The Milan road show: auto brands drive into design territory at the 2014 Salone del Mobile

Peugeot

Peugeot chose Milan as a springboard for its freshly established Design Lab, a self-contained design consultancy that operates out of its Parisian r&d centre. Headed up by Cathal Loughnane and overseen by Peugeot's chief designer Gilles Vidal, the Design Lab is intended as a standalone consultancy along the lines of BMW's DesignWorks or Porsche Design. Unlike its more established peers, however, the Design Lab is totally integrated into the car company's day-to-day operations. Says Loughnane: 'I can spend a morning with the bike guys and then talk about a plane or umbrella stand - we're always looking at new things.'

The company's display in Zona Tortona highlighted two major projects; the 'Onyx' sofa and the 'Pleydel' piano. The former (pictured) is Peugeot's bid for the design/art market. At €135,000, this sleek combination of volcanic rock and carbon fibre is, of course, a one-off (interested clients can name their stone of choice). Genuinely elegant, it served the purpose of breaking car designers out of their self-imposed box while also making a clear pitch for the upper echelons of the market. Future projects will include boats, planes and bikes (a Peugeot staple), while a display of strange sculptural material fusions - man-made and natural - hinted at a company keen to push its design language in new directions.

Writer: Jonathan Bell

Lexus

Lexus continued its Milanese momentum with the theme of 'amazing in motion', commissioning works from Japan, the US and Italy that muse on the intersection between design and sculpture. Japanese designer Nao Tamura's 'Interconnection' (pictured) is an installation of floating purple petal-like discs hung from the ceiling on thin threads. The individual discs move to the natural flow of air created by visitors' movement, with ethereal results.

Writer: Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Lexus

Tangible Media Group's 'Transform' represents the link between technology and design. The US design team, led by professor Hiroshi Ishii from MIT Media Lab, chose to interpret the Lexus hybrid drive (where kinetic energy from braking is captured to charge the battery). Here, the energy from our movement is captured by sensors that in turn move a thousand pins up and down in an almost surreal wave-like motion.

Writer: Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Lexus

Designer Fabio Novembre's 'We Dance' saw a mirrored sphere surrounded by shards of pointed glass - evoking the solar system - cocooning an entity that echoes the beginning of life, according to the designer. 'Employing technology to express the movement of this dance,' Novembre explains, '[the installation] represents the dawn of life and draws a direct connection to the cosmic motion of planets and galaxies.'

Writer: Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Lexus

The company also ran its second Lexus Design Award, a programme that puts young designers into working relationships with more established mentors. German designer Sebastian Scherer, mentored by games creator Robin Hunicke, was inspired by soap bubbles for 'Iris'. Answering to the theme of 'curiosity', the installation comprises bubbles created at Poschinger, a hand-blown glass specialist. The glass bubbles each have a unique shape and colour, and transform with light. Scherer wanted to create 'lightness and play', says Hunicke, and the result is a magical installation that 'captures a moment in time, so fleeting, so unexpected'.

Writer: Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Lexus

James Fox's 'Macian' concept works on the idea of foraging, in this case for materials, explains the British 3D designer. Fox responded to the theme of 'curiosity' with a den-building kit. The idea is 'to encourage children to get in touch with nature, to encourage curiosity by engaging with the environment,' says Fox. The Macian kit does exactly that - it is a set of tools, neatly packed in a backpack, that can ensemble a den in any wooded area. All you need are a few wooden rods and his plastic parts can create a tough durable skeleton from which you can attach the rainproof canvas top. Working with mentor Arthur Huang, a sustainability expert and founder of Miniwiz, Fox has also created a manual to inspire various ways to construct the den.

Writer: Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Mini

'Parallels' was an absorbing light and sound installation that set out to explore the interaction between man and machine - a topic of much contemporary interest. London-based art and design collective United Visual Artists worked closely with the Mini design team on this project, using Mini's new Connected infotainment system as a springboard. Rings, fixed to the wall a metre apart, project a tunnel of light to create cylindrical bodies. The visitor was encouraged to enter the installation, walk amongst and inside these light tunnels to experience the quite magical atmospheric world they created. The cylinder used motion sensors to create a sort of interactive dialogue, and our movements triggered feedback in the form of changes in colour - from diamond white via turquoise to a forceful dark blue - and changing sound effects. Matthew Clark, creative director at UVA, admits it was challenging interpreting Mini Connected 'to create something that could be experienced on a physical level'.

Writer: Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Renault

Other collaborations were rather more prosaic. Renault teamed up with Italian fashion house Costume National for a special edition of the new Clio. The car was covered in a 3D leather texture, also used for the cabin's upholstery. The wing mirrors have a unique texture mimicking a new fabric introduced by Costume National, and in the cabin the gear lever is covered in laminated calf leather with a tri-dimensional effect.

Writer: Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Bentley Home

Bentley make great cars but arguably they've missed the point with their heavy, country club-style furniture offerings. Presumably pitched at those who feel that chunky quilted leather and lashings of chrome are what defines modern design, the Bentley Home collection makes the cars themselves feel rather dated.

Writer: Jonathan Bell

Ford

Ford used Salone as a platform for its new Vignale collection, a set of products inspired by the recent S-Max Vignale concept and signalling a concerted effort to hive off an upmarket division. Vignale, one of the oldest names in Italian car design, has been in Ford ownership (and creative limbo) for a couple of decades. The S-Max Vignale - and its associated luggage - are the first hints of what's to come.

Writer: Jonathan Bell

Hyundai and Volvo

Several companies saw fit to re-show collaborations and pieces that would otherwise be sitting in storage at this time of year. Hyundai rolled out the PassoCorto concept (pictured) from last month's Geneva show, as part of its ongoing sponsorship of Fuorisalone, while Volvo brought out its Pure Tension Pavilion, designed by Synthesis and Alvin Huang last year as a charging centre and showcase for the electric hybrid V60.

Writer: Jonathan Bell

Maserati

Another firm with interior design aspirations, Maserati at least had the sense to head to Zanotta for its collaboration (Infiniti made a similar link with Poltrona Frau to bolster the interior quality of its cars). The Maserati by Zanotta Capsule Collection featured more than a few half-decent chairs and desks, building on debut Lounge Chair from 2013. The collection includes a foot-rest for the 'Grandtour' lounge chair (right), as well as the 'Corina' chair (left) and the 'Maestrale' table. Although the much-vaunted blend of Maserati DNA was hard to discern, the collection was all the better for that and had a mature elegance other companies could do well to emulate.

Writer: Jonathan Bell