Since 10 years, Lexus is joining the world’s largest design event, the Salone del Mobile di Milano (Milan Design Week). Through collaborations with world-renowned designers that create unique installations, Lexus aims to express its vision of a true luxury brand and its unique interpretation of design.
This year’s exhibit titled “LEXUS – A JOURNEY OF THE SENSES” consists in a journey through three zones designed by the French designer Philippe Nigro. Each zone will awake the five senses in many different ways.
Senses are intrinsic to life: they are what allow us to perceive the world. Taking this purposefully broad theme, considering seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting, we open ourselves up to a wide range of possibilities. This theme is particularly relevant to Lexus, as the whole driving experience is about senses: from seeing the striking exterior design of our cars, to hearing the sound of our finely tuned engines and feeling the sensation of our steering wheel when you round a corner. Everything is engaged.
Philippe Nigro said: “When I visited Lexus plants to see how the cars are designed and built, I was greatly impressed by how much care goes into not just the exteriors, but also into the invisible internal details. It was this insight that led me to the ‘Inside-Out’ design concept that enables visitors to experience beauty from every angle.”
By revealing things that are normally hidden from view, Lexus will invite visitors to make new discoveries and have new experiences in each of the various zones.
Zone 1: New insights in Lexus design
A bespoke Lexus design concept will be positioned at the heart of an exclusive installation, using special mirrors to generate unexpected reflections and illumination to create a flow of motion stimulating the imagination.
Created by the company’s Europe-based design studio, ED², this concept is a perfect illustration of Lexus’ passion for upcoming design trends.
Zone 2: The Lexus Design Award 2015 – Ideas to shape the future
Visitors will be invited to successively explore three cocoons constructed of an intricate wooden lattice work. The cocoons titled “Rain” “Wood” and “Earth” will create a primal environment in which visitors will be able to savour the work of food designer Hajime Yoneda as they move progressively forward on a sensory journey into the Lexus brand experience.
Zone 3: Experience the 5 senses
Visitors will be invited to successively explore three cocoons constructed of an intricate wooden lattice work. The cocoons will create a primal environment in which visitors will be able to savour the work of food designer Hajime Yoneda as they move progressively forward on a sensory journey into the Lexus brand experience.
In the first cocoon, visitors will be given a rain flakes and ushered into a darkened room to experience the feeling and sound of falling rain.
Hand-crafted chocolatewill be given to visitors as they will enter the second room to sense the smells, the sounds and the taste of a forest from the inside-out.
Finally, visitors will be given a bowl of ‘Earth Soup’ before entering a beautiful universe with stars twinkling in the darkness – symbolising the life force of mother earth.
LEXUS – A JOURNEY OF THE SENSES will be open to the public from Tuesday, April 14 to Sunday, April 19 from 11 AM to 9 PM at Lexus Spazio – La Torneria, Via Tortona 32, Milan.
