milan Archives - claudeverett

Sugar from a C2C World @XXI Triennale

January 18, 2018September 17, 2020taoresearchmilan, 2016, research, italy, competition, china, exhibition, culture

On October 2015, yoko saw a news on Facebook, shared by a never-really-talked friend. It was a call for under-35 designers participating the 21st triennial of Milan.

Bach Shop

January 17, 2018September 17, 2020taospace2014, milan, interior, user participation, italy, shop, cooperation

We met Bach when we were about to leave Milan in October last year. We were selling our no-need-anymore stuffs. She came to our place to take a tent in a morning. We talked a little while and agreed to arrange another time to talk longer. She then went on her one day trip to somewhere. We soon left Milan, into the mountain.

Several months later, we were told that she had got a place in Corso Porta Ticinese in Milan, an undoubted popular spot pretty near city center. It was a great step forward for Bach from running online business to having a real shop in such a place. We were quite happy when she asked us to be her consultants on interior design. Moreover, Mi, who studied industrial design in school and works in a famous Milanese styling company joined us.

Composed by Bach (interactive design), Bach’s boyfriend Yuan (automobile design), Mi (product & styling design) and we two (architecture), a multi-disciplined team was formed.

Yoko Poco ma Yoko

December 22, 2017September 17, 2020taoresearch2015, workshop, milan, think twice, education, italy

You see, we did trick on the feedback rating stars:

Then we got back some trickier stars:

Rooming a Space

January 15, 2018September 17, 2020taoobjectexperiment, public space, 2012, product, workshop, milan, research, user participation, communication, italy

In limited time of site survey, architects collect information by observing, taking notes, sketching, photographing, taking video, talking to locals etc.. When they are back in office, they make sense out of them, giving birth to report, diagram and site model. By then, the whole team can get a good understanding of the site especially by look at the site model talking about the site, away from site.

Pausa Café

January 15, 2018September 17, 2020taoobjectpublic space, product, workshop, milan, think twice, interior, italy, appropriation, 2010, furniture

In response to the theme “re-appropriation” of MIAW 2010, we wanted to dig out some hidden values in the campus. In the building of architecture school, during breaks, people chat outside the classroom while lean against handrails, on which coffee cups or coke tins can always be found. People do it naturally. But the performance of handrail could be better. By just adding wooden boards, we found the potential of handrail lying in its width. Finally, it was proved to be highly welcomed.

Snow Cat

January 19, 2018September 17, 2020taoobjectanimal, 2012, diy, cat, art, milan, nature, sculpture, italy, snow

Snowing! We made a snow cat in 15 minutes before going to school.

Gull in river Lambro

ImageDecember 20, 2017September 17, 2020taoimagegif, graphic, bird, 2014, milan, italy

Lamp B

GalleryJanuary 11, 2018September 17, 2020taoobjectproduct, diy, life, milan, 2011, italy, appropriation

Lamp A

January 7, 2018September 17, 2020yokoobject2012, product, diy, life, milan, think twice, italy, appropriation

The second house we lived in Milan was a super tiny one, about just 20 m². Small as it was, everything had to go vertical: Washing machine on top of fridge; bed on top of a balcony in between bathroom and wardrobe, connected to the living room with a moveable wooden ladder; orange tile on top of bathroom, indicating you could sit there eating watermelon in summer; of course, you could lie or sit or put things on top of wardrobe too.

Although it was so small, it had almost everything to support our life: except fridge and washing machine we talked before, there are a tiny balcony, a ceiling fan, an oven, a shower room, a bidet, and so on. We loved it when we saw it the first time.

You Are Designed!

December 20, 2017September 17, 2020taoimagepublic space, 2012, art, milan, italy, milan design week

Our last home, Via Conte Rosso 36, was next to one of the main exhibition area of Salone di Mobile (Milan Design Week). The official guide map suggested people a walking path from metro/train station to the exhibition area. It passed exactly under our balcony.

Birds

ImageDecember 20, 2017September 17, 2020taoimageanimal, 2012, photography, bird, milan, nature, italy, affordance

Merlo

ImageDecember 20, 2017September 17, 2020taoobject2012, product, diy, life, milan, italy, appropriation

Basket Bin

GalleryDecember 20, 2017September 17, 2020taoresearchexperiment, public space, 2012, milan, think twice, italy, polimi

14/03/2012 Someone left a cup in my basket.

15/03/2012 I added a red plastic bag to attract more cups but got nothing at the end of the day.

16/03/2012 I tried a professional looking blue plastic bag but got nothing at the end of the day.

17/03/2012 I persuaded people by words, but still got nothing.

29/03/2012 I went back to blue-bag-only solution, and the bag was taken away by someone!

30/03/2012 Someone left a cup in my basket again! I learned that people enjoy throwing trash in semi-right place—a container never says it contains trash.