Objective, designed by Jean Nouvel for Artemide
Qu’est-ce que c’est Objective? Starchitect Jean Nouvel, Hon. FAIA’s 8-watt LED lamp for lighting brand Artemide is sheathed in a black aluminum casing and features three different light sources: a glass diffuser in the body, an upwards-facing floodlight, and an adjustable spotlight on top. There's something vaguely sinister about it, a bit of danger, as there often is about Nouvel’s work; it's been mooted about in certain circles that one of his deepest influences was the time he spent in after-hours nightclubs in Paris in the '70s. Objective could be further proof.
#005 SitTable, designed by Ben van Berkel for Prooff
Inside the Emporio building in Tortona, UNStudio’s Ben van Berkel held it down for the architect-as-designer with a warehouse-sized exhibition in collaboration with furniture brand Prooff. (Berkel also unveiled a svelte modular seating system for Offecct at Salone earlier in the week.) Still the most arresting item in his growing product repertoire: The SitTable from 2006, an oak table suspended on centipede-like metal legs with a built-in upholstered lounge seat.
Array Chairs, designed by Zaha Hadid for Poltrona Frau
Zaha Hadid, Hon. FAIA, drew a big crowd—as she usually does—to a talk-and-cocktails to open her exhibition “Multiplicities” at Milan art space Fonderia Napoleanica Eugenia. Peculiarly, the audience was not seated (them as found seats) on one of her newest products, unveiled earlier this year: the Array auditorium seating line for Poltrona Frau. Unlike your typical movie-theater chair, this one flips not straight back but an at angle. The effect is interesting, though the practical advantages may be limited to making it harder to lose your scarf.
04 Counter, designed by Rem Koolhaas for Knoll
Rem Koolhaas, Hon. FAIA, rounds out the list of superstar architects with new product collections that were on view at Salone this year. His contribution is the "Tools for Life" furniture range for Knoll, which debuted here in Milan at the Prada Exhibition space in January. It's flagship piece is the Counter: Available in leather, wood, or acrylic finishes, the piece features a kind of supernatural concentration of function (a typically Koolhaasian move). The two topmost volumes can be turned 360 degrees, turning it alternately into shelves, steps, seats, or a table.
