Glass Cube | Ron Gilad

A gallery, a showroom, a space that conveys the Molteni identity. Molteni&C commissioned Ron Gilad to design the Glass Cube, in its production unit in Giussano. An existing building, to be transformed.

The result is a 400-sq m exhibition space, made up of void, glass and surprise installations. In the centre, a stretch of water reflects the creation of an object, with Nature taking part in the process, amid sky and clouds. Gilad reinterprets the distinguishing themes of Molteni’s corporate identity: the materials – first and foremost wood - quality, experience, technology, industry and craftsmanship, their products and collections. He experiments with new possibilities, observes, like an entomologist at his microscope, deconstructing into fragments in order to focus on the details.

In the white, minimal space of the Glass Cube, the huge doors and infinite teak walls are monumental, allowing visitors to admire the veins of the living material. A white box, devoid of partitions, because it’s the objects contained within that create their space, that influence its nature and quality. Here Ron Gilad’s ironic and provocative vision focuses on both timeless classics and contemporary items, and he reinterprets them, manipulating forms and functions.

A sofa? Yes, but plunging into the space from the ceiling, for an alternative view of reality. A Gio Ponti chest of drawers? Yes, but sliced in half, like Damien Hirst’s dissected cow, to discover how it is made and reveal its technological core. Everything is geared to surprise and intrigue. Piroscafo, designed by Luca Meda and Aldo Rossi, becomes a ship with a warm red centre, like Carteggio’s colourful drawer, which is mirrored in its double and, free in space, becomes a sculpture-cum-totem. The storage units and shelves designed by Gilad are composed geometrically, Donald Judd-style.

The heart of the project is a Wunderkammer, where reality and fantasy chase each other and come together, via the multimedia technology of 3D mapping projections, in a site-specific sound setting, composed by Fabrizio Campanelli and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. On the subject of Glass Cube, Ron Gilad says: “It is a great honour for me to work with Molteni&C, who gave me free rein to experiment, to explore their realm in an unorthodox way, to keep the culture of design evolving”.

QALLAM SPACE
At Molteni&C’s Giussano production unit, its Quality space, known as Spazio QallaM [Q to the power of M] is also being renovated. Designed in 2006 by Patricia Urquiola, it won a Menzione d’onore at the XXIII ADI Premio Compasso d’Oro. This is a dynamic space, a place of vision and inspiration for those who share the core values of design culture.

The key feature of the new set is the “How you make it” multimedia installation which focuses on how Molteni&C manufactures its products on an industrial scale and on the company’s 80 years’ experience and commitment to quality. A giant transparent screen displays a kaleidoscope of images, accompanied by specially composed atmospheric sounds and music, which amplify the power of the architectural promenade, a game of perspective blow-ups of their Diamond table leg.

The videos, produced over several months’ filming of the production processes, show how some of Molteni&C’s most iconic products are actually manufactured – from the Arc table by Studio Foster+Partners to the Gliss Quick wardrobe, from Gio Ponti’s chest of drawers to the Diamond and filigree tables – illustrating how traditional craftsmanship and industrial technology combine to create top quality products. A procedure that is renewed over time with new stories, designers and products, made in partnership with a group of authors, architects, art directors, graphic designers, technical experts, musicians, assemblers, IT specialists, electricians and carpenters.

QallaM is thus a multimedia showcase for Molteni &C’s Quality, processes and players, a place for reflection and exchanges of ideas that helps to define the traces of innovation and modernization, to which businesses and territories look for development, and also for training schemes. A landmark, a creative workshop in the heart of production, which converses with Ron Gilad’s Glass Cube.