The Infinite Chair: the design that is endlessly revolutionising the seating and hotel experience
An exhibition by ADI Design Museum - Milan curated by Maite García Sanchis
The Infinite Chair exhibition focuses attention on the influence of design on the hotel experience among the special projects of the 2024 show exhibited in Hall D3 of InOut | The Hospitality Community.
Up, Gaetano Pesce, B&B Italia, 1969
The exhibition by the ADI Design Museum in Milan – a museum that disseminates design culture nationally and internationally through its permanent collection of the Compasso d'Oro award and the production of themed exhibitions focused on contemporary design – is curated by architect Maite García Sanchis and explores how chairs have evolved over the past 70 years, with 40 iconic chairs of industrial design.
Always synonymous with comfort, friendliness and service, the chair is also a fundamental element for hospitality settings, and this will therefore be an opportunity for professionals in the hospitality sector to exchange views.
The Infinite Chair is not just an exhibition project, but a journey through the stories and innovations that have transformed the object into a symbol of design and functionality.
In a sector like hospitality, where customer experience is fundamental, it offers a unique opportunity for industry professionals to better understand the potential of furniture design and how this can enhance the overall guest experience.
The themes covered
Starting with iconic chairs that have won the Compasso d'Oro award, one of the highest recognitions of Italian design established in 1954 by Gio Ponti and exhibited at the ADI Design Museum in Milan, we find evidence of research in the name of innovation and transformation that runs through the story of the 40 chairs.
Themes explored by the curator include seriality, exclusivity, playfulness, adaptability, lightness, subtraction and rebellion, among others.
These also connect with Veritas, the main theme of TTG – InOut 2024, thereby celebrating authenticity in the design of the chair, an everyday object and an icon of industrial design, which has become a symbol of innovation, functionality and beauty.
Luisa, Franco Albini, Poggi, 1955
Staging
As the title suggests, The Infinite Chair explores the object as a limitless archetype, which can be interpreted in infinite forms and materials.
The chairs exhibited are grouped in pairs or small themed groups of two to five chairs, each accompanied by a short sentence explaining its significance. These emblematic furnishings not only tell their aesthetic and functional story, but also show how they have been influenced by social, economic and technological developments over the years, in parallel with the prestigious Compasso d'Oro award.
R606 Uno, Bartoli Design, Fauciglietti Engineering, Segis, 2004
Spun, Thomas Heatherwick, Magis, 2010
D.154.2, Gio Ponti, Molteni, 1954
Some chairs are presented in an unconventional way, disassembled or accompanied by symbolic images, to reveal the creative and technical processes of their long research and development tradition.
“This is intended to highlight the importance of the chair as a determining element in how we experience a certain environment, both for its formal and symbolic characteristics and for its role in the evolution of design and industrial production,” explains curator Maite García Sanchis.
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