exhibition of inflatable objects explores air as construction material at alcova, milan

MuID presents ‘air supply’ installation at alcova

From 5 – 12 June 2022, the Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design (MuID) in Kiel, Germany, presents the ‘Air Supply’ inflatable object installation at the Alcova as part of the Milan Design Week 2022. Created by 16 industrial design students, the project is based on the idea of using air as the main material of construction. The resulting piece is composed of ten different objects including a transparent suitcase, an air pillow lighting system, and a modular blow-up stool. The show is curated by Martin Postler & Benjamin Unterluggauer with the help of the participating students.

all images courtesy of Benjamin Unterluggauer & Martin Postler, unless stated otherwise

Through the ‘Air Supply’ installation, the students from MuID (see more here) address questions like ‘How can we redefine the expectations we place in a product its materiality, its weight, its rigidity, and subsequent function?’ and ‘How can we balance daily use and an open production process between mass consumption and individuality?’ 

The exhibition showcases a series of different inflatable consumer products such as luggage, lighting, apparel, and infrastructure. These include an inflated reinterpretation of a traditional Korean ‘Hanbok’ garment, ‘the ‘Alpha Stool’ modular seat that combines aluminum parts with inflated upholstery, the inflated ‘Green Carpet’ algae farm and sunshade, and many more. All of the pieces incorporate an inflatable element made from sheets of recycled plastic, and each project is created with the help of digital production methods such as CNC foil welding. 

image © designboom

image © designboom

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project info: 

name: Air Supply
designer: Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design (Julius Bahl, Jonas Bendlin, Bent Bischoff, Christa Carstensen, Christin Großmann, Friederike Haeuser, Jesse Jacobsen, Gunnar Kähler, Hansol Kim, Lotta Kunft, Greta Lola Lauk, Arista Meier, Paul Meyer, Karl Sperhake, Jannick Steffen Tjard Tensfeld and Ben Wesch)
curation: Martin Postler & Benjamin Unterluggauer 
location: Alcova, Via Simone Saint Bon 1, Milan

dates: 5 – 12 June 2022