As Milan Design Week comes to an end, the Fuorisalone The installation that sticks in my mind is once again one that brings a design twist to the familiar. MIT professor and architect Carlo Ratti works with mama to create House of Pulpa temporary construction that transforms one of the most ubiquitous basic cabinets into an immersive architectural experience. Canned goods are rarely the subject of design discourse, yet their cultural presence is undeniable, as Andy Warhol underlined decades ago.
Here, the same basic box became the starting point for a different kind of exploration. Installed under the portico of the Università degli Studi di Milano, around twenty thousand boxes of Mutti tomato paste were supported by a steel substructure that allows them to be stacked and removed gradually without compromising their stability.
Visitors walked through the red volume that spanned more than 25 meters. Inside, the experience goes beyond the visual. Subtle cues of aroma, texture and sound created a sensory environment referencing the tomato supply chain.
Circularity is also embedded throughout. The floor, developed using Mapei resin from dried tomato peels recovered from processing waste, reinforces the ethos of the project. Nothing there was purely symbolic. Each element points back to cycles of production, use and reuse. In essence, the project is designed to be ephemeral.
Guests were asked to remove a can of Mutti Polpa as an example of participation through consumption. The break-up structure will extend the life of the display to many pasta dinners across the region. For the remaining cans they will be given. The dispersion of the work is what makes it so exciting. The destination of the installation will be someone’s kitchen, showing how design can minimize waste by thinking beyond single use.
Pictures from Saverio Lombardi Vallauricourtesy of INTERNI magazine.
