ZUCCHETTI & KOS’S INSTALLATION “WAYS OF WATER” IN MDW 2023

Images courtesy of Zucchetti & Kos

A Game  of Transparencies, Lights, Reflections, Materials, Depth and Lightness

Zucchetti and Kos, international leaders in the bathroom sector, take part in Milan Design Week 2023 with “Ways of Water”, a large installation in the heart of Brera district. Studio Lys signs the creative direction of this exhibition, declining the path of water in a conceptual interpretation, celebrating its multiple natures, the fluidity to get lost in and the poetics of dream and abandonment. This installation translates Zucchetti’s Water Values and Kos’ Water Wonders into a game of transparencies, lights, reflections, materials, depth and lightness. An enveloping experience takes place, inviting us to consider the preciousness  of  water  and  rediscover  a  conscious relationship with it. Across the whole itinerary, Zucchetti and Kos also present new sculptural compositions: the exclusive projects signed by Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez, and David Lopez Quincoces, among others.

As a natural fluid element, water follows infinite paths and mutates in different shapes. For more than ninety years, Zucchetti has conveyed these movements with precision, seriousness and elegance, responding to the always changing needs of contemporary living, treating different uses of water with a balanced and defined approach. On the other hand, Kos looks at the cultural, ritual and dreamlike aspects pertaining to a holistic experience of well-being offered by water. Hosted in the spaces of via Palermo 8, in the heart of Brera district, the new installation, under the artistic direction of Studio Lys, places water as the protagonist of a path with a rarefied atmosphere to deepen the reflection on the preciousness and nobility of this element. The group’s values and the dual soul are narrated in an elegant and silent game of transparencies and overlappings.

Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez | David Lopez Quincoces

Presented by Coulisse | INK

The location’s industrial structure is visible and combined with the naturalness of water.  This    translates into new materials such as gauze suspended from the ceiling, recalling the ripples of a liquid surface and building architectural depth through a game of transparencies, stratifications and reflections. In the space, which develops from the street inwards, the curtains’ movement recreates a fluid path with an ethereal and timeless dimension. The drapes’ lightness contrasts the concreteness   of the use of materials such as terracotta, cement and stone, used in the environment as plinths on which products are displayed in sculptural compositions. Every element of the installation has been studied and organised so that they can be dismantled and reused in the future also for other  functions, reflecting the conscious and sustainable approach typical of the company.

HELM

The fabrics used for the set-up come from the Italian company The House Of Lyria. For the interior, the Merluzzo fabric has a translucent and shiny appearance given by the density of the threads and   wefts, while the lightness of the material contrasts its tactile sensation, rigid and resistant. Garzone fabric is used for the exterior. This white linen with a natural, organic and primitive appearance is characterised by a canvas weave and a snappy and rigid hand, which has not been subjected to any particular treatments. Casone Group provided the installation’s stonework. In the new pool area, the handcrafted platform is in Pietra Forte Fiorentina, split-cut and smoothed starting from a solid  block. A choice linked to tradition for a stone which has been used for urban and convivial spaces since the Renaissance. The source, an evocative element situated at the entrance, is in Travertine, a precious, ancient material renowned for its primitive link with water. The stone is cut backwards, obtained from blocks worked with ultra-modern technologies, yet finished with craftsmanship.

HOOP

A playlist curated by the Sound Earth Legacy collective accompanies the installation, generating a total experience which involves all senses. Based in Barcelona, Sound Earth Legacy deals with recording and preserving the sounds of nature, creating musical compositions that give voice to the need and importance of a sustainable lifestyle.

ISY22

“Considering that the space is located in a central and busy area of Milan, we wanted to create a real installation: a gesture of strength, but quiet strength, in Zucchetti and Kos’ manner. The company has always worked on substantial products and activations, carrying out conscious actions that know how to combine industry with poetics, concreteness of the product with lightness of the senses. The idea of the installation was born to mirror Zucchetti and Kos’ attitude,” declares Matteo Fiorini, founder of Studio Lys.

OCTO

Zucchetti and Kos collections are exhibited inside. Milan Design Week 2023 news include: for Zucchetti an unpublished series of Octo single-lever mixers designed by David Lopez Quincoces which will become part of the Waterwords collection, the new outdoor shower column of the Helm collection also designed by David Lopez Quincoces, the new Todd mixers series part of the Lab collection. Kos presents the new Sillo mini-pool designed by Matteo Fiorini. Also on display: the Isy22 taps collection and the Hoop push-button shower system by Zucchetti, both designed by Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez.

TODD

SILLO