Bocci Milan 2023

Underscoring the Canadian design and research studio’s presence in Europe, our Milan apartment showroom marks an important milestone in the developing relationship between our brand and the city.

For years we have considered Milan a second home, and we now look forward to moving into the role of host in a city that has long provided a warm welcome and boundless inspiration. Enabling us to explore the full potential of a permanent base in Milan, the new apartment showroom will offer long-term programming and provide visitors with an in-depth experience of our brand and its ecosystem.

The apartment showroom is situated in an early twentieth-century building in Zona Vincenzo Monti, and joins our exhibition space and studio in Berlin (set to open in September 2023), as a European hub for our transnational community of people, ideas, and objects.

ON DISPLAY AT THE MILAN APARTMENT SHOWROOM

The Bocci Milan apartment showroom will present designs in an intimate residential setting, fully immersing visitors in lifestyle example of the brand.

Objects within the apartment showroom will be cycled periodically, the first iteration of which will showcase a range of designs, objects, and artefacts, that demonstrate the breadth of relationships we have built with designers, brands, friends, and supporters over the years.

Alongside a collection of interior pieces from long-standing design collaborators, we will present for the first time new items which have been developed at our studio in Vancouver, Canada, ranging from a new pendant light titled 118, to the 1.8 shelving unit - a founding design from the brand, now finalized for public release. Additional pieces, including table lamps, task lights, wall hooks, and outdoor designs will also be presented for the first time, together with a selection of bespoke site-specific lighting installations.

Other contributors include Henrybuilt, Calico Wallpaper, Christian Woo, ClassiCon, Coco-Mat, De La Espada, e15, Janaki Larsen, Rocky LaRock with Monte Clark Gallery, Knoll International, New Tendency, Orior Furniture, and Tino Seubert, amongst others.

BOCCI’S RELATIONSHIP WITH MILAN

Much of our success can be credited to Milan and its culture of deep respect and commitment to the evolution of aesthetic investigation. As a leading design and research lab headquartered in Vancouver, we continue to be inspired by Milan’s rich cultural offerings and its importance as the capital of the design world.

“With our apartment, we want to make “us” a larger community. The experience of having run a museum-scale space in Berlin with exhibitions, dinners, and collaborations showed us that our ethos of a like-minded community could go far and extend well beyond what we assumed was possible. We want to welcome Milan in and open up to it simultaneously.” Omer Arbel, Co-Founder at Bocci

Milan Design Week has long stood as a pivotal moment in the year for us and we have enjoyed many years of successful activations during the period. In 2007, we made our Milan debut with a presentation of the now iconic 14 series, suspended over Via Tortona. Subsequent presentations have taken place at various locations throughout the city, including Spazio Rossana Orlandi, DimoreGallery, and Salone del Mobile.

“Bocci's first exhibition in Milan was on the side of Via Tortona, we hung one of our installations from a forklift over the sidewalk. So much has changed with us and with Milan… how we’ve grown together! It is nice to cement the relationship in our apartment.” Omer Arbel, Co-Founder at Bocci

Following Milan Design Week, the apartment showroom will be permanently open to the public by appointment, with ongoing programming, events and collaborations. Guests are invited to access the apartment via. Via Giuseppe Rovani, 20.