will be screened in one of the Fairground pavilions, retracing classic Made in Italy taste     and its topicality in a visual and sensory journey. An exhibition, in the same spaces, will trigger reflection on the classical essence of contemporary  living.

One event in the city directly connected with the Salone del Mobile.Milano is “space&interiors” – organised by the international architecture and construction biennial exhibition MADE expo – at The Mall in the heart of Milan’s Porta Nuova Design District: surfaces, flooring, doors and interior finishings will feature in a distinctive display curated by  Migliore+Servetto Architects.

For the third year running, underscoring the international role of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, is the Welcome Project, in collaboration with the Municipality of Milan, the City Councillor for the Department of Employment, Economic Development, University and Research Cristina Tajani and Milan’s leading design schools – IED, Domus Academy, the New Academy of Fine Arts NABA, Milan and the Polytechnic University of Milan/Design School. In partnership with the Milan Fairgrounds, Milan airports’ authority SEA and Milan’s public transport agency ATM, the Salone del Mobile.Milano has set up several welcome points at focal points throughout the city (at Malpensa and Linate airports, the Central Station and the main underground stations). These will be manned by 100 students tasked with providing visitors with useful information on moving around the city, the fair itself, and the palimpsest of events laid on by the Department.

Negotiations with the following are under way:

-    Milan Fairgrounds and ATM to enable visitors to the Salone  del  Mobile.Milano  to  acquire integrated tickets, valid for both city transport and entry to the  Fairgrounds;