08.01.2025

Salone del Mobile 2021 – The return

Building design

Unusually spacious: the exhibition halls in Milan offer plenty of freedom of movement in 2021 Salone del Mobile 2021.

In 2020, the Milan Salone del Mobile had to be canceled due to the pandemic. This year, it has been moved from April to September. To be more precise, the world’s most important furniture and design fair will take place from September 5-10, 2021. As “Supersalone”, it has opened its doors with a new concept and significantly slimmed down. Editor-in-chief Fabian Peters visited the Salone del Mobile 2021 for us.

Some people were surprised when they realized that the Milan exhibition grounds were bustling with activity on the opening day of the “Supersalone”. Not that the crowds were comparable to the regular Salone del Mobile, where manufacturers regularly have to close their stands due to overcrowding. But the yawning emptiness that many had predicted failed to materialize. Should the event, which the organizers wisely chose to call an exhibition rather than a trade fair, therefore be considered a success? Many exhibitors saw it for what it was supposed to be. A sign of life for the Italian furniture and design industry after the country’s traumatic coronavirus months.

Even though there were only four halls instead of the usual 24, and even though only a handful of foreign exhibitors took part, the signal from Milan was audible and the international media also showed great interest. The big show – it will probably not start again until next year. Then the Salone will return to its regular date in April. However, the curiosity of the press at the Salone del Mobile 2021 was not only due to the fact that the event was finally opening its doors again after being canceled in 2020 and rescheduled for 2021. It was also due to the “Supersalone” concept. It was largely created with the help of Stefano Boeri, the architect of the ground-breaking “Bosco Verticale” skyscraper.

Trade fair without stands

Boeri’s approach is radical: no stands, no company CI, no zones for dealer meetings. Instead, a uniform presentation system in which large-format room dividers structure the halls. Each trade fair participant could design a few meters of this room divider. They then had a strip between ten and forty meters long, around four meters high and around two meters deep at their disposal. The concept of the Salone del Mobile 2021 had rightly received some praise in advance because it put a stop to the material battles of previous years. As the room dividers are reusable, this form of trade fair is also much more sustainable. However, it is now clear that the Salone 2022 will return to the classic stand concept. What will happen to the Boeri walls then remains to be seen.

As expected, the exhibitors were less enthusiastic about the Supersalone exhibition concept than the critics. There was a certain reluctance on the part of many companies and brands to deal with the requirements of the new concept. One thing was clear at first glance: Attempts to use the hall strip like a very narrow exhibition stand were doomed to failure. Instead, self-restraint was the key. Brands such as Foscarini, Magis and Poliform had each selected just one new product, which then stood as an exhibit in front of the room divider. The room divider itself becomes a screen onto which films are projected. Magis, for example, shows impressions from the development process of the “Costume” sofa by Stefan Diez, which is the focus of this year’s company presentation.

Salone del Mobile 2021: smaller but more innovative

Molteni&C makes even more original use of its narrow space. It was created by designer Ron Gilad. He is focusing on Molteni’s re-edition of a piece of Gio Ponti furniture this year, the “Round” D.154.5 armchair. In doing so, he builds a bridge to the design year 1954 with a charming reminiscence of the golden years of flight. Like in an airplane, the armchairs are arranged in groups of two in front of the rear wall. Anyone sitting on them can look through circular “airplane windows” into an artificial sky and listen to the captain’s announcements.

One would actually wish that the Salone del Mobile would not immediately shelve the innovative ideas inherent in the Supersalone concept. After all, all the gigantic exhibition stands and the masses of visitors that flock to Milan and the exhibition halls are hardly justifiable from a sustainability perspective. Instead, a well-designed, compact trade fair with a framework architecture like Stefano Boeri’s could come to the people. Why not take the Supersalone on tour and show it in Shanghai, Rio and St. Petersburg?

In the city, the weather is the star

This year’s “Fuori Salone” in Milan’s city center showed how much can be achieved with economical means and low material consumption. This “trade fair outside the trade fair” was more important than ever for visitors in 2021. This was because many manufacturers preferred to exhibit in the city rather than at the official Salone del Mobile 2021. And they had a free supporter on the first days of the fair – the wonderful late summer weather. Whether it was Flos, Laufen, Kvadrat or Occhio – visitors were busy enjoying espresso or wine in the courtyards and backyards of the showrooms.

Some brands that do not have their own showroom in Milan are trying their hand as subtenants in 2021: Thonet at SieMatic, for example, or the young lighting manufacturer Midgard at Agape. USM’s appearance is particularly original. Together with Monocle magazine, the Swiss company has moved into a bicycle store in the Brera district. Thanks to the wonderful weather, USM can play along with the street space. And the Haller modular system can demonstrate its qualities as outdoor and café terrace furniture. Passers-by and visitors to the Salone gratefully accept the offer of drinks and relaxation.

