milan - hugheswho

GamFratesi at Milan 2016 for AD China

Interview at Mindcraft Exhibition, Circle Filologico, Milan

This piece was published by AD China in July 2016. This is the English version. Stine and Enrico were charming to talk to. I found the exhibition far more experiential than informative (not a bad thing) and also hard to get my head round its name, “Mindcraft.” As I was writing it up, my spellcheck kept correcting it to minecraft, with which I am much more familiar.

Future(s) by Design 未来场

I was asked to curate a 1000m² space within this giant aircraft-hangar space on the West Bund. The centrepiece was a 40 metre bamboo composite wind turbine blade from a 1.5MW turbine developed by a Beijing company, Khanwind. It was an amazing experience. This essay describes some of the contents and thematic links between some of my favourite designs of recent years.

Giulio Iacchetti — Interview

Giulio Iacchetti’s work is firmly in the tradition of Italian postwar design — playful, intellectual, surprising. In many ways he has inherited the mantle from the likes of Achille Castiglioni in the way he has reinterpreted the familiar and his love of challenging convention. I got the chance to interview Giulio in Milan for AD China in 2013.

Oskar Zieta — Interview

After following his work for several years, I finally got the chance to interview visionary engineer and designer Oskar Zieta for AD China in 2013.

Modern Weekly — Milan Review 2011

A different review for a different publication.

Review of Milan Salone 2011 for FT Rui

Another review of a bygone fair. Lots of exciting things appearing this year. I will try and add some more photos over time. This is the English version of the piece written in Chinese.

Musica Ex Machina – Jukebox A Milano

April 2009

This is a book chapter exploring the enduring cultural significance of the jukebox in a digital age. It documents a research project to create a new form of jukebox, sponsored by SCF Consorzio Fonografici and exhibited in the Triennale Museum, Milan. 22nd-27th April, 2009. The digital jukebox concept I developed used customised beermat ‘tokens’ to activate the different tracks. Two working models were installed — one in the Triennale exhibition hall and a second that travelled around Milan in a bus. The published text was in Italian, so here is the translation:

2008 Milan Salone Del Mobile — Review

This was the second full review of the fair that I did for Modern Weekly. I used the opportunity to meet two heroes of mine: Denis Santachiara and Claudio Campeggi.

2007 Milan Review

“If you like my Clay chairs, you must be a Good Guy” Maarten Baas.

This was the first full scale review I did of the Milan Furniture Fair. I continued to write regular reviews for Chinese publications for around 10 years. It was always a rush to get to interviews during these years as I was also putting on exhibitions with my students, but all this adds to the excitement of the fair! The best bit was meeting designers whom I admired. It was great to get Maarten Baas on the front cover of the magazine (even using my amateur portrait!) as the covers of MW are typically reserved for Hollywood celebs.