Munich/Milan. At this year’s Salone del Mobile in
Milan (17 – 22 April), MINI is joining forces with London-based
architects Studiomama to present MINI LIVING – BUILT BY ALL. This new
installation reveals a visionary living concept brought to life in a
close collaboration between residents and architects. A surface area
of just a few square metres is used to create very personal and
attractive spaces, reflecting MINI’s core principle of the “creative
use of space”. BUILT BY ALL is the third installation presented by
MINI in Milan. “MINI LIVING provides creative solutions for
collaborative urban living – on a small footprint but offering many
possibilities and a high degree of flexibility,” explains Esther
Bahne, Head of MINI Brand Strategy and Business Innovation. “Our first
large hub, containing over 50 apartments and communal/public spaces on
an area twice the size again is currently being constructed in
Shanghai. As with BUILT BY ALL, the residents are co-creators of their space.”
Shaping tomorrow’s world themselves – the human element plays
a central role.
MINI LIVING – BUILT BY ALL adds the
principal of participation to the underlying themes of MINI LIVING,
e.g. creative use of a small living area, publically accessible space
and the reciprocity of private and communal living. “Today’s
standardised housing market is limited in its ability to meet the
requirements of the individual,” says Oke Hauser, Creative Lead MINI
LIVING, explaining the approach behind the installation. “So MINI
LIVING – BUILT BY ALL turns people into active creators and puts them
at the heart of the design process. We believe that ultimately the
quality of a living space is determined by how well the residents
identify with their home.”
The MINI LIVING FACTORY OF IDEAS.
Visitors to
Design Week can explore – in the here and now – the benefits of MINI
LIVING for residents in the future. Moving beyond the installation,
they can become creators themselves in the FACTORY OF IDEAS. In
keeping with the idea of participative architecture, visitors have the
opportunity to create their own visions of urban living spaces in the
form of small conceptual models. These will be displayed on a Wall of
Fame over the course of the installation. Viewed as a single entity,
they symbolise a constantly expanding micro-neighbourhood.
The MINI LIVING – BUILT BY ALL
installation.
This year’s MINI LIVING installation is
located in a connecting room at the Zona Tortona complex. Visitors
here – some of whom will be architects – can experience the full-size
realisation of four different living space concepts designed in
collaboration with Studiomama. Covering a surface area of just 15-20
square metres, but on very different floor plans and in different
forms, colours and materials, are four contrasting living units. The
approach underpinning the design allows each unit to express the
individual personalities of their residents at the same time as
underscoring the concept’s variety and scope. The living units are
embedded in a shared space incorporating functions such as a communal
kitchen, fitness area and atrium. The installation adopts existing
structures – e.g. pillars and struts – and complements them with
additional functionalities. The result is a standalone, living
micro-neighbourhood in an old factory hall. The installation
highlights that even the inside of an empty building can be used to
enrich the future of urban architecture. It demonstrates how unused
warehouses, abandoned shopping centres and offices can be transformed
into potential living spaces.
The installation will be on show during the Salone del Mobile at Via
Tortona 32 in Milan, Italy from 17 – 22 April 2018.
About MINI LIVING.
MINI LIVING is an initiative
first launched by MINI in 2016 with the aim of devising creative
architectural solutions for the urban lifestyles of the future. BUILT
BY ALL is the third installation presented by MINI at Milan Design
Week to highlight aspects of MINI LIVING. MINI LIVING has already
exhibited visionary concepts for shared and collaborative
living/working in our cities in Milan over recent years with its MINI
LIVING – BREATHE and MINI LIVING – Do Disturb installations. The first
habitable MINI LIVING project will open its doors in Shanghai in 2019.
Here, an innovative space-related concept for living and working is
taking shape in converted industrial buildings on a surface area of
just under 8,000 square metres.