PORT speaks with Moritz Waldermeyer, the designer commissioned to create three innovative objects inspired by Florentine watchmaker Officine Panerai for the Salone
At this year’s Salone del Mobile, the Florentine sports watchmaker, Officine Panerai, has commissioned three works by the London-based designer Moritz Waldermeyer. Entitled ‘Light in Time’ and exhibited at different locations across Milan – Spazio Rossana Orlandi, a design exhibition space, the exclusive Park Hyatt hotel and at Panerai’s boutique store on via Montenapoleone – the three works reflect the brand’s history, as a supplier of precision instruments for the Italian navy, while in his designs Waldermeyer pushes the limits of technology available today.
PORT managed to get some time with Waldermeyer during the Salone to talk about the project. Here, he takes PORT on a journey through Milan, explaining the significance of the three locations and the innovative designs he has produced at each.
COG at Spazio Rossana Orlandi
The installation was purposely designed for this space. It consists of illuminated gear wheels that are suspended in a column, mirrored at the bottom and the top so it appears larger than the space itself. As well as this, we’ve used this iridescent film on the gear wheels, so that they appear clear and sharp when you stare at the gears straight in front of you, but as you look up and down the column, the installation dissolves into infinity. It’s a little philosophical – like with life, the further you look back or into the future, the less sharp things appear.
It works well in this space because the Spazio Rossana Orlandi is very playful and I think there’s this playfulness in the installation, especially in its use of colour.
EGG56 at the Park Hyatt Hotel
The pieces I have in the Park Hyatt Hotel and at the Panerai store are part of an ongoing investigation into luxury objects in history. I took two iconic objects – the Fabergé egg and the Ming vase – and tried to imagine what they would look like in the future.
In the past, these objects were created with the most advanced technology available at that time so, in the same way, I tried to use the most advanced technology available to me. With the Park Hyatt piece, this involved using a very sophisticated algorithmic design method to create its shape, based upon the precise processes and the advanced components used in the electronics industry.
I wanted these objects to appear artisanal though, and what’s very innovative about them is the stainless steel components they are made from. This allows you to power the LEDs in the object without using any wires. While the object is completely visible, at the same time, its function is hidden.
MING at Boutique Panerai Milano
What’s interesting with this reinterpretation of the MING vase is that I created an animation on its surface that gives the illusion that a liquid is being swirled around inside. This links to Panerai’s origins in manufacturing diving watches for the military and to this day they are still very much linked to water sports.
Moritz Waldermayer’s installations can be viewed at Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Via Matteo Bandello 14/16, Park Hyatt Milano, Via Tommaso Grossi, 1 and Officine Panerai Boutique store, Via Montenapoleone 1
