Salone del Mobile is back for its 60th year.
Milan’s eagerly awaited annual design fair is the largest since the pandemic began, with themes of sustainability, designing with nature and eco-friendly materials at its heart.
Italian designer and associate professor at Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, Gionata Gatto, has taken the 2022 theme in his stride, showcasing Coloniae, a collection of objects that explore the relationship between people and plants.
It has been designed for JCP Universe as part of its Alternate Life Forms exhibit.
Living and working between Venice, Rotterdam and Dubai, Gatto came to the UAE in 2019, to curate the programme at the Dubai institute's Department of Design Products, which views design pieces as capable of interacting with people and other objects in their surroundings.
This notion is at the forefront of Coloniae, which offers vases, tables, room dividers and other objects meant to be taken over by the houseplants growing in and around them, engaging the owner more actively than a static sculpture or side table.
“The idea is to start thinking how we use our domestic space in relation to plants and living flora, and I wanted to understand how well plants could actually colonise objects,” Gatto tells The National.
“Think of all the architecture that’s been left abandoned and how plants take over these spaces. I wanted to explore something similar, but with a view of understanding how we can create dialogue with these plants and the objects they take over.
“I worked with different institutions in Europe that explore how plants can respond to environmental stimuli in a kind of intelligent fashion,” he says. “The interesting question is how far are we willing to go? How far are we prepared to compromise our domestic spaces in favour of plants?”
The relationship between plants and humans is a long-time interest of his, says Gatto, who wrote his PhD on the topic. The collection was intended to be shown last year, but Covid-19 meant a diminished Salone in 2021, so the project was delayed.
With pandemic lockdowns still fresh in everyone’s mind, many have a new appreciation for nature and the environment, with more people craving and seeking out greenery.
As well as baking bread and knitting, the number of people taking up gardening and potting as a hobby saw a surge in popularity.
Gatto has designed some of the pieces to interlock, allowing the plants to grow across more than one object and render each immovable.
The series is part-design, part-human experiment, exploring how much of humanity’s desire to control will be relinquished to prioritise the well-being of nature.
Through it, Gatto questions whether humans can truly live alongside nature, as opposed to having plants as mere decoration in personal spaces.
“I like to think about design in these terms, as speculative artefacts that have the scope of generating debate or discussion around certain themes. Rather than designing something with an answer, maybe design can pose a question instead,” Gatto says.
“We are thinking about nature in a different way other than it being something inside or outside. In a way, we are part of it, so the problem comes from the fact that we see ourselves as being divided from nature,” he says. “For me, it was interesting to see, perhaps after such a [long] time of being indoors, if plants can play a different role in our domestic space.”
Gatto doesn’t intend to provide specific instructions on how people should use the furniture, or whether plants should be pruned or cut back to keep them comfortably manageable.
He hopes a plant will completely eclipse the object it's placed in or on, making it the centre of the design scheme, rather than the pot or vase.
All the pieces are made using perforated aluminium sheets coated in copper or bronze, allowing the plants to rise over the surfaces and take root in the gaps left between 10 millimetre holes. The material provides the necessary structure for climbing plants to take over with ease.
Gatto thoroughly researched the root systems of various species before deciding on the material and which plants would be suitable for the collection — he chose those that didn’t need a lot of soil to grow in. These include ivy, orchids and large-leaved monstera.
“Then there is the philodendron, which is another indoor species that needs this sort of gripping surface in order to grow,” Gatto says. “We're trying out different plants and each object is specifically designed to host a [particular] species.”
Salone del Mobile runs until June 12 in Fiera Rho, Milan
Museum of the Future’s garden contains 100 plant species from across the UAE — in pictures
Naga
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If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Company%20profile
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SPECS
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
IPL 2018 FINAL
Sunrisers Hyderabad 178-6 (20 ovs)
Chennai Super Kings 181-2 (18.3 ovs)
Chennai win by eight wickets
Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Results:
5pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600 metres
Winner: Dasan Da, Saeed Al Mazrooei (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Saabah, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Mukaram, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: MH Tawag, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) | Dh70,000 | 1,400m
Winner: RB Inferno, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Juthoor, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy
