The 57th edition of Salone del Mobile.Milano will explore the relationship between nature and living with an exhibition/installation aptly named Living Nature (or La Natura dell’Abitare). The idea is to ponder the possible reconciliation of people and nature with an emotive installation that explores the relationship between nature and living, and therefore trigger ideas about sustainable design in the internal and external parts of the home.
The Salone’s city-based technological project Living Nature. La Natura dell’Abitare
developed with the Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) international design and innovation studio,
will be in Piazza del Duomo, in front of Palazzo Reale, from 17th to 29th April.
A single 500m2 space, conceived with energy saving criteria in mind, will contain four
natural, climactic microcosms that will enable all four seasons of the year to unfold at
precisely the same time, one next to the other. Visitors will be immersed in nature and experience its changes as they make their way through the four different areas – Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn – embellished with familiar and domestic concepts.
The project, conceived by CRA with Barbara Römer, does not fail to deliver in terms of
ironic, evocative and experiential value. Quite the reverse. While the obvious aim is the
reconciliation between urban and domestic spaces on one hand and nature on the other,
the end goal is to come up with sustainable, genuinely applicable solutions that replicate
the processes inherent in our own ecosystem, harnessing existing technological advances
in an intelligent manner. While air conditioning is often associated with excessive
consumption, this project offers a radical change of perspective, demonstrating the
feasibility of air conditioning technology that is also sustainable, with huge potential for
future applications.
The 5-metre-high pavilion will consist of a responsive Crystal membrane fitted with light-reactive sensors that enable the internal climatic conditions to be carefully regulated. A
series of organic photovoltaic panels, equipped with latest generation solar cells inspired
by chlorophyll photosynthesis, will be integrated into the roof, providing the energy
required to keep the winter area cold. A heat exchange system draws on this energy to
heat the summer area.
With this event, the Salone del Mobile.Milano is keen to make its contribution to the re-greening of the city, albeit temporary. Living Nature. La Natura dell’Abitare is designed to
explore whether or not a space, urban or domestic, can become more human-friendly
through the sustainable use of natural resources.
Ultimately, the project provides a new standpoint and a different perspective on tackling
the issues of environmental sustainability and climate change with a view to improving
our living conditions at home and in cities and satisfy the human tendency towards
“biophilia” – a term coined by Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson – according to which
we are all instinctively attracted by nature and “programmed” to feel better when we are
immersed in it.
Credits
A Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) project for the Salone del Mobile.Milano
Concept Design: Carlo Ratti Associati & Studio Römer
Design Development: Carlo Ratti Associati
Scenography: Studio Römer
Engineering Consultants: Ai Studio
Landscape and Botanics: Patrick Blanc; Flavio Pollano
Construction: PAC Team Expo
Graphics: studio FM milano
Living Nature. La Natura dell’Abitare
17th – 29th April
Piazza del Duomo
10am – 10pm
For more information visit carloratti.com/project/living-nature/
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