Meanwhile in Milan, the famous Italian architect and designer Piero Lissoni continues its longstanding association with luxury yacht brand Sanlorenzo, to present a project at the Università degli Studi di Milano for Milan Design Week 2022, titled Made, while respecting the industrial heritage and values of the company. Presented as part of the exhibition INTERNI Design Regenerationco-produced with Audi, Plénitude and Whirlpool for Fuorisalone, the installation builds on Lissoni’s earlier project for the 2019 edition of Italy’s most important furniture fair, dubbed From shipyard to yard, which featured wooden scaffolding typical of the shipyards of yesteryear. Placed in the center of the historic courtyard of the campus in Milan, this successive intervention takes the form of a layered assembly of Innocenti tubes, which complement the rhythm of the colonnades running along the periphery of the space.
The straight lines of the scaffolding conceal a ramped path, which offers different perspectives of the courtyard to visitors as they traverse its slope. In this vein, the structure also evokes the experience of boarding a ship while referencing the support frames often used by shipbuilders in the construction of contemporary yachts and ships. As the brand revealed in a press release, “The structure thus designed is linked to the industrial nature of Sanlorenzo and refers to the structures actually used to build boats in their shipyards.”
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Presented throughout the Fuorisalone, the installation will occupy the courtyard of the Università degli Studi di Milano and is composed of Innocenti tubes superimposed Image: Courtesy of Sanlorenzo Yachts
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Evoking the scaffolding used in the construction of contemporary yachts, the clean lines of the project complement the colonnades surrounding the courtyard Image: Courtesy of Sanlorenzo Yachts
Thus, through the use of imagery, elevation changes and material references, the large-scale installation strives to replicate the unique experience of boarding a Sanlorenzo yacht. At the top of the ramp is a platform designed to evoke the geometry and wooden deck of a yacht. An integrated sound system adds to the spellbinding atmosphere the facility engenders, immersing in the sounds of a luxury experience at sea. Here users can bask in the Milan summer sun and take in views glittering on the university courtyard while enjoying a glimpse of the exceptional maritime experience that Sanlorenzo yachts can offer. Once the sun falls below the horizon, the nature of the installation undergoes a dramatic metamorphosis, revealing a vertical superstructure made up of LED bars, which illuminate the whole at night, to create an entirely new perspective in the minds of the visitors.
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At night, the frame is illuminated by a vertical superstructure of LED bars that alter the entire experience of visiting the installation Image: Courtesy of Sanlorenzo Yachts
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The frame structure conceals a ramped walkway that provides different views of the courtyard space Image: Courtesy of Sanlorenzo Yachts
In an official statement, Piero Lissoni de Lissoni & Partners and artistic director of Sanlorenzo shares: “It is as if we brought a piece of the shipyard, the place where the boats are built, in the courtyard of the State University. It’s almost as if yachts were born out of thin air, but the truth is that behind them hides the work of many people, as well as the research, knowledge and technology of a complex industrial reality. The intention for me is to reveal precisely this aspect.
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Paying homage to the industrial heritage of the region, the project highlights the research and technical skill involved in the design and construction of yachts Image: Courtesy of Sanlorenzo Yachts
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The experience of climbing the ramp is meant to evoke that of boarding a Sanlorenzo yacht Image: Courtesy of Sanlorenzo Yachts
On that note, the aim of the project is essentially to expose the intricacies of the research and technological know-how involved in the design and construction of luxury yachts – aspects of this cutting-edge industry that often go unnoticed by the eyes. public. As part of the theme of “conscious design for a new future”, which is at the heart of the events organized under the Design regeneration exhibition, the installation also attempts to draw attention to Sanlorenzo’s commitment to reducing its impact on the environment while addressing sustainability challenges in the current scenario, plagued by the impending consequences of global climate change. .
Sanlorenzo also sponsors the Italian pavilion of the 59and International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, as part of their involvement in major cultural events throughout 2022. Additionally, Lissoni and Sanlorenzo’s collaboration on Made is also linked to their work on ARENA – an architectural installation presented at the ACP – Palazzo Franchetti in Venice during the seven months of the Biennale Arte 2022. The brand relays in conclusion, “What connects the two projects is the desire to make visitors experience a new experience, expressing in every detail the purest soul of Sanlorenzo and telling, through works of art and installations, a new way of approaching the key questions of the history and growth of the shipyard .This path has led to the creation of Sanlorenzo Arts, an active and interactive container of projects related to art and design that encompass Sanlorenzo’s initiatives in these two areas and interpret the brand’s desire to be more in addition a true producer of cultural content.
