DESIGNER DAYS IN PARIS

A multimedia installation by Patricia Urquiola telling the secrets of desigm was Molteni&C; and Dada’s presentation at the “Designer’s day” event held in Paris held from 11th to 15th June.
The Flagship Store in Rue des Saints Pères was the venue for the film on the secrets of Night&Day.; The new seating system was designed by Patricia Urquiola with cinema becoming the connecting theme of the fittings for the refurbished space in the heart of Saint-Germain. How are the objects that surround us born? What stories do they tell? How do ideas become products? These were the design secrets revealed in the “live” performance which accompanied the film.
Centre stage was Night&Day;, a design which combines irony, comfort, imagination and rational thinking. Its variations become a sofa, a chaise longue or a single bed – all are based on the concept of versatility, on interpreting spaces by offering innovative solutions. Colours, sizes, adjustable backs and accessories, for storing or showing everyday objects, can all be matched to meet individual needs.
Along with the seating system, the other main player on the scene was Sequence, the new modular bookshelf, again by Patricia Urquiola. An airy structure featuring a thick beam element along which slide doors in various materials: punctured steel in various finishes, wood or glass etched with high impact geometric designs. Two types of dividing panel, full or punctured in a U-shape can be freely positioned so as to create symmetrical or asymmetrical arrangements; containers for any type of object. Sequence is avant-garde not just in its design but also in its technology. Structural shelves and dividers in lacquered aluminium ply give structural solidity to the whole bookshelf, even in larger combinations.
Arik Levy’s new designs arrived in Paris too. Hug is a new, modern reading of the classic seating system featuring a contemporary image and great comfort. Quake is a series of table elements for the living area based on research into shapes and transparencies. Occasional tables for any area, they alternate the use of steel, wood, glass or stone.
Space was also given to the collection Wood by Rodolfo Dordoni, a composition of elements – tables, chairs and containers – which form a new, harmonious homescape; and to Pass, a highly successful modular system, and to Gliss 5th, an evolution of the classic Molteni wardrobe, a system which can take on a variety of conformations to meet different tastes, needs and personalities without sacrificing the good looks of designer furnishing.