Usually rejected as dated or utilitarian, laminates don’t all the time obtain the love they deserve. However at Milan Design Week 2025, Formica group He gave them slightly deserved. The model organized a convincing case for the laminate place within the historical past of design with Formic evolution (r). Hosted on the Fenix state of affairs, the exhibition has taken guests on a stratified journey – actually and metaphorically – over the many years, presenting over 40 items that spotlight the revolutionary function in modeling trendy life.
The sigerography of the exhibition, designed by the multidisciplinary firm SOPA DESIGN STUDIOit bent within the elementary component of the formica laminate: paper. The stacked layers of paper are pressed at excessive temperatures to create uncooked supplies that ultimately grow to be the fashions and floor varieties we all know in the present day. Right here, the standard origin was delivered to life with a daring impression.
Upon arrival, the guests have been greeted with a dramatic purple paper set up within the cascade within the ceiling, each on the fabric of the Formica signature and at its iconic emblem. The exhibition was then carried out on three thematic sections: signature design, fluid objects and roaring ’60 and ’70. Clear of Daniele Lorenzon (Founder Galleries Compasso Design and Gilda & Co) and architect/designer Alessandro PedrettiThe exhibition celebrated each the legacy and innovation.
Signature design Objects mirrored by icons reminiscent of Charles and Ray Eames, Gioponti and Alvar Aalto, which present how Formica Lamines performed a job in a few of their most acknowledged works.
Fluid objects explored the adaptability of the fabric – with items that flip by means of form and performance.
And Roaring ’60 and ’70 It supplied a vibrant look in twenty years pivoting types of Formica in homes, public areas and business environments.
By additional emphasizing the connection between the Formic inheritance and its materials origins, the exhibition additionally offered handmade works by Yoko mea Japanese paper artist. Her poetic, minimal sculptures – from a cup to a bag, a flower vase to a umbrella – have been made totally of paper. These each day objects subtly animated the displayed furnishings, including a quiet layer of tales that tied the historical past of the laminate to the only form.
Whereas Milan Design Week was shut, a Formica (R) evolution indicated the next: a everlasting exhibition idea on the Fenix state of affairs to proceed to satisfy trade professionals and design lovers within the continually increasing world of artistic laminate.
Formica T150 Document Holder by Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno in 1966
Formica Vainness
Youngsters’s Chairs Formic Alvar Aalto made for Artek in 1935
Formic Extendable desk with appropriate seats with appropriate seats
Tea Desk Formica designed by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller in 1950
Formica Desk designed by Gio Ponti in 1940
Formic nightstand on Ermenegildo and Eugenio Soncini wheels for the Madonnina medical care home in 1957
Formic plant stand
To seek out out extra about Formic Evolution (R), the newest tasks or occasions, go to Formica.com.
Photograph by Sara Magni.
