Category: Neesha Vakil

Design in Context: Milan…. where do I even begin? This past month was the most stimulating and exciting month I’ve had in a long time. I’ve learned so much and experienced so many new things that will go on to impact my life. 

When I was packing my bag to come here, I didn’t know what to expect. I had never been to Europe before, barely knew any Italian. But as soon as I landed in Milan, a sense of calm overcame me. It felt right like this was home and that I would like it. And that still holds true today.

I’m very grateful to have gotten this opportunity. Back in Austin, it isn’t every day that we go visit studios or even have a lot of evidence of design history and architecture like we see it here.

Being here in Milan has made me realize the magnitude of design. You see it everywhere and you see it in different forms. Through old and new. It made me realize that its bigger than anyone of us. You have to understand your presence within it and be able to guide yourself and voice through it.

One thing that shaped my understanding of my own culture was the interaction between language. It was so surprising to see the level of accommodation the people have here. The fact that you might not even speak good Italian or any at all doesn’t mean much. The locals will try to communicate in English with you because they know it’ll be easier for you. Which is dramatically different than in the US and more apparent given the current political climate.

One non-design that impacted me was the realization of my own carbon footprint. I was intrigued to see that everyone here separates their trash and is environmentally conscious. It makes you think about what you throw away and the amount of it. It’s something I’ll take back with me to Austin. 

And now for some highlights in order of our trip:

1. Duomo di Milano

I probably lost count of the number of times I’ve passed by it. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the intricate details- from the windows to the actual structure of it and the gothic architecture. It’s beautifully crafted and you can’t find a better view of the city than from the top of it.

2. Fondazione Prada

We visited a lot of museums this month but the Fondazione Prada was one I enjoyed a lot. I’m a huge fan of contemporary art and getting to learn of new artists and seeing their perspectives was inspiring.

3. Milano Arch week

Although I only attended one day, hearing from the speakers about their process and projects is something I’ll take with me into my career.  I also got to see Toyo Ito in person which was an amazing experience.

4. Piazzale Cimitero Monumentale

The interior was breath-taking with the use of orange and blue (complementary colors). I’ve never really been a fan of cemeteries or have willingly walked into one but there was something beautiful about this one (as weird as that sounds).

5. Alessi

Visiting Alessi was such a treat as I was able to learn more about product design. I was most intrigued by their scale system used to determine whether a certain product is successful/unique enough. It only reiterated what is considered good design.

6. Achille Castiglioni

Our visit to Achille Castiglioni’s studio was my favorite studio visit on our trip. I loved getting to see his designed objects and learning about his process.

7. Paris

Visiting Paris felt like a dream. We were only there for the weekend and it all went by so fast. Ever since I was little, I dreamed of going to Paris so being able to fulfill that dream was pretty great. Paris is a wonderful city and I hope to come back to it one day.

8. Artemide

My favorite thing about our trip to Artemide was getting to see their production and process. Being able to see how they test their products and package them gave me insight into the company. The visit only reiterated my growing interest in lighting.

9. Benniale

The Benniale was nothing like I had experienced before. The concept of having various countries put together exhibitions is ingenious. It’s like getting a taste of the country without having to visit it.

10. My shared apartment – Via Ausonio 8

Although it was a tiny apartment – one bathroom and no air conditioning, it was something I looked forward to after our long days. A lot of great memories were made in this apartment and leaving it was a sad one.

Overall this trip was one for the books. Milan is such a memorizing city and one I will come back to in the future.

 

The highlight of the week for me was doing the walking tour in Brera. My favorite place, in particular, was Cassina.

After focusing on ceiling lighting for my object and visiting Artemide, I’ve found a new interest in lighting. The ones I found in Cassina were unique and varied in form. I also realized that I had sketched one of the lighting fixtures in the window display just a week before, not realizing that it was actually a Cassina showroom.

It was also interesting to see their objects in context and the curation of experiences in different rooms. It helped me to understand the purpose of these objects and it wasn’t also bad that I was able to sit/try out some of these pieces.

On a side note, It’s crazy to think that our time here in Milan is coming to an end. Where did the time go?!

This past month has been nothing short of fun, educational and inspiring.  I’ve learned so much and I’m very happy that I was able to experience this.

Milan is such a beautiful city and one I’ll definitely come back to in the future.

 

After our trip to Venice, a couple others and I decided to stay back one more day while the others headed home. Since the beginning of this program, we had talked about going swimming, so we headed to the beach.

About a 40-minute water taxi ride from Venice is a little strip of land named Lido. Lido is a tiny island that is well known for its beaches and resorts. We chose to stay in a quiet, tucked away hotel just minutes from the beach. We ended up having to sneak Kate in since the room capacity was 5, but there were 6 of us.

After we checked into the hotel, we decided to go eat dinner. On our way to find a place, we stumbled across the beach and saw this amazing view. I didn’t even remember the last time I went to a beach so I was very excited, to say the least.

