With Milan Design Week concluding for another year, the hotel sector has plenty to reflect on thanks to several forward-thinking installations that explored the current landscape of hospitality, and where it may be heading in the future.
Among them, Aurea, an Architectural Fiction, opened its doors at Salone del Mobile. The installation presented an immersive, spatial experience inspired by the concept of a hotel, where design takes on a storytelling role. Envisioned by Maison Numéro 20 founder Oscar Lucien Ono in collaboration with leading design houses and partners, the installation comprised a series of theatrical environments designed to captivate and transport audiences into a world of imaginative design.
Meanwhile, Nilufar Depot set the stage for a fictional luxury hotel beyond time and space. Reinterpreting the language of hospitality through immersive interiors and collectible design, Nilufar Grand Hotel placed objects at the centre of a curated spatial narrative, featuring three signature bedrooms by David/Nicolas, Filippo Carandini and Allegra Hicks, featuring new works by Andrea Mancuso, Maximilian Marchesani and Christian Pellizzari.
Back for its fourth Milan Design Week, L’Appartamento by Artemest returned to Palazzo Donizetti to unveil a new curatorial chapter dedicated to Italian Grandeur. The installation explored Italy’s artistic legacy, architectural language and exceptional craftsmanship through a series of curated roomsets dedicated to the country’s cultural capitals. Taking on the Vestibule and Reading Room, Sasha Adler Design took cues from Venetian heritage and craftsmanship, while Rockwell envisioned the Dining Room in the exuberant spirit of Naples. The Grand Salon by March & White Design reinterpreted classic roman Architecture, and the Entertainment Salons by Charlap Hyman & Herrero took inspiration from Palermo’s Palazzo Valguarnera-Gangi. Finally, Urjowan Alsharif Interiors delivered the Alcove in celebration of Renaissance interiors and Florentine villas.
Also unveiled at Milan Design Week, yet built to last as a permanent, fully operational hotel, Tom Dixon presented Mua Mua Hotel as part of a wider takeover of the Mulino Estate. Envisioned by the British designer’s interiors agency, Design Research Studio, the 12-room micro-hotel featured a lobby furnished with terrazzo marble coffee tables and sculptural vases, as well as a cosy reading room and a gift shop stocked with accessories from Dixon’s AW26 collections. The hotel’s guestrooms each featured a Vispring bed as its focal point, and lighting from Dixon’s Melt and Whirl collections featured prominently throughout.
Finally, Rosewood made its Milan Design Week debut with Objects That Speak: A Conversation Continued with Andrea Branzi. Curated in collaboration with Deyan Sudjic, Director Emeritus of London’s Design Museum, the installation brought together Branzi’s signature paper lamps and, in a continuing legacy of the late designer’s pioneering work, pieces by a new generation of creatives including Jaime Hayon, Bianca Tschaikner and Marc Quinn, all of whom have works displayed in Rosewood hotels around the world. Demonstrating Branzi’s belief that design reflects the distinct culture of time and place, the installation embodied Rosewood’s commitment to this ethos, platforming the pioneering artists shaping modern design.
