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Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

Italy Architecture News - Apr 10, 2019 - 06:55   15988 views

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

A large-scale 3D printed architectural installation, designed by French architect Arthur Mamou-Mani, has been installed in Milan’s 16th Century Palazzo Isimbardi within the scope of Milan Design Week which is held between 9 -14 April, 2019 in Milan. 

Created for fashion brand COS, the installation is promoted to showcase the possibilities of cutting-edge technology on material innovation and craftsmanship. The installation, named Conifera, is made from renewable resources, digitally designed and fabricated, which form a shelter-like structure. 

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

Conifera has been created from 700 interlocking modular bio-bricks, 3D printed in a mix of wood and bioplastic. The design aims to be one of the largest structures to date conceived and realised using this method, Conifera reflects a new generation of architecture, showcasing advances in material innovation, technology and creativity.

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

Mamou-Mani is inspired by patterns within the palazzo’s architecture, the architect explained: "the geometry of Conifera comes from the square motif which is very present at Palazzo Isimbardi, through the courtyard to the tiles."

"I wanted the piece to echo the circular nature of the compostable material and create a journey from architecture to nature in order to showcase how renewable materials, coupled with an algorithmic approach and distributed 3D printing, can create the building blocks of the future," Mamou-Mani added.

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

The installation is made up of modules that shift from a wood and bioplastic composite in the courtyard through to translucent bioplastic in the palazzo’s garden. 

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

Each bio-brick is made from fully compostable resources printed in the form of interlocking structural lattices, optimising material use and allowing light to permeate the structure as visitors travel through the installation. The structure provides a journey from the manmade through to the natural world, and from the old to the new.

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

Conifera has been conceived in response to an open brief from COS, and through a parametric design process has evolved throughout its conception. The piece vertically integrates design and construction, forming a direct connection from design to build through a dialogue with robotics: the architect is at once designer and maker.

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

"Conifera offers a glimpse of the future, the potential of design and the possibilities which open up through collaboration," reflected Karin Gustafsson, Creative Director of COS. 

"The installation has grown from the seed of an idea and has been shaped by Mamou-Mani’s creativity, the expanding horizons of technology and our shared focus on material innovation and craftsmanship." 

The final piece brings together so many influences reflective of our values and our focus on pushing the boundaries of design while maintaining a careful balance of the man-made and the natural. We can’t wait to share Conifera in Milan."

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

Arthur Mamou-Mani creates installation made of interlocking modular bio-bricks for Milan Design Week

Image: Left, architect Arthur Mamou-Mani and COS creative director Karin Gustafsson. Image © Chris Brooks

The installation marks COS’s eighth consecutive installation during Salone del Mobile and its first collaboration with Mamou-Mani. If you want to visit Conifera, it will be open to the public from 9th – 14th April 2019 at Palazzo Isimbardi, Corso Monforte 35, 20122 Milan, a historic building dating from the 16th century.

All images & video courtesy of COS unless otherwise stated.

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