SALONE DEL MOBILE MILANO 2018
A Furniture Reawakening in Milan
It’s April. It’s springtime. It's Salone del Mobile! Once again, all eyes will be on the latest living trends and pioneering interior design in Milan, the capital of furniture, between 17th and 22nd April 2018. It's the 57th time that the north Italian cosmopolitan city is hosting the vibrant event with an international flair. Inspiration blooms every few minutes for the 300,000 visitors to the world’s largest furniture fair. Over 2,000 exhibitors are presenting their concepts for contemporary living, and this includes Rolf Benz with stylish furniture creations that are out of the ordinary.
Home is not a place, it’s a feeling
Rolf Benz 388, Rolf Benz 655 and Rolf Benz 988 – these are the three new product ranges with which Rolf Benz is welcoming the public to its trade fair stand. This year’s motto relating to the company’s trade fair attendance is "Home is not a place, it’s a feeling". Rolf Benz is picking up on the growing yearning for security in a world that is becoming increasingly agile, whilst at the same time responding to the desire for flexible furniture concepts in times of housing shortages and modern, urban nomadism.
The easily combinable and flexible sofa range Rolf Benz 388, for example, adapts perfectly to any room and living situation and proves to be extremely practical owing to its integrated shelving. The almost sculptural yet surprisingly delicate-looking Rolf Benz 988 dining table, designed by Bodo Sperlein, is a real eye-opener and comes in three different lengths (2.20 m, 2.40 m and 2.60 m) depending on the space available. Last, but not least is the elegant Rolf Benz 655 chair from design duo Hoffmann/Kahlesyss, which also cuts an excellent figure even outside of the trade fair stand and closed living environments. On the bustling streets and squares in Milan, for example.
Living room feeling to go
Milan offers numerous beautiful locations that invite you to spend some time doing sweet nothing – "dolce far niente". Based on the Rolf Benz fair motto "Home is not a place, it’s a feeling", we have taken the Rolf Benz 655 design chair and matching accessories to do up some of the best locations in Milan and to experience them from a peaceful "living room perspective". A slightly different comfort zone.
Our city tour starts at the Porta Ticinese city gate on the Piazza XXIV Maggio. The neo-classical city gate made of pink granite is among the most important works by the architect Luigi Cagnola and, incidentally, makes a wonderful backdrop to our compact-sized mobile living room.
We continue to the historical canal district of Navigli with its abundant cafés, bars and restaurants. This district reminds us a little of Venice and is a popular meeting place for party-goers. We set up our little living room here too and enjoy the charming hustle and bustle.
Of course, the Piazza del Duomo with its imposing cathedral and the triumphal arch of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade are also on our list. The central square is the heart of Milan. It’s not surprising that our living room installation triggers an especially warm response at this prominent location.
The next stop on our tour is the new "CityLife" district on the former trade fair site. Without a doubt, the most striking building on the square is the Generali Tower that stretches 170 metres high into Milan’s skies, designed by star architect Zaha Hadid who died in 2016. A truly majestic sight which, when considered from the comfortable perspective of Rolf Benz 655, appears even more imposing.
A visit to the historic Brera district in the centre of Milan's old town, which is captivating with its small shops and pretty bars, ends our short "living room city tour". In conclusion: this Milan furniture spring is wonderfully inspiring!