Salone del Mobile preview The Designers

From left, Chris Redfern of Sottass Associati

Why do you live in Milan?

My relationship with Milan is somewhat complicated. I’m not sure if I physically live in Milan or more like just shelter here whilst I work.

What do you like most?

it’s geographical postion in Italy & Europe and what it has to offer. There are so many beautiful places in the vicinity, for instance the Dolomites, the south of France or Umbria and Tuscany.

Do you stay in Milan for the salone?

Staying in Milan during the furniture fair is always entertaining due to the amount of energy and people in the city. It gives me the chance to catch up with a lot friends and clients from all over the world.

Three pieces of advice?

Visitors in Milan during the furniture fair should be aware that it's always better to reserve in advance. If there’s too much bad furniture around then a quick tour of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana should lift your spirits. Bar Atomic is always a good place to end an evening.

A place to visit?

The church of Santa Maria in Chiesa Rossa. The church was designed by the Architect Giovanni Muzio in the 1930's and inside the church there is the last lighting installation by Dan Flavin done in 1996 just before he died.

Patricia Urquiola

Fabio Novembre is both an architect and an industrial designer

Why do you live In Milan?

I was not born in Milan and I’m not an Inter or AC Milan fan. I don’t eat panettone, and I don’t like fog. But the city reminds me of people I love, and places I’ve spent time in.

What do you like most about the city?

Milan’s palette of colours is muted, a colour scheme often reduced to a scale of tones of grey, identifying it as a place of maturity. Milan has a tradition of a laborious pursuit of beauty, possibly because beauty is not one of its natural attributes.

Where do you go when you leave?

Curiosity more than necessity drives me out. I live in a very privileged condition: people come to see me, so that going out is a choice, not a duty. .

Do you stay in Milan during the Salone?

Of course, I could never miss it! It’s such a fun time - friends coming from all over the world and Milano turning colourful and multilingual.

Three pieces of advice?

Learn how to get a cab. Make restaurant reservation on time. Join parties!

Three favourite places?

Pinacoteca di Brera. Bramante’s work at Santa Maria presso San Satiro. My show at the Triennale.

Philippe Nigro is a French born designer

Why do you live in Milan?

I arrived here many years ago to do an internship and stayed. For my job it’s stimulating to live in a place where one can breathe in design.

What do you like about the city?

The untraditional beauty of the city: the fact that it does not demonstrate its beauty in an external way. I also like the fact that the city continues to surprise you, years after you’ve lived here.

Where do you go when you leave?

I usually leave on the weekends, especially in the summertime when it’s too hot and the city gets filled with mosquitoes. Luckily the city is close to wonderful places in the mountains and by the sea.

Do you stay in Milan during the Salone?

Of course! It’s a singular moment during the year. I obviously stay for work but also because it’s fun. The city completely transforms itself.

Three favourite places?

The Colone di San Lorenzo, Piazza Sant’Alessandro and “La Sibilla” where they have excellent calzoni and pizzas.

Stefano Giovannoni

Why do you live in Milan?

Because a designer who lives in Italy cannot live anywhere else.

What do you like about the city?

It’s a bourgeois city, discreet and reserved. The rhythm is a professional one and everything is more efficient and organized than in any other Italian city. It’s not very fun, but for work it works well.

Where do you go when you leave?

I was born in Liguria, on the seaside. I love the water, boats and fishing and when I can on the weekends, that’s where I go.

Do you stay in Milan during the salone?

Obviously I stay and take advantage of meeting with foreign clients.

Three pieces of advice?

Move in a rational way and pay attention to how and when you should get around. Select a few, but good places. Don’t forget to reserve nice restaurants and finish your night with a drink at Bar Basso.

Three favourite places?

The food market at Coin in Piazza 5 Giornate. The Trattoria del Nuovo Macello, which is great quality for the price and raw fish at Langosteria in Via Savona.

James Irvine

Why do you live in Milan?

I planned to stay for a year. I have now been here for 25. They call New York the Big Apple. I like to call Milan the Big Olive - the most international small city in the world.

What do you like about the city?

I love observing snobby Italians. They are so full of themselves. Rightly so. There is no denying it, Italians do have style.

Where do you go when you leave?

I seem to spend a lot of my life in Frankfurt airport on my way to somewhere. In the end all the travelling means that I appreciate spending time here. I am not the type to go skiing and all that fresh air stuff.

Do you stay in Milan during the salone?

Of course I stay here for the biggest design show on earth. It’s actually getting too big in my opinion. But the best thing is that hundreds of my friends arrive from all over the world.

Three pieces of advice?

Book your hotel a year in advance. Don’t ask people who live in Milan to find you a room a weeks before the Salone. Take out a loan to pay for your room!

Three favourite places?

Lorenzi, the shop with everything that you didn’t know existed. Museo nazionale della scienza e tecnologia - The science museum which is frozen in time. Azucena - this classic manufacturer has some great lesser known Italian classics.