Concept
The Italian Design has been recognized worldwide for decades as a distinctive feature of “Made-in-Italy.” Functionality, technology and aesthetics are the essential elements, witnesses of the Italian creative genius, passion for beauty and unique lifestyle.
“La Casa del Design Italiano” is the first permanent exhibition of Italian industrial design at an Italian Embassy abroad. The initiative, launched by Ambassador Gianluigi Benedetti and curated by architects Matteo Belfiore and Valentina Cannava, consequently, was carried out in cooperation with the Association for Industrial Design (ADI) and the precious contribution of many Italian companies.
The permanent exhibition extends over approximately 180 m2. and occupies the Chancellery premises renovated in 2005 by the architect Gae Aulenti. It carefully selects the best Italian design, resulting from collaboration with companies that work on levels of excellence. The objects on display are loaned for use, with the possibility of being replaced over time. Some exhibited objects or their designers have been awarded the prestigious Compasso d’Oro award, with which the ADI has rewarded the best Italian design products and designers for seventy years (first edition in 1954).
The original functional character of the museum is that of being an ordinary space of the Embassy used daily for meetings, press conferences, and moments of aggregation in the coffee corner, but also to host special events such as seminars, trade shows, exhibitions, and concerts thanks to the lightness and ease of recombining the furnishings with various configurations. The automotive design sector, another Made in Italy excellence, also has some iconic pieces. Each product on display is described in detail with wall captions containing basic information and QR codes linked to the web pages of the exhibiting companies. In an adequately functional environment, only a few system and equipment additions were necessary, such as a new ceiling projector, an electric roll-up screen, and a high-quality audio system. The lockers at the entrance feature the well-known Red Brown RAL3011 color finish, which explicitly references the color of the façade of the Italian Cultural Institute in Tokyo and recalls refined Japanese lacquers.
The House of Design in Tokyo is a candidate to be the first example of a Made in Italy museum hosted in an Italian Embassy. This circumstance underlines the unique cultural relations that bind Italy and Japan.