The next morning we woke up early and headed to the beach. It was nice to just disconnect and relax. We were there for about 6 hours and we all got very tan. Celeste and Moira decided to find some seashells and ended up finding more than 50.

And before I knew it, we were back on the train heading home. This trip was a short one but it was a great way to end our last weekend here.

This past weekend Kalissa, Moira, Celeste, Courtney and I went to Paris. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and took it easy the first night. We explored the area around our hotel which was near the Moulin Rouge and ate French food for dinner.

On Sunday, we woke up early and headed straight to the Louvre. I didn’t realize that the Louvre was as big as it was- you would need a full day there to get through it all.  Due to time, we weren’t able to see everything but we did get to see the Mona Lisa. My favorite exhibit was the Islamic Art exhibit. I was fascinated by the level of detail and patterns showcased. Also, the ceilings in the museum were incredible, nothing but precise craftsmanship and sheer beauty.

Next, we headed to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. We saw a lot of Art Nouveau pieces as well as pieces we had learned in History of Design like Charlotte Perriand’s Chaise Lounge. It was exciting to see objects we learn about in real life, which puts things into perspective like the size of the object.

Within the museum, they had a special exhibit dedicated to Hérmes. The exhibit showcased the various innovative designs created by the brand.

We then headed to the Pompidou. The line was long so we weren’t able to go inside but we got to see the structure itself.

Our last museum stop of the day was at the Louis Vuitton Foundation. The building is not only a regular art museum that houses exhibits but it also has a section to showcase the process and construction of the building itself. I’m a pretty big Frank Gehry fan so to see his work in person was pretty amazing, to say the least. We took the elevator to the top and was greeted with this beautiful outdoor space that gave a view of the city. Visiting this building was the highlight of my day.

 

After we headed to the Arc de Triomphe, a must see in Paris. The monument is in the center of the road, so we had to go underground and then walk up.

To end the night we visited the Eiffel Tower. We got to go under it as well as see it sparkle. It was a great way to end our very long day.

The next day we explored Paris a little more before we went to the airport and came back to Milan. Paris is a wonderful city and I will definitely go back one day!

Week 2 went by so fast, it feels like I’ve been here for months! This week was full of adventure and getting my sleep schedule on track.

The highlight of my week was visiting Alessi/Omegna and Florence.

I had known about Alessi for a while so I was super excited about going to the museum. It was so interesting hearing about their point scale system for determining whether an object would be original or successful enough. For example, if an element got a total score of 12, it was then deemed not interesting enough. It was also fascinating to see the multiple prototypes and final products. If only I visited Alessi before taking Introduction to Design…

My favorite item I saw there was this beautiful cutlery set. Future home purchase? Maybe so.

The view at Omegna was breathtaking! I definitely will head back there one day.

On Saturday, Kalissa, Celeste, Moira and I decided to take a train to Florence for the day. We got up 4 am and called Heetch (a car service like Uber) to get to the station. Once we got to Florence we quickly noticed that more people were speaking English than Italian, which is dramatically different than here in Milan. The best of the day was visiting the Gucci Garden. Gucci Garden is a museum/store dedicated to all things Gucci. The exhibition talked about the history of the brand as well as showcasing several pieces that reflected it over the years.

It was also in Florence that I had the best fruit tart I’ve ever had in my life. It was worth every bite.

And that was my week.

It’s hard to believe that a week ago I landed in Milan. This week has felt like a daze and a dream – maybe because of the lack of sleep and jet lag, but it still hasn’t sunk in that I’m here.

The highlight this week for me was attending Milano Arch Week.

Early Sunday we started our day by taking the metro to the Triennale where we attended a presentation by Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, Rotor, and Paolo Nicolin. They spoke about their various interventions in the city of Palermo, Italy. They wanted to create interventions that had a monumental view, increased accessibility and impact towards the citizens of Palermo. I found this presentation super interesting since not too long ago I created one for my Objects and Spaces class. It was cool to see their research and process of how they chose specific areas that were hidden or unused and created small changes within the environment to allow people to discover these plots of land, whether it be on a mountain or street.

After the presentation, we decided to check out an exhibition at the Triennale. The name of the exhibition was Cyclopica which showcased the human side of infrastructure and the impact of it. My favorite part of the exhibition was an area within it that used audio to illustrate the idea of people working and the act of building it. Throughout the area, you would hear sounds of drilling or the trucks moving and see images of it which helped to immerse you in the experience and truly learn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended the day by attending a lecture by Toyo Ito, a Japanese architect. At the last minute, the location of the lecture changed causing a lot of people, including myself to start running to the new location to get good seats. Thankfully we ended up getting seats close to the stage. He talked about the relation between his work and nature and how each building represented that relationship. I had seen his work prior to the lecture, so getting to see him in person was pretty special since it isn’t every day that you get to hear from a decorated architect like himself.

Attending Milano Arch Week was such a treat and even though I only went for a day, it taught me so much about documenting process, research and the relationship between architecture and nature.