The Triennale of Milan – The new Design Museum opening. At Last a museum in the world capital of design dedicated to design itself. Situated in a section of The Triennale, the Design Museum can be reached by a bamboo bridge especially designed by Michele de Lucchi, who also designed the museum space. The inaugural show is entitled The Obsessions of Italian Design and can be seen until April 2009. The exhibition was conceived and designed by Italo Rota and English film director, Peter Greenaway. The opening night was packed with about four thousand people, very difficult to see the exhibition, but great fun socially.
Seen in the Design Museum. One of the hundred pieces on show is this legendary Ettore Sottsass bookcase, designed for Memphis in 1981.
Seen at the Design Museum opening - The President. The President of The Triennale, Davide Rampello describes the space “Unique in it’s kind in Italy, The Design Museum will change its contents every year. The only stable thing is the desire to give the public information about Italian design and about it’s social importance.”
Seen at the Design Museum opening - The designers. Alberto Meda’s Titania lamp for Luceplan is one of the hundred objects exhibited in the show. Denis Santachiara is known for his work on the borders between art and design.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The professor and the designer. Professor and architect, Arturo Dell’Acqua Bellavitis, not only lectures in design at Milan Polytechnic but is also the vice-president of the Triennale. In March next year, provocateur designer, Fabio Novembre, will have a retrospective of his designs at the Rotonda della Besana.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The architect and the artist. Architect, Paolo Lomazzi and artist Diego Esposito were among the 4,000 guests at the opening of the Design Musuem.
The Agora Theatre. The Agora Theatre was designed by Italo Rota. It is situated in the heart of the museum. It is lined in wood and the lighting system is composed of fifty-two monitors.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The Architects. Italo Rota and Franco Raggi stand face to face for my photo. Italo conceived and designed the inaugural exhibition entitled, The Obessions of Italian Design, with Peter Greenaway.
Seen at the Design Museum opening - The expat architect. British award-winning industrial designer, George Sowden, has lived in Italy since 1971. He started his career in Italy working for Olivetti and later was part of Sottsass’s Memphis Group.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The fashion designers. Tai and Rosita Missoni, with their grandson, Francesco can often bee seen at art and design openings. They like to keep in touch and be inspired by everything that is creative.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The design couple. Nicoletta and Andrea Branzi. The distinguished architect Andrea Branzi is the Design Museum’s Scientific Director. Nicoletta Branzi, is well known in her own right as an artist, researcher and designer, her best internationally known client is Muji.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The publisher and the designer. L’Europeo magazine publisher, Michela Vecchiato and designer Paola Coin. The Europeo dedicated a whole issue to Italian design in honor of the new Design Museum opening. Paola's table-top designs are produced under the name Paola C.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The entrepreneur and his children. Ernesto Gismondi, president of the internationally successful Artemide Group, which produces the best designed Italian lamps, was seen with his three children; Carolina, the student, Michele, the a merchant banker and Valentina the lawyer.
Seen at the Design Museum opening - The anchorman. Anchorman, Alessandro Cecchi Paone brushing up on design history.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The artist. Guido Venturini was a very talented designer and made up the King Kong design duo, with Stefano Giovannoni, but his love of art took precedence and now he concentrates mostly on his paintings.
Seen at the Design Museum opening – The socialite. Marta Marzotto is often seen at the most mundane openings. Her wit and glamour match the size of the fantastic jewelry she designs. Note the size of these emeralds.