This year, the Salone del Mobile 2021 and the Fuori Salone offered a whole range of good arguments for not returning to the gigantomania of previous years in 2022. Nobody really missed the record number of visitors that the organizers of the Milan furniture fair like to announce this year. The number of new products was also manageable, just like the size of the Supersalone. We took a look at some of the most important innovations from the exhibition halls. Find out what they are here.

24.12.2024

Industry news, Research

Living in and with monuments

Building design

The agenda of the online conference "Living in and with monuments" includes a guided virtual tour of the exemplarily renovated Old School Klosterbruck monument in the grounds of the large Louka Monastery in Znojmo. Photo: Staircase of Louka Monastery / Znojmo / Wikimedia Commons /HamzovaT

As part of the research project “Center for the Renewal of Shared Cultural Heritage” at Danube University – University for Continuing Education Krems, the cross-border heritage conference “Living in and with Monuments” will take place today and tomorrow, November 18 and 19, 2021 Experts from four countries will provide insights into new trends and findings in renovation, restoration and further construction in a historical setting. At […]

As part of the research project “Center for Renewal of the Common Cultural Heritage” of the Danube University – University for Continuing Education Krems, the cross-border monument protection conference “Living in and with monuments” will take place today and tomorrow, November 18 and 19, 2021

Experts from four countries will provide insights into new trends and findings in refurbishment, restoration and further construction in a historic setting. The program of the online conference “Living in and with monuments” on 18 and 19 November 2021 also includes a guided virtual tour of the exemplarily renovated monuments Kulturhaus Schüttkasten in Retz and Alte Schule Klosterbruck in the area of the large Louka Monastery in Znojmo.

The conference, organized by Danube University – University for Continuing Education Krems and the city of Retz together with Czech partners, is aimed at all interested parties, especially owners and operators of historic buildings as well as administrative experts, museum planners, tourism professionals and experts from the construction and ancillary building trades. The event will take place online and will be simultaneously translated into German and Czech. Participation is free of charge and registration is not required.

About the project “Center for Renewal of Common Cultural Heritage”

The EU Interreg research project “Center for the Renewal of the Common Cultural Heritage” aims to establish a center for the renewal of the common Austrian-Czech cultural heritage close to the border. The focus is on cross-border cooperation for the sustainable renovation of historic buildings and sites, raising public awareness of the issue and promoting the common cultural heritage. The renovation of two architectural monuments – the Old School in the Louka Monastery in Znojmo on the Czech side and the Schüttkasten in Retz on the Austrian side – as part of the project is intended to serve as a model for the successive revitalization of the entire region.

Online conference “Living in and with monuments”

Date: November 18 and 19, 2021
Location: online via ZOOM
Registration: https://de.col-conference.eu
Queries: Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Bernhard Schneider, Center for Architectural Heritage, University for Continuing Education Krems, Tel.: +43 (0)676 7614000, bernhard.schneider@donau-uni.ac.at , www.donau-uni.ac.at/dbu

Reading tip: Natural disasters, war or climate change – our cultural heritage is exposed to many threats. Several initiatives are currently addressing this issue. Dr. Ute Strimmer spoke to Professor Christian Hanus, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Art and Architecture at Danube University – University for Continuing Education Krems. His Department of Building and Environment is one of the first to dedicate itself to new solutions in this area at university level. Read more here.

The Faculty of Education, Art and Architecture at Danube University Krems is supporting the region around Accumoli, which was hit hard by earthquakes, with teaching and research projects at the “School of Reconstruction”. In addition to the structural reconstruction, the aim of the efforts is also the cultural, social and economic revitalization of the central Italian municipality. With this in mind, the international orchestra academy “Accademia Vicino” was launched in Accumoli in summer 2021, including a series of concerts with conductor Johannes Wildner. You can watch a video about this special initiative here:

15.01.2026

Architecture

Balcony as a stage: architecture meets urban quality of life

Building design

Urban balcony with table and two chairs as a symbol of urban quality of life and architectural design. — Balcony as a stage: architecture and urban quality of life. Photo by Samantha Gades on Unsplash.

Balconies are the small stages of everyday urban life. This is where people drink coffee, discuss, exhibit, observe, protest, barbecue and sometimes just breathe. The balcony is the architectural link between the private sphere and public urbanity – and at a time when quality of life in the city is becoming the hardest currency, its potential is only really becoming visible. But is the balcony really taken seriously as a stage – or is it still a planning afterthought between standards, fire protection and cost pressure?

