Perched atop the terrace of Buccellati’s Via Brisa headquarters is a bright red architectural intervention, created in celebration of Milan Design Week. Playing host to its new collection, “Rosso Maraviglia,” is a special installation created by the multidisciplinary studio AMDL CIRCLE and the architect Michele De Lucchi, which transformed the space into an enclosed garden of wonder.
Courtesy of Buccellati.
On view through April 23, the special installation was curated by Federica Sala to introduce the new collection presented by Buccellati with the same name—including silver table accessories and glass design objects made in collaboration with Venini.
Courtesy of Buccellati.
Presented within its bright metal barricades is a botanical art installation by Lily Kwong, thoughtfully complementing the new collection with plants that play off of the tableware theme, with a peckish twist. The nature of the jewelry house presenting dining accessories for Design Week inspired Kwong to think about feasting, sourcing an array of plant life that was representative of such a concept.
Courtesy of Buccellati.
“This one is fun,” Kwong told Whitewall over the phone last week. “There’s a big, red architectural skeleton that wraps around the terrace of their headquarters, and our piece will feature hundreds of carnivorous plants. What feels exciting is that Buccellatti is sharing tableware pieces, not their jewelry, so as we were thinking about feasting and communal dining, we started thinking about the only plants known to consume insects are carnivorous plants.”
Courtesy of Buccellati.
Featured in Kwong’s botanical installation are different species from that specific plant genus—including Venus fly traps, Sar asthenias, and Pitcher plants—aimed to communicate ideas of adaptation, survival, and the ingenuity of mother nature.
Courtesy of Buccellati.
“These plants were studied by Charles Darwin and have evolved over 140 million years,” said Kwong. “It’s an unbelievable adaptation where carnivorous plants were originally growing in very nutrient-poor soils, and they evolved by catching insects and absorbing the nutrients of those insects through their leaves. It’s very rare that a plant is not absorbing nutrients through its roots, but through its leaves. They have all of these interesting architectures that emerge through a biological necessity.”
For locals and visitors in town for Milan Design Week, an inspirational walk along the lush edges of the installation can show shiny new designs from Bucellati, including the Deco and Fazzoletto vases.
Courtesy of Buccellati.
