Courmayeur Design Week-end 2023: design at high altitude is back

It will be an intense weekend of installations, exhibitions, meetings and special projects in the center and at the summit, Courmayeur Design Week-end 2023, scheduled from Thursday, Feb. 9 to Sunday, Feb. 12. The event is part of the Design Week-end format, conceived to promote design culture in Italian countries through interaction between companies, designers and territories. It was born in 2020 inheriting the relationships and the convivial and goliardic spirit of the famous skiCAD, a ski race for architects and designers that this year reaches its 23rd edition.

Courmayeur is transformed into a laboratory where proposals with an ambitious step take root. Boutique storefronts and downtown squares, slopes, cable cars, cultural and leisure venues are colored with proposals. Among the main novelties of the 2023 edition, entitled verso(la)meta and dedicated to the relationship between the real and virtual worlds, are the five displays signed by leading national architectural firms, theexhibition of design objects in the windows of downtown boutiques curated by Giulio Cappellini and Ilaria Marelli, the photographic exhibition The Rigor of the Gaze with works by Fondazione 3M at the Duca degli Abruzzi Museum, the Main Keynote Speech by architect Piero Lissoni at the summit of SkyWay Monte Bianco on Friday Feb. 10, the three talks between architecture, art and design led by journalist Giorgio Tartaro, the preview of a new initiative, Alps Made, dedicated to Alpine creativity, projects in augmented reality augmented reality on the slopes, developed in coloration with DOS - Design Open Spaces, and the usual skiCAD, which for decades has linked the studios of architects and designers, especially from the Milan area, to the Alpine town, which will be inaugurated on Friday, February 10, by Courmayeur Mayor Roberto Rota, directly from the slopes of Plan Checrouit.

The architectural firms starring this year: 967arch, Gio Latis STUDIO, Park Associati, Piuarch, Progetto CMR, Studio Giuseppe Tortato Architetti, Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia, Fabrica, GBPAArchitects/Revalue, Parisotto + Formenton. Thirty companies are involved, including historic Italian and international design companies, younger brands and startups: 3M, Alessi, ALPI, Boffi|De Padova, Cardex, Cisco, Deles Group, Delta Light, Dixpari, Dolomitisch, Eco Contract, Jannelli&Volpi, JANUS et Cie, Kartell, Kindof, Living Divani, Lualdi, MillerKnoll, Poltrona Frau, Provasi, Signature Kitchen Suite, Slalom Acoustic & partition systems, Steeles, Tecno, Vetreria Re, WOOD-SKIN, Zanotta.

Set-ups in the center and at altitude

Courmayeur Design Week-end spreads through the central squares and streets to the peaks, with many projects straddling the virtual and the real, becoming an integral part of a vacation in Courmayeur. Welcoming protagonists and visitors to the central Piazza Brocherel for this third edition of Courmayeur Design Week-end is the installation curated by Gio Latis STUDIO: a giant XXL Vanity Fair that Poltrona Frau is dedicating to the event. While the windows of the downtown boutiques are transformed into an open-air design gallery thanks to Giulio Cappellini Verso(la)Meta: an exhibition of objects and projects that narrate the work of architect Cappellini, Compasso d’Oro alla Carriera in 2022, in the interpretation of architect and designer Ilaria Marelli. Guided tour: Thursday, Feb. 9 - h 3:45 p.m. | Feb. 09/12 - h store opening.

Metaverso Gateway, an installation curated by Studio Giuseppe Tortato Architetti, is staged in the Waldensian Church in Piazza Petigax: dreamlike experience and high technology meet and generate a box-in-the-box gate to the Metaverse, which interprets the theme of this third edition of Courmayeur Design Week-end. The exhibition reconciles artistic creation and craft method, with an approach of unity between the arts reminiscent of the Bauhaus, thanks also to the collaboration with Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Simplex, Materea Industries and DOS - Design Open Spaces. Opening: Thursday, Feb. 9 - h 3 p.m. | Feb. 09/12 - h 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3:30-6:30 p.m.

Focus on the office and school world, on the other hand, in the installation L’ALPHAbeto del futuro designed by 967arch inside the Foyer Courmayeur Centro Congressi: an immersive path among lights, colors, mobility, aggregation and technology, looks at the Alpha generation, the most valuable potential of tomorrow. Objective: to transfer the know-how gained from the office sector to the world of the school, which in the design of its spaces does not seem to find the same virtuous flywheel, remaining anchored to rigid and now obsolete models. Opening: Thursday, Feb. 9 - h 4:45 p.m. | Feb. 9/12 - h 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2:30-6:30 p.m.

At the Courmayeur Sport Center the protagonist is Noosphere: an installation conceived by four hands by the Milan-based studios Park Associati and Piuarch. What is relationship today? Where is it experienced? The installation focuses on the different ways in which individuals define their identity in relation to others. Starting with the handprint-perhaps man’s first sign of expression-Noosphere is divided into five exhibition episodesthat narrate the time in which we live with a pop and playful mood and allow guests to experience the space by finding the relationships that are woven into it. Opening: Thursday, Feb. 9 - h 7:30 p.m. | Feb. 09/12 - h 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2:30-6:30 p.m.