Balconies characterize the urban lifestyle in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – and are often underestimated in everyday architecture.
Current trends show the balcony as a multifunctional stage: retreat, neighborhood platform, climate buffer and social projection surface.
Digitalization and smart technologies are fundamentally changing the use and design of balconies.
Sustainability remains the big challenge: the choice of materials, biodiversity, microclimate and energy efficiency demand new answers.
Professional planning requires detailed technical knowledge of construction, law and user needs.
Balconies are increasingly becoming the venue for social debates and architectural visions.
The international interest in urban quality of life makes the balcony a hotspot of discourse in building culture.
The future of the balcony lies between digital expansion, sustainable design and urban sociological relevance.

Balconies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – status quo of an underestimated stage

If you stroll through the cities of Germany, Austria or Switzerland, you will see an architectural matter of course: balconies line facades, stack up in new-build districts, curve and nestle against old buildings, grow into the airspace as retrofitted extensions. But as ubiquitous as the balcony is as an architectural element, it is often treated with little care. Between the compulsory exercise of the living space ordinance, residual space in the floor plan and compromise solutions in the development plan, its potential as an urban living space often remains unused. Yet in times of densification, rising rents and a growing need for places of retreat, every square meter of open space is worth its weight in gold.

In major German cities, balconies have long since become a status symbol. Those who don’t have one are looking for alternatives: Roof terraces, communal gardens, window sills, park benches. In Zurich and Vienna, balconies are deliberately designed as spaces for social interaction. In Berlin, the pandemic has greatly increased awareness of the value of one’s own outdoor space. Nevertheless, the reality is often sobering: balconies are too small, too loud, too draughty, too shady, too hot, too monotonous. The architectural imagination usually ends with the standard floor plan and the flat roof slab.

Standards and building regulations do the rest to curb the joy of experimentation. Structural planning, fire protection, clearance areas, noise protection, statics, energy saving regulations – the list of restrictions is long. Added to this is the fear of maintenance costs, water damage, mold and property disputes. Balconies thus become a problem area rather than a stage. Outstanding examples from Austria and Switzerland show that things can be done differently: residential projects are being developed there in which the balcony is deliberately staged as a social catalyst and as part of the urban “living room”. So the question is: when will the rest of the industry follow suit?

The current debate about urban quality of life is now bringing the balcony more into focus. After all, this is where it is decided how liveable dense living remains. The balcony is the link between inside and outside, between retreat and neighborhood, between privacy and public life. Its design is therefore becoming a question of building culture – and an indicator of the planners’ willingness to innovate.

One thing is certain: The potential of the balcony as a stage for urban quality of life is far from exhausted. Anyone who continues to treat it as an architectural sideshow is wasting a great opportunity to really combine architecture with quality of life. It’s time for a rethink – and for more architectural courage.

The balcony as a stage: new trends, digital extensions and creative use

The balcony has long been more than just a place to store bicycles or an extended exhaust pipe for the barbecue. A paradigm shift has taken place in recent years: Balconies are becoming multifunctional stages on which urban life is staged in a new way. This starts with furnishings – from outdoor kitchens to open-air home offices – and ends with their use as urban gardens, fitness studios, studios or even temporary event venues. In Vienna, balconies are used for neighborhood concerts, in Zurich for guerrilla gardening projects and in Berlin as a political platform for banners and protest actions.

This trend is being fueled by digital technologies. Smart irrigation systems, LED lighting, weather-adaptive awnings, sensors for climate measurement and apps for neighborhood networking are moving onto balconies. The balcony is becoming an interface between analog and digital life. In Munich, architects are experimenting with augmented reality installations that turn the balcony into an interactive experience space. At the same time, platforms are emerging that enable sharing models for balcony gardens and micro-events. Digitalization opens up possibilities that go far beyond traditional use.

However, it is not only technology that is changing the balcony, but also social conditions. The longing for individualization meets the desire for community. Balconies are becoming places of visibility and staging – and thus a social statement. Whoever designs the balcony also helps to shape the image of the city. The facades come alive, the neighborhood becomes visible, the public space expands to private heights. The boundary between inside and outside, private and public, is becoming increasingly blurred.

Architects are called upon to actively shape these developments. It is no longer enough to design a balcony as a static platform. What is needed are flexible, adaptable and intelligent concepts that meet the different needs of users. The integration of digital tools and sustainable materials is becoming a must. Anyone who fails to think along here is planning without taking into account the lifestyle of city dwellers.

