MINI Living – Built by All
Milano Design Week 2018
At this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan, taking place from 17 – 22 April, MINI is teaming up with London architectural firm Studiomama to present an installation entitled MINI LIVING – BUILT BY ALL.
This living concept enables close collaboration between residents and architects, making it an excellent way of addressing each individual’s requirements. It challenges conventional design processes and shows how architecture can provide a creative response to the increasing scarcity of living space and finite resources in urban areas. MINI LIVING – BUILT BY ALL is the third installation created by MINI for the Salone del Mobile to illustrate new kinds of visionary solutions for the architectural challenges facing our cities.
Architecture Encouraging Participation
MINI LIVING – BUILT BY ALL extends the underlying themes of MINI LIVING (e.g. making creative use of a small living area) to include the principle of participation. I.e. people, their individual needs and ideas now play a more centre role. “Today’s standardised housing market is limited in its ability to meet the requirements of the individual,” says Oke Hauser, Creative Lead MINI LIVING, explaining the approach behind the installation. “So our MINI LIVING – BUILT BY ALL installation turns people into active creators and puts them back at the heart of the design process. We believe the quality of a living space is determined by how well the residents identify with their home.”
From Concept to Implementation
Besides the installation, MINI is once again setting up an experience area. The MINI LIVING FACTORY OF IDEAS gives visitors the opportunity to create their own visions for the living spaces of the future in the form of models. The MINI LIVING installation itself is housed in an adjacent room and showcases four example living space concepts along with a public area, such as a communal kitchen or outdoor gym. It all adds up to produce a self-contained micro-neighbourhood, while at the same time demonstrating that even the interior of an empty building can be put to good use for the future of urban architecture.
