BURG at Milan Design Week

Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle will be represented at the Milan Furniture Fair (Salone Internazionale del Mobile) this year from 16 to 21 April 2024. Five works by BURG students and graduates from the courses of Industrial Design, Interior Architecture, Product Design/Ceramic and Glass Design and Textile Design will be presented. With their projects and works under the title " BURG SHOWS: TRANSFORMATIONS ", they will provide insights into innovative work and the latest developments in the field of design at the international trade fair.

At the fair in Milan, works by Max Greiner, Bachelor graduate in Industrial Design, Jungwoon Lee, student of Product Design/Ceramic and Glass Design, Viviana Losacco, student of Textile Design, Nadja Schulze, student of Interior Design and Jacobo Cuesto Wolf, Master graduate in Industrial Design, will be shown, illustrating the broad spectrum of design training at BURG.

The works of the BURG are dedicated to the topic of Transformation
Together, we are now facing the major task of transforming our consuming behaviour, production chains, eating habits, our relationship to the media and the originality of ideas. Our entire way of life is characterised by transformation and what we see as a desirable lifestyle.
Transformation is the challenge of these days. It is a process that gives hope to some and creates fear or a longing for a supposedly better past in other parts of society. As designers, we can make transformation accessible and shape the changing world. As designers, it is our task to develop a hopeful image of what we understand as the future. Well done design should be critical, but not pessimistic. The opportunity as designers is to make change accessible to all and to shape the changing world.

The exhibitors:

About Slag
Designer: Max Greiner
Study Programme: Industrial Design
Project: Bachelor thesis, 2023

Slag, a complex mineral secondary product of the metal industry, is typically used in linear construction applications.. The work About Slag presents objects that demonstrate alternative uses of slag by incoporating the material into various artisanal and industrial contexts through the use of slag-based glass mass. This process not only transforms the abstract secondary product into an accessible, aesthetically controllable and circular state, but also replaces important chemicals. This saves valuable resources and energy in glass production. This offers an opportunity to renegotiate how materials are obtained and perceived in the future.

Furtho – Ceramic meets textile
Designer: Jungwoon Lee
Study Programme: Product Design/Ceramics and Glass Design
Project: Porcelain playground, Prof. Laura Straßer, 2023

Inspired by the striking aesthetics of Brutalism, Furtho is an object vase with straight, architectural shapes and a texture reminiscent of a carpet. The heaviness and hardness of the geometric structure contrasts with the fine, textile-like details and harmonises with the accumulation of filigree lines, which together create a sensual experience. The repetition of the textile colours and textures creates a structural rhythm and a pictorial composition.

Zeitenwende
Designer: Viviana Losacco
Study Programme: Textile Design
Project: SCALE UP!, Prof. Bettina Göttke-Krogmann, 2023

Viviana Losacco's work is all about telling stories through textiles. She uses carpets to pick up on socio-ecological themes and bring them to life. The work Zeitenwende (turn of time) is dedicated to the death of trees, which has been steadily increasing in Germany for 30 years. Every year, trees are lost over an area of more than 3,000 square kilometres. The area of forest affected by tree mortality has doubled since 1984. Zeitenwende is an attempt to unite and depict the impressions of a summer hike in a cleared forest in a tufted carpet. The installation in public space aims to make people aware of the urgency of the issue. The story of a battle between the trees and the circumstances that attack them is told, inspired by the coexistence of tree bark, lichens, mosses and fungi.

Wundernetz
Designer: Viviana Losacco
Studienrichtung: Textile Design
Project: Three Dimensions, Prof. Göttke-Krogmann, 2023

The pandemic has reduced our world to the digital space. As a result, children have lost their connection to "offline" experiences. Wundernetz (wonder net) attempts to create a haptic landscape that can be used as a cosy blanket, playground and world of experience. Wundernetz invites you to take a break from flat screens and playfully build your own organic world. Thanks to the modular design, this is possible and all parts can be combined endlessly. Mushrooms served as inspiration, fascinating for their ability to network everything and create new life from dead matter.

Bow + 360°
Designer: Nadja Schulze
Study Programme: Interior Architecture
Project: Es werde Licht (Let there be light), Gast-Prof. Konrad Lohöfener, 2023

Light makes spaces visible and is the most important design tool for Nadja Schulze as an interior designer. When designing the resulting Bow luminaires and the two design variants Balloon and Cloud from the 360° luminaire series, the designer had a clear idea of how she wanted to stage them in the room right from the start. While Bow bends graphically into the room, Balloon and Cloud appear to float on the wall. In her designs, Nadja Schulze does not attempt to reinvent anything, but rather to translate existing elements into a different language. Bow, for example, is inspired by the elegance of modern tent constructions and translates this into the interior as a luminaire. Behind the playful lightness of the 360° series is the idea of allowing the live cable to fly along so that it disappears as a tripping hazard on the floor. It is inspired by the cable winder of a hoover.

Hulot
Designer: Jacobo Cuesto Wolf
Study Programme: Industrial Design
Project: Master thesis, 2023

Half of the bulky waste in Germany consists of furniture that could still be used. The work Hulot by Jacobo Cuesto Wolf attempts to renegotiate the responsibility for a product between producers and users through a circular utilisation model in order to demonstrate a solution to this issue. The new requirements for product development demonstrate how longevity can be achieved, as the furniture can be customised and repaired at any time. The design uses three materials that either store CO2, are recyclable or are made from recycled materials in the first place. Therefore, Hulot 's specific design not only emphasises sustainable parameters, but also demonstrates a new attitude to product development as expressed in this circular use scenario.

Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle
Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle has a distinctive profile in the German university landscape. Featuring two departments, Art and Design, BURG has offered excellent conditions for education and study since 1915. With over 1,000 students, it is one of the largest universities of art and design in Germany. Visionary ideas and design are the focus of its 20-plus disciplines of study, alongside the development of practical professional skills. The university’s studio and workshop facilities are thoroughly equipped for learning and BURG is part of an active network of research institutes, institutions, and companies. Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle confers bachelor’s, master’s, and teaching degrees, as well as the traditional Diplom. Students can also complete a “Meisterschüler” (Master Class) course at BURG. BURG also has the right to award doctorates in both faculties.

The Milan Furniture Fair
Established in 1961, the Salone del Mobile furniture fair is being held for the 62nd time this year. Today, it is the world's largest trade fair for furniture and product design. Numerous exhibitors attract around 270,000 visitors from more than 150 countries every year.

BURG at the Milan Furniture Fair Salone del Mobile
Period: 16 to  21 April 2024, every day from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm
Booth: Hall 5, A04 (SaloneSatellite)
Place: Fiera Milano, 20017 Rho, Milano, Italy
Exhibition Support: Philipp Witte
Social Media: BURG communicates the trade fair appearance at social media with the hashtags #BurgHalle and #BurgShows

Further information: https://www.salonemilano.it/en