In the international architectural debate, balconies are now being celebrated as part of a new urbanity. Projects from Paris, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Milan show how the balcony can be used as a stage for social, climatic and digital transformation. Germany, Austria and Switzerland would be well advised to take inspiration from these examples – and set their own trends.

Smart balconies, AI and sustainability: opportunities and challenges for the industry

Digitalization does not stop at the balcony. What at first glance seems like a banal sideshow of the smart city debate turns out to be an exciting field of experimentation for AI, automation and data-driven planning on closer inspection. Sensors measure light, air quality, humidity, temperature and noise pollution. AI-supported systems regulate irrigation, shading and energy consumption. Apps connect neighbors, organize communal use or even control vertical farms on the balcony. The balcony is becoming a microcosm of the urban tech revolution.

However, this technical upgrade raises new questions. Who has access to the data? Who controls the systems? How are data protection and privacy guaranteed? The danger of the balcony becoming another interface for surveillance and commercialization is real. At the same time, exciting new possibilities are emerging: Adaptive façade elements that regulate the microclimate, solar panels to generate energy, green walls for more biodiversity – the balcony is becoming a laboratory for sustainable urban concepts.

Sustainability remains the biggest challenge. The choice of materials, life cycle, maintenance requirements, energy efficiency and recyclability are key criteria for the balcony of the future. Wood, steel, aluminum, glass, concrete – each material has its advantages and disadvantages. The integration of plants, water and renewable energies requires technical expertise and innovative planning. Those who rely solely on quick effects risk long-term structural damage and disappointed users.

Today, professional planners have to deal with a wide range of issues: Statics, sealing, sound insulation, thermal separation, drainage, plant selection, light management, digital control, user requirements and legal framework conditions. The complexity is increasing, as are the demands on your own expertise. Anyone who takes the balcony seriously as a stage needs interdisciplinary knowledge – and the willingness to break new ground.

There are controversial debates in the industry about the role of the balcony. Is it a luxury or a basic right? Climate killer or climate hero? Private comfort zone or public statement? As is so often the case, the truth lies somewhere in between. One thing is clear: the balcony is becoming a touchstone for the innovative capacity of architecture – and a yardstick for the future viability of urban quality of life.

Balcony architecture in a global context: debates, visions and the future of urban living

Internationally, the balcony has long since become a symbol of a new urbanity. In cities such as Paris, Seoul and Milan, residential projects are being developed in which the balcony acts as a “third skin” between the interior and the city. Vertical gardens, modular systems, adaptive façades and smart controls turn the balcony into a showcase for urban innovation. The boundaries between living, working and relaxing are becoming blurred and the balcony is becoming a stage for social transformation. What is still being tentatively discussed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is already a built reality elsewhere.

In the global architectural debate, balconies are increasingly being seen as part of the answer to the challenges of the climate crisis. Microclimatic effects, greening, shading, rainwater management, biodiversity – the balcony offers a wealth of approaches to make cities more resilient and liveable. At the same time, it stands for social innovation: neighborhood, community, participation, diversity. The balcony stage is open for experiments – and for new social models.

However, critics warn against the commercialization of balcony architecture. Anyone who sees the balcony only as a sales argument in the real estate market runs the risk of squandering its potential. Algorithmic design, mass production, standardized modules – all this can lead to individuality and social quality falling by the wayside. The challenge is to develop the balcony as a flexible, user-oriented and sustainable stage without degrading it to a mere accessory.

Visionary architects are therefore calling for a radical reorientation: the balcony should no longer be seen as a residual space, but as a central component of living, urban design and climate adaptation. Urban planners are discussing how the city of short distances can be supplemented by a network of balconies, loggias, terraces and communal outdoor spaces. The future of urban quality of life lies in the details – and the balcony is the decisive detail.

Architects, planners and developers who ignore the global discourse will be left behind. The balcony stage is open – what is needed now is courage, expertise and the will to really break new ground. Because urban quality of life is not created by standard solutions, but by clever, creative and bold architecture.

Conclusion: The balcony as the key to urban quality of life – and a touchstone for the architecture of tomorrow

The balcony is far more than just a structural appendage. It is a stage, laboratory, social space, climate buffer and architectural calling card all in one. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, its potential has so far only been used tentatively. But the future belongs to architects who see the balcony as an interface between innovation, sustainability and urban quality of life. Digitalization is opening up new possibilities, the challenges in terms of sustainability are enormous – and society’s need for liveable living space is constantly growing. Anyone who continues to treat the balcony as a compulsory exercise has not understood the signs of the times. It is time to stage the balcony as a stage for the city of tomorrow – and thus finally make architecture a shaping force in everyday urban life again.