COS, the London-based fashion brand, has announced their collaboration with bio-designers and architecture and urban design practice, ecoLogicStudio for the ninth consecutive time. The brands will unveil their installation during Salone de Mobile at this year’s edition of Milan Design Week 2020.
The up-coming, large-scale collaboration promises the arrival of an installation that aims to ‘augment the interaction between the natural world and the built environment, presenting an interactive structure that bridges design and science.’ The installation experience will be immersive, ‘brought to life through innovation which incorporates a diverse group of photosynthetic organisms; algae.’
Drawing inspiration from the rich, inspiring history of the Palazzo and Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th Century studies on water turbulence – which notably led to the conception of Milan’s canals’ system – the collaboration explores the concept of circularity ‘with new ways of incorporating biotechnology into the urban realm through the prism of design.’ The resulting installation will remove carbon from the atmosphere – as a result of the photosynthesis process it facilitates – showcasing the multiple uses and benefits of micro-algae within the Palazzo’s walled garden.
“Sustainability and material innovation have always been at the core of COS. For Salone del Mobile this year our hope was to explore nature’s innovations and how these can be harnessed to offer new ways to live our day-to-day lives while reducing our impact on the environment and our planet. ecoLogicStudio’s important work displays not only how science and biology can inform and refine our processes, but also be viewed as part of the aesthetic. We are thrilled to be able collaborate on bringing their work to Milan on a grand scale.” Karin Gustafsson, Creative Director of COS
“We’re delighted to be collaborating with COS to create an installation that represents an important and timely new step for us. We have been working for several years with the regenerative capability of many of our planet’s organisms to design circular processes converting what our cities expel into sustainable raw materials and nutrients. With this project we have the unique opportunity to bring micro-algae’s photosynthetic force to the city centre of Milano, and the chance to address the relationship between art and science in the public realm, a fascination that we share with COS and that forms the basis our collaboration.” Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, ecoLogicStudio
The collaborative installation will be open to the public from the 21st to the 25th April 2020 at Palazzo, Isimbardi, Corso Monforte 35, 20122 Milan.
Discover more about COS here, and ecoLogicStudio here. Stay up-to-date by searching the hashtag #COSxecoLogicStudio or clicking here.
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