Connections, digital interactions and networking for a new ‘Design Experience’. All this in a real place – Archiproducts Milano – where architects, designers and brands can find their inspiration, seize opportunities and explore new synergies.

Since April 3rd the place has already welcomed more than 12 thousand visitors among architects, designers, brands and international press. Milan Design Week 2017 was the occasion to present the new look of the place, where since last year more than 15 thousand professionals have found their ideal home working space, but also to open the Archiproducts Shop Touch Point, the new microscopic but hyperinteractive shop window of the huge online store with thousands of products and brands on sale all over the world. The address is via Tortona 31.

Digital connections and interactions If in 2016 the opening of Archiproducts Milano brought to an important transition from virtual to real, in the new year there has been a sort of coming back to the digital. All exhibited objects – both those giving shape to the workspace and those designing the ideal living space proposed in the shop – are ‘connected’ with the visitors. Thanks to digital instruments objects are able to ‘communicate’ with visitors, telling everything about their history.

This is what today is defined ‘Phygital’, a new passage from physical to digital in an osmotic synthesis in which these two worlds mutually contaminate. The connection between objects and visitors is possible thanks to the app ‘Archiproducts Scan’, allowing to ‘shazam’ the exhibited furniture. This releases a ‘cookie’ containing information on the features, versions, colours and prices, which are stored on the visitor’s device. In this way the visitor may have a look at those aspects offline, get to know the scanned products in detail and even buy them online.

“We are currently exploring a new retail concept – explains Enzo Maiorano, co-founder of the network – in which the product experience is more important than the mere visual knowledge: visitors can acquire much more information than those given by a single exhibited product. This is the first step of a path bringing visitors and objects closer, which is further developed with the help of technological devices. In this way also buying products online will be much easier”.

The new look of the building Completely renewed both outside and inside, the new look of the of the spacious, luminous turn-of-the-century apartment was implemented thanks to the cooperation of 45 international brands.

Hundreds of very light gold, black, pink-copper and silver Kriskadecor aluminium chains give rise to the new façade pattern, made upon a design by Serena Confalonieri, which stands out against the total-black background made by Oikos.

The path inside starts from the ground floor at the Archiproducts Shop Touch Point. A charming industrial space made precious thanks to the interventions by Ideal Work – which renewed the flooring using the Architop cement-polymer system laid by ASSOPAV – and by Knauf, which provided the dry construction system for the false ceiling in plasterboard made by Vanoncini, one of the biggest specialised companies in Europe. The lighting system of the whole ground floor is made by Flos, with Infra-structure by Vincent Van Duysen, the first and currently the greatest installation since the system has been produced. The archs connecting the different rooms are closed by Linvisibile full-height up-and-over doors.

Here an ideal living space, furnished as a symbolic idea of home, shows the geometry with which Elisa Ossino has interpreted the vynil wallpaper by Texturae. The set also shows the new trends in the field of textiles: the precious blue velvet of the New York chair by Saba with the unprecedented combination of the copper-coloured structure. The powder pink of the façade pattern also finds its place inside with the new version of the Kelly C chair by Tacchini. All these colours are referred to on the Visioni B carpet by Patricia Urqiuola for cc-tapis and are perfectly matched with the lava stone and the new metal black, bronze and rust brownfinishes proposed by Desalto. The set also hosts a BeoVisionAvant TV screen by Bang&Olufsen projecting in real time the 3D visualization and contextualization in the set of any products selected from the archiproducts catalogue thanks to the Virtual Reality technology developed by Sayduck, startup of the Network.

Always on the ground floor another workspace hosts the Buxkin noise-absorbing panels obtained by recycling the natural leather coming from the footwear industry, together with the Emko desks and chairs.

The staircase to the upper floor shows an unexpected outdoor space, covered by a green mantle, identical to natual grass, made with the revolutionary Roofingreen patent. The terrace is furnished with the new SAN collection by Manutti and the outdoor lamps by Bover.

A long corridor brings to the first room, furnished with the new collections by Saba Italia and the carpets by cc-tapis, hung on the walls like paintings. Their first co-branding project in a creative liaison in the poetry of colour and matter.

The corridor opens on a charming indoor-outodoor space, flooded with light from a window-roof and hosting the furniture of the Australian brand SP01.

After passing this space, visitors have access to a wider room perfectly interpreting the idea of home working inside the project of Archiproducts Milano, with the furniture by True Design. Italian brand with a nordic style, it matches natural wood and textiles with very fine shades.

In a space meant to design a big house in which you can work or a welcoming workplace where you can feel like home, kitchen is a must. Specifically made by Strato, with elegant black columns reproducing the classic wood panelling design, the kitchen was used during the Milano Design Week by the recognised chef Enrico Bartolini for the gourmet dinners organised with Archiproducts. The wall of the kitchen top is covered with Trame di Pietra (transl.: stone textures), micro-engravings made on stone with a TWS-patented technology. The room is dominated by the Dome hanging lamp designed by Benedetta Tagliabue for Bover, lighting the Cley oval table by Desalto up, presented in the brand new rust brown finish. The stuffed chair covered in dark green velvet by Montis is perfectly integrated in the context.

Billiani welcomes the visitors in the next room with wooden table and chairs, but also with comfortable armchairs and desks for more informal and relaxed meetings. Here it is possible to see the fiber-reinforced ceramic-plated mortar three-dimensional textures designed by Jacopo Cecchi 3D Surface with one’s own eyes.

On the opposite side of the same floor two other rooms awai visitors. The first room hosts the brightful installation of the New York brand StickBulb. A combination of thin ‘sticks’ made with recycled wood, available from 30 centimetres up to 2 meters length, with a Led stripe on each. A special steel junction system allows to combine them, thus giving rise to different compositions.

The second room hosts the SET Living system by Twils, presented in a new range of fine pastel shades. The same ones selected by Ronel Jordaan for the wool felt acoustic ornamental flowers decorating one of the walls.

Partner Desalto, Saba Italia, Roofingreen, Buxkin, Velux, Bticino, Flos, cc-tapis, True Design, Oikos, Ideal Work, Knauf, Linvisibile, Mogs, TWS Trame di Pietra, Emko, Manutti, SP01, Texturae, Sciroccoh, 3d Surface, Montis, Twils, Billiani, Ms&Wood, Stickbulb, Bover, Strato Cucine, Bora, Frigo 2000, V-Zug, Sub-Zero, Jee-o, Luctra, Ronel Jordaan, Royal Botania, Falmec, Unical, Bang and Olufsen, British Fires, Dsignedby, Sayduck Technical Sponsors Vittorio Martini, Kriska, Dieffebi, Smeg, Karpeta, Woodskin, Cea, Moab 80, Ethimo, Magis, Tacchini

Media Partners Elle Decor, Domus, Index Design Series, Downtown Design, Dubai Design District, Milano Space Makers, Openhouse