Innovative Design: From Milan Fair to Zambian Community Care

The Vision: A Second Life for Exhibition Stands

The display created by Italian tapware company QuadroDesign for the Salone del Mobile event, masterfully conceived by Giacomo Moor, is embarking on a journey to Masala, Zambia. Its ultimate destination is to be transformed into a functional public restroom, offering vital services to the local populace.

Addressing Unsustainability in Design Fairs

This initiative represents a paradigm shift in how temporary structures from design showcases are utilized. Instead of being dismantled and discarded, this stand will be reconstructed as a lasting architectural fixture, poised to deliver the region's inaugural public sanitation amenities.

Community Impact: Essential Facilities for Masala

The forthcoming facility will encompass changing rooms, lavatories, and showers, all equipped with QuadroDesign's plumbing and tapware, alongside a medical center. These provisions are specifically designed to cater to the needs of women employed at the Masala charcoal market and their children, providing much-needed support and hygiene access.

Collaborative Design for Disassembly

QuadroDesign engaged the Milan-based design studio Giacomo Moor to craft the exhibit for this year's Salone del Mobile. A core requirement was that the structure be modular and easily reversible, aligning with the company's commitment to minimizing waste generated by design week installations.

Partnership for Social Good

The collaborators also joined forces with Koalisation, an Italian organization dedicated to community development projects in Zambia. Their partnership was instrumental in identifying a meaningful secondary application for the exhibition system and facilitating its transport and setup in Zambia post-event.

Challenging the Status Quo of Temporary Architecture

Enrico Magistro, co-founder of QuadroDesign, articulated the rationale behind this project, stemming from a critical observation: the environmental and ethical unsustainability of most temporary brand architectures at design week. He emphasized how complex, visually impressive stands, despite their beauty, often become waste after just a few days.

Evolution Towards Greater Sustainability

Magistro noted that while QuadroDesign had previously sought to mitigate this issue with largely reusable stands that avoided excessive cladding, their ambition for 2026 was significantly higher. They aimed for a more impactful and sustainable solution.

Engineering for Adaptability and Future Use

By enlisting Moor, they envisioned a modular construction method that permitted effortless assembly and disassembly. This system was designed to be adaptable to diverse spatial configurations and future applications, ensuring its long-term utility.

Innovative Structural Design

Moor devised a timber frame structure, ingeniously secured by custom-designed four-way aluminum connectors. This system enables the framework to be extended in multiple directions, offering both structural integrity and aesthetic appeal.

Versatile Framework for Diverse Applications

The wooden posts and beams, each comprising multiple squared mini-posts, form a lattice that accommodates the aluminum joints. This innovative design not only provides an elegant aesthetic but also creates internal cavities, ideal for integrating wooden panels, sliding doors, or functional elements like lighting.

Adaptive Design: From Exhibition to Enclosed Facility

While the Salone exhibit featured an open and airy design, allowing visitors to glimpse the entire architecture, the Zambian iteration will be enclosed. Red-toned, lightweight, fire-retardant MDF panels from the booth will be repurposed as internal partitions, and fabric will be transformed into privacy curtains. A new roof will be constructed on-site using local materials.

On-Site Adjustments for Local Needs

Moor shared insights into the modifications being made, including reducing the uprights by 50 centimeters to suit the lower height requirements of the Zambian structure. Large polycarbonate panels from the upper section of the booth are being cut to create fenestrations, demonstrating the adaptability of the design.

Efficiency in Assembly and Disassembly

Moor expressed immense satisfaction with the system's performance during both assembly and disassembly, highlighting the seamless and efficient nature of the process. He noted that the entire procedure took less time than anticipated, validating the effectiveness and flexibility of their construction system.

Community Involvement in Reconstruction

The hope is to replicate this efficiency in Zambia, where a two-week period is allocated for rebuilding the structure with the active participation of the local community, fostering a sense of ownership and collaboration. The QuadroDesign display at Salone also showcased their new Hum tapware, a collection designed by Philippe Malouin, emphasizing essential, minimalist forms.