Urban Tree Lounge installation combines sustainability, materials design and architecture to spark moments of reflection
As designers, architects, and creative professionals from around the world arrive in Milan this week to explore the latest trends in design, they’ll discover a new place to “reflect” on their experiences. 3M Design (the design group of 3M Company) has collaborated with Stefano Boeri Architetti to create Urban Tree Lounge, an installation providing Design Week visitors an opportunity to experience magic moments of inspiration and reflection that are made possible when materials and architecture combine in new and creative ways. With shared passion for sustainability and vision to make life better, the two creative teams invite visitors to escape the dynamics of their busy itineraries to relax in a “nest” of kaleidoscopic wonder.
The installation incorporates several 3M materials including films, nonwovens and adhesives to create an experience where light dances, thoughts reflect, and minds (and mobile devices) recharge. “As creative professionals explore Milan to connect, learn and be inspired, we want them to know design is integral to everything we do at 3M as an innovation company – how we understand the world around us, identify needs and develop thoughtful solutions that can improve life,” said Eric Quint, 3M Chief Design Officer. “Our design team thrives on collaboration, so it’s a privilege to work with a partner like Stefano Boeri whose architectural influence, urban sensibility and sustainable mindset bring design to life.”
Located at Materials Village, SuperStudio Central Plaza, in partnership with Material Connexion Italia, visitors to Urban Tree Lounge can recline on a mini landscape constructed with 3M Nomad Matting while gazing up to reflect on design through a kaleidoscope of 3M Dichroic Film “leaves” and conceptual arbor made of 3M reflective film. These are just some of the many solutions 3M creates to manage light, improve energy efficiency, and support thoughtful solutions to make a better world. The lounge will allow visitors not only to recharge the creative vitality of mind and body, but also their mobile devices.
“It’s been amazing to work with the 3M Design team,” said Stefano Boeri, CEO of Stefano Boeri Architetti. “Thanks to an energizing exchange of ideas, we were able to achieve the goal of creating a conceptual tree that, like an organic one, absorbs, filters and mirrors the sunlight to create a shadow to reflect and recharge. It’s my hope that this prototype can influence creative approach to design in public spaces.”
More than 300,000 visitors are expected to attend Milan Design Week this year for meetings, events and networking. Following a press preview on April 11 from 5:00-8:00 p.m., Urban Tree Lounge will be open at the following times:
- April 12-16 from 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
- April 17 from 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Urban Tree Lounge will be located at Materials Village, the project of Material Connexion Italia at SuperStudio -Zona Tortona.
In addition, 3M Chief Design Officer Eric Quint will participate in a panel discussion entitled, New Horizons in Creativity: Connecting Architecture, Nature and Humanity, organized by Material Connexion Italia and in collaboration with Abitare Magazine. This will take place on Thursday, April 14 at Spazio Ansaldo from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Speakers also include Stefano Boeri, architect and principal of Stefano Boeri Architetti, Humberto Campanas, designer and partner of Estudio Campana, Marco Piva, architect and principal of Studio Marco Piva, Francesco Librizzi, architect, Leonardo Caffo, philosopher and Emilio Genovesi, CEO of Material Connexion Italia. The panel will be moderated by Rodrigo Rodriquez, President of Material Connexion Italia.
3M Design is the global creative engine driving design for innovation and branding at 3M. Across the company, designers stimulate collaborative creativity to translate insights into solutions that inspire and positively impact 3M customers, employees, and society at large.
About 3M
At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $30 billion in sales, our 90,000 employees connect with customers all around the world. Learn more about 3M’s creative solutions to the world’s problems at www.3M.com/design or follow @3MDesign on Twitter.
3M and Nomad are trademarks of 3M Company.
About Stefano Boeri Architetti
Stefano Boeri Architetti (SBA), based in Milan, and with studios in Shanghai, and Doha. The studio (called Boeri Studio until 2008) is dedicated since 1993 to the research and practice of architecture and urbanism. Among the most known projects are the Vertical Forest in Milan, the Villa Méditerranée in Marseille, and the House of the Sea of La Maddalena.
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