Molteni&C is 80 years old and after the great success of the 80!Molteni exhibition at Milan’s Galleria d’Arte Moderna, the company is celebrating its history of quality, research and innovation by taking part in a number of leading international events. On the occasion of the ICFF (16-19 May), Molteni&C Dada Flagship Store in New York will present some of the new designs recently exhibited at the Milan Salone del Mobile. The star of the NY display is STAGE, an elegant little table designed by HOK Product Design. Senior VP and Director of Product Design, Susan Grossinger, has teamed with Yelena Mokritsky to design Stage, a rigorous and geometrically shaped table collection. Exploring negative space and minimalism are the concepts that led the designers to create a solid outlined by a slim profile, rather like a sheet of paper, but void in the middle. The use of different finishes outside (eucalyptus) and inside (glossy or matt lacquer finish), accentuates the effect of a solid floating in a vacuum. There are two versions, with or without container, which can be accessed through a door on the top for remote controls or small everyday objects storage. The concept for the Stage table collection by HOK Product Design, the award-winning team led by Susan Grossinger, head of Product Design and Yelena Mokritsky, began as an exploration of negative space. A minimalist exterior shell frames an opening where a single form storage compartment is suspended. An extreme miter along the edges creates an illusion of a paper-thin profile contrasted by a solid, rectilinear block floating in the void. The dual application of materials – eucalyptus exterior and glossy or matte lacquer finish interior – accentuates the effect, resulting in a unique and striking form. The cocktail or coffee Stage table is designed to function as a rectangular centerpiece on its own. Combine it with a second unit, using the same or contrasting finishes, to create a square footprint. An integrated compartment offers a place to store electronics or supplies. Stage can include a power module that allows for devices to be charged while hidden, without any of the cords being exposed. The compartment features a hinged lid, which virtually disappears into the tabletop surface but pops open with a help of a touch latch. The spotlights will also be back on the masters of architecture and design with the D.154.2 armchair, which enriches the Gio Ponti collection, in cooperation with the Gio Ponti Archives. The armchair, on the other hand, was designed for one of the projects closest to Gio Ponti’s heart, the villa of the Planchart collectors in Caracas (1953- 57). The architecture reflected the ideas he had gathered during his trips to Latin America in 1952-53. “This building is dedicated to Anala and Armando Planchart”, Ponti wrote in Domus, “it stands in Caracas, at the top of cerro (a hill) dominating the heights from which you can see the city strung out below, (Caracas stretches down a valley that runs between the highest slopes of the Avila chain, on one side, and these gentler hills, on the other). Today the armchair, which is like a cosy shell, has a rigid polyurethane frame, a soft polyurethane counter-frame and a cushion, and is upholstered in the Molteni&C textile range, with the option of differentiating the three component parts. The vitrine showcases Kristal designed by Dante Bonuccelli. Kristal is the result of research into three-dimensional transparency. It reinterprets a classic item of furniture, the showcase, with contemporary technology. The elegant glass unit is based on two fundamental concepts: a sophisticated sliding door system, concealed in the bottom of the cabinet, which makes it more aerial, and lightness: the measured rhythm of the vertical bronzed aluminium uprights allows the shelves to be arranged at will, redesigning the unit’s storage capacity, lighting and distribution of space. The light, see-through structure of Kristal make it particularly suited to be interpreted as a room divider. It will be displayed in two versions: as a wardrobe with a suspended set of drawers that can be as wide as the structure, or as a glass cabinet for the dining and living area. Completing the display is the small Vicino Table designed by Foster+Partners. As in all Foster+Partners designs, the hi-tech component is essential for its development. The basic idea is that of a small table which, thanks to sideways movable tops, can act not only as a surface for objects, but also as a device for bringing whatever is required into the foreground. The frame, made of red, pewter or bronze lacquered steel, conceals a sophisticated mechanism for the traverse movement of the slim but structurally effective marble or eucalyptus table tops. A perfectly designed structure for a highly contemporary project.