We go up in altitude, instead, with the installation Verso(il)bivacco Camardella, realized by Progetto CMR in the snow lounge of Plan Checrouit. A minimal architecture, as minimal and essential is often the space of mountain architecture, pays homage to the memory of Edoardo Camardella to whom the project of the bivouac of the same name on the Rutor glacier in La Thuile is dedicated. Two wooden frames repropose the outline of the hut, identifying two resting places where refreshments can be found. Visitors can immerse themselves in a virtual exploration of the bivouac and its incredible landscape. Opening: Friday, Feb. 10 - h 10 a.m. | Feb. 09/12 - h 8:45 a.m.-5 p.m.

Also at altitude, but this time at Skyway Mont Blanc, Punta Helbronner, is the Alps Made preview : three designers from the Alps introduce the project that Images magazine will devote to the creativity of the Alps starting in 2024, investigating if and how it manifests itself differently in the highest countries of Europe. 09/12 February - h 8.30am/3.30pm.

Space is also given to photography with the exhibition The Rigor of the Gaze curated by the 3M Foundation hosted by the Duca degli Abruzzi Museum. After Paris and Milan, a group exhibition arrives in Courmayeur that brings together a selection of images whose careful composition is the result of that rigor that unites authors linked to black and white with those closer to color, starting with photographers who have measured themselves with architecture, including Gabriele Basilico, Gianni Berengo Gardin, Ferruccio Leiss, Gianna Spirito and Lia Stein. Opening: Thursday, Feb. 9 - h 2 p.m. | Feb. 09/12 - h 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 4 p.m.-7 p.m.

Design TED talks and debates.

Inaugurating the series of scheduled talks on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m., Design TED in the company of some of the event’s brand partners. At the Foyer Courmayeur Centro Congressi, realities from the world of design tell their stories, moderated by journalist Giorgio Tartaro: 3M, ALPI, Cardex, Cisco, Delta Light, Dixpari, D.O.S. Design Open Spaces, Kartell, Kindof , Living Divani, Lualdi, Herman Miller, Poltrona Frau, Slalom Acoustic & partition systems, Vetreria Re and WOOD-SKIN. Scheduled for Friday, 10, is the eagerly awaited appointment with Piero Lissoni, at 6:30 p.m. at Skyway Monte Bianco, Pavillon. Protagonist of Talks on top, the architect will talk about goals and achievements. Limited seating, info and reservations: hello@designweek-end.it.

On Saturday morning, at 11 a.m., it is the turn of Creativity between art and design: a discussion, moderated by Giorgio Tartaro, between architect Giulio Cappellini and gallery owner Deodato Salafia (11 a.m., Foyer Courmayeur Centro Congressi). It is also possible to visit the Art toys & art design exhibition set up in the Deodato Arte Gallery with works by Kaws and Bearbrick, Mr.Brainwash and Mr.Savethewall, along with sculptures by Marco Lodola, Daniele Fortuna and Arnaud Nazare-Aga. h 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3 p.m.-8 p.m. In the afternoon, it’s the turn of Architects in comparison: at the Foyer Courmayeur Centro Congressi a meeting with 967arch, Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia, Fabrica, GBPAArchitects/Revalue, Gio Latis STUDIO, Parisotto + Formenton, Park Associati, Piuarch, Progetto CMR, Studio Giuseppe Tortato Architetti; introduced by Cristiana Cutrona, moderated by Giorgio Tartaro.

SkiCAD 23

This is the event from which it all started and which continues to attract architects and designers to the slopes of Mont Blanc who want to try their hand at this distinctive ski race awarded by the brand partners of Courmayeur Design Week-end. The ski and snowboard race is definitely one of the most entertaining moments of the event, also for the audience that attends. The date for the 23rd edition is Friday, Feb. 10, at 10 a.m. at Plan Checrouit (Pista Aretù). The award ceremonies will be held on Saturday 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Jardin de l’Ange, with collectible trophies specially designed by Project CMR. Info and registration: www.skicad.it. Special project ’Augmented Design’.

Finally, the project that best embodies the theme of this 3rd edition, verso(la)meta: a playful breakdown of the Metaverse intended as an invitation to explore virtual contemporaneity without losing touch with reality. Throughout the winter season, in addition to the Dolonne Gondola customized by the event’s design brand partners and also complete with multimedia content, Courmayeur’s slopes will host a special treasure hunt: sign disks at the edge of the slope open the door to augmented reality experiences, developed with the technical advice of DOS - Design Open Spaces. Just frame the QR code shown on each support to bring up design objects with which to interact, creating unexpected scenarios in dialogue with the Alpine landscape. A new way of knowing and sharing the world of design, a protagonist, with 0 environmental impact, of territories other than institutional ones.

Courmayeur Design Week-end is an event organized by Studio Coronel in partnership with Courmayeur Mont Blanc, under the patronage of ADI - Association for Industrial Design, Fondazione Altagamma and Ordine degli Architetti PPC della Regione Autonoma della Valle d’Aosta, with the collaboration of Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie and Skyway Monte Bianco. The Order of Architects PPC of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley recognizes professional training credits for participation in the event. Specifically: 2 CFP | Main keynote speech Piero Lissoni 2 CFP | Talk ’Architects a conf ronto’ 1 CFP per day | Visits, exhibitions and installations.

“Courmayeur Design Week-end offers industry professionals an absolutely unique context in which to meet and network, boosting the profession. But that’s not all: it is an invitation to be guided by curiosity and beauty in all their forms, discovering the area and its potential, For those who have never come it is an excellent motivation to travel, and for those who know the locality it is a chance to experience the cultural opportunities it offers,” comments Courmayeur Mayor Roberto Rota.

Courmayeur Design Week-end 2023: design at high altitude is back

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.