Fuorisalone 2023: ceramics travel from Milan to Dubai with the Iris Ceramica Group

Beginning on April 17 and throughout Milano Design Week, in response to "Laboratorio Futuro", the theme of Fuorisalone 2023, the Milanese showroom of the Iris Ceramica Group, at Via Santa Margherita 4 becomes a laboratory and place of dialogue through four talks featuring special guests discussing architecture, ceramics and the challenges of the future. In line with its commitment to helping shape a better future, the Iris Ceramica Group has chosen to address the issues most urgently demanding attention today, sustainability and responsible design, particularly in urban settings, in hospitality, the contract industry and large-scale projects.

The first event, “New eco-sustainable urban devices for use by citizens” (at 18:30 on April 18), pertains to the installation “Urban Station. The corner of the future”, a temporary workstation in Piazza dei Mercanti designed by studio Asti Architetti for Iris Ceramica Group. The Prorector of Politecnico di Milano, Emilio Faroldi, and architect Paolo Asti, who designed the project, will discuss themes in urban architecture and “eco-sustainable devices for use by citizens”.

The discussion opened in Milan will then move on to Dublin for the second talk (at 18:30 on April 19), "The Architects Series - A documentary on Grafton Architects", a new episode in the docu-series created by The Plan magazine for the Iris Ceramica Group. The first episode of 2023 focuses on the Dublin-based studio of Grafton Architects. Winners of the 2020 Pritzker Prize, the studio’s two founders, architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, curated "Freespace", the 2018 International Architecture Exhibition at Biennale di Venezia, focusing on architecture’s social and urban role.

On April 20, a talk on "Local Cultures in Global Settings" organised by UAE Modern will be the first event in the international “Local Cultures in Global settings” contest for architects and designers. The live-streamed event will see the participation of Abeer Seikaly, architect, artist and cultural curator, Khalid Alshafar, founder and director of the architectural practice that bears his name, and trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort. The guests will be introduced by The Plan’s editorial director Nicola Leonardi and Monica Mazzolani, co-curator of UAE Modern, with moderator Massimo Imparato.
The initiative will continue in subsequent stages, travelling to London before concluding with an exhibition of award-winning projects during Dubai Design Week in November. The contest is for design of a project consisting of a geometric or figurative pattern using the natural ceramic surfaces produced by the Iris Ceramica Group, which may be created using the Group’s patented “Design Your Slabs” solution for printing on ceramic materials. The competing projects, to be submitted by July 31, 2023, may be of two types: for interiors, and for architectural envelopes, with a nod to Brazilian architect Roberto Burle Marx, a valuable role model for his ability to draw inspiration and value from local cultures, transforming them into unforgettable images. The series will conclude at 18:00 on April 21 with a talk concerning the hospitality industry, “Investments in hospitality: business plans and design creativity for relaunching the sector”, as part of the (Re)Generation Stories - Road to Milano-Cortina 2026 initiative, with the involvement of: Dario Leone, Head of Hospitality & Leisure, Hospitality & Leisure – Savills; Matteo Monferini, Head of Development Italy – Artisa; and Vittorio Grassi - founder, Vittorio Grassi Architetto & Partners.

---

GALLERY