Milan Design Week 2019, 9-14 April 2019
Design Language, The Dots, nhow hotel, Via Tortona 35, Milan
Masterly, Palazzo Francesco Turati, Via Meravigli 7, Milan
PRESS RELEASE
seduced by USIT
A colourful collection of attractively-lit design products reminiscent of a shop window, greet visitors of nhow hotel during Milan Design Week 2019, courtesy of industrial designer Maarten Olden. His installation of transparent cubes shows every angle of USIT: the chair-and-stair in one seducing us into window shopping.
Maarten Olden is exhibiting at multiple locations during Milan Design Week. As part of the exhibition Design Language the designer presents his eye-catching spacial installation at the light, industrial space of nhow hotel on Via Tortona, Milan. His white-edition USITs are placed in cube-like frames behind various different bright, perspex ‘shop windows’; a nod to possible future colours.
Olden also invites visitors to his stacked installation, in which the designer-stepladder, made from a combination of laminated birchwood and anodised aluminium, is shown from different perspectives. As you walk around and look through the transparent windows, both the side, top, and bottom views of the stepladder can be seen, as well as all the clever, innovative details. His inspiring design sketches are brought to life in this 3D-installation, reminiscent of a shop full of tempting products ready to purchase.
USIT was born from the need to design a stepladder for contemporary interiors and is a godsend, especially for those living in smal quarters. Olden found most stepladders to have a technical look and feel, making users want to put them away straight after use. For this technically-challenging model, the designer combines his love of furniture and industrial design with eye-for-detail, spacial awareness, and smart solutions. The multi-use, aesthetically-pleasing USIT is made to be on show. The two-step iteration doubles as a chair, while the three-step variety works perfectly as a bar stool. USIT is ever-so comfortable as a chair and extremely safe as a stepladder.
USIT is now available worldwide through www.usitdesign.com.
During Milan Design Week, Oldens work is also on show at the Dutch pavilion, Masterly. The courtyard of Palazzo Francesco Turati features his outdoor furniture entitled Monsaraz, which he devised for Borek Outdoor Furniture. The sophisticated, high-tech aluminium chair and bench are wrapped in Ardenza rope as contemporary, lightweight interpretations of 1950s woven rattan furniture. Last but not least, the palace itself showcases a table created by the design for the socially-driven design brand Cartoni Design. Made from scrap materials, the wooden table has round corners and an ingenious construction: a 3mm steel-plated brace connects the Accoya-wooden legs and lines to the table top.
