Panter & Tourron and Davide Rapp create "speakeasy-style secret lounge" in Milan
Experimental furniture and nostalgic films combine in Diurno, a Milan design week installation exploring the past and future of the living room.
Curated by Gianmaria Sforza, the show features the work of Lausanne-based design studio Panter & Tourron and Italian video artist Davide Rapp.
It saw a Milanese studio apartment transformed into a "speakeasy-style secret lounge" where a limited number of guests were invited into an octagonal room surrounded by purple curtains.
Once they had swapped their shoes for slippers, guests were encouraged to get comfortable on a yellow sofa-bed hybrid. Here, they could chat to other guests, enjoy a drink and watch the montage-style videos playing around them.
Rapp produced three videos, with hundreds of clips that show living room interiors depicted primarily in Italian cinema.
Each film focuses on a different piece of furniture. The sofa, the television and the bar are all featured.
"Diurno is an invitation to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Milan's design week, a speakeasy-style secret lounge where guests can relax in a setup that oscillates between nostalgia and science fiction," said the design team.
Panter & Tourron founders Stefano Panterotto and Alexis Tourron developed six pieces of original furniture for the space.
As well as the modular sofa platform, the Hall collection includes a lightweight chandelier, a tubular floor lamp, mirrored stools, a curved display shelf and slender vases.
The duo hoped to draw attention to the changing nature of lounge and passage spaces in the home.
The project has an affinity with another of their recent works, Couch in an Envelope, which imagines a sofa that can be folded up and carried from place to place.
"Looking at the decors from gathering spaces like entrance halls, lobbies and lounge rooms, the pieces in the collection function like a reenactment element, questioning the evolution of these places today and our relationship to shared environments at large," they said.
Drinks and snacks were served on matching mirrored trays, on linen cocktail coasters embroidered with the Diurno brand logo. These were produced in collaboration with La Colombarola.
Danish textile brand Kvadrat, Italian steel manufacturer Fittinox and material supplier Formtech also donated materials to make the event possible.
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One of the videos featured movie clips of scenes that centred around a sofa
This isn't the first takeover of this apartment. Under the name Studio di Pittura, it is primarily an art space with the goal of facilitating collaboration between international and local creatives.
Diurno was one of Dezeen's pick of the 12 key installations on show for Milan design week.
The photography is by Giulio Boem.
Diurno was open by appointment only from 13 to 20 April. See Dezeen Events Guide to discover our Milan design week guide, or for more architecture and design events taking place around the world.