Italian design brand Driade has officially opened its new Milan showroom by David Chipperfield – one particular of the British architect’s first projects as the company’s artistic director .
Photo by Santi Caleca
The 500-square-metre flagship showroom at 8 By way of Borgogna opened yesterday to reveal the minimal style by David Chipperfield, whose part at Driade was announced final November.
Connected story: Driade appoints David Chipperfield as artistic director
Spread across three staggered floors, the all-white space gives a neutral backdrop for the brand’s decorative and colourful products, by designers including Philippe Starck, Ross Lovegrove and Fabio Novembre.
Photo by Santi Caleca
“The vibrant, open space allows interplay amongst the merchandise as they seem in an alternating sequence of iconic classics and the latest additions to the line,” said a statement from Driade.
Photo by Santi Caleca
Guests enter by way of a door in the large glass shopfront, arriving at the middle level a extended thin space running parallel to the street that is illuminated by big windows.
Photo by Enza Tamborra
Tiny merchandise are showcased on white cabinets beneath the windows, while pendant lights hang from the ceiling.
Photo by Enza Tamborra
Larger objects are displayed on a low plinth that extends from the second step of a staircase, which alterations direction twice ahead of reaching the upper floor.
The stairs and balconies that look down from the prime level are guarded making use of panels of diamond-patterned wire mesh, stretched across rectangular metal frames.
Photo by Enza Tamborra
From the entrance, a wide flight of stairs also leads down to further display spaces on the lowest floor – tucked under the top floor.
Big openings in the walls let glimpses of the merchandise on show downstairs from the central level.
Photo by Enza Tamborra
Chipperfield was appointed inventive director by Driade’s new owners, Italian Creation Group, who rescued the company from monetary ruin in June 2013.
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His design and style for the showroom marks the relaunch of the brand, which aims to merge its previous style with a pared-back aesthetic.
Photo by Enza Tamborra
“The purpose is for this showroom to be the ultimate embodiment of Driade’s identity,” stated the brand’s CEO, Stefano Core.
Photo by Enza Tamborra
“It is more than just a shop: it is a genuine exhibition gallery. It was crucial to have a venue to represent us and this is just the 1st step on a journey that the organization has begun.”
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Photo by Santi Caleca
Chipperfield is also presently operating on the renovation of Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, even though his museum and gallery complicated in a converted steel factory in Milan is nearing completion.
