Contract - March 2015 - 26

Salone Internazionale del Mobile Begins April 14 in Milan

The 54th edition of Milan's International Furniture Fair-Salone
Internazionale del Mobile-will be held April 14-19 at the Rho Milan
Fairgrounds in Milan, Italy, and will include many other events and
exhibitions throughout the city. More than 2,000 Italian and international
exhibitors will occupy more than 2 million square feet of exhibition space
to debut new products, accessories, and furnishings for both residential

and commercial markets. More than 300,000 visitors from 160
countries are expected to attend.
Salone Internazionale del Mobile will include the annual
International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition and SaloneSatellite,
as well as the biennial Euroluce/International Lighting Exhibition and
Workplace3.0/SaloneUfficio.
More than 700 young designers under the age of 35, including
students from 18 international design schools, will participate in the
18th edition of SaloneSatellite in Pavilions 22 and 24. Three prototypes
from those on display will be selected to receive SaloneSatellite Awards.
Also in Pavilions 22 and 24, Workplace3.0 will be dedicated to
showcasing the latest concepts and products for workspaces, including
furnishings, accessories, finishes and materials, technology, lighting,
and acoustic and climate controls.
Workplace3.0 will feature "The Walk," an installation developed
by architect Michele De Lucchi. "We should think of the workspace as
a gymnasium for the mind, conceiving it as a place where relationships
generate new ideas and possibilities," he says. "Offices of the future
should be visualised with the focus on lifestyles unfettered by
convention, evolving spaces that perpetuate an endless stream
of new ideas."
For more information on Salone Internazionale del Mobile,
visit salonemilano.it. -MURRYE BERNARD

Architecture for Humanity Ends Operation
Architecture for Humanity, the nonprofit organization that coordinated
architecture and design solutions to communities in need after natural
disasters or humanitarian crises, has ended its operation. At press time,
the organization was expected to soon file for bankruptcy protection.
The news broke in late January that Architecture for Humanity's board
of directors elected to end the organization and all of the approximately
30 San Francisco-based headquarters employees were laid off. Eric
Cesal, who began as executive director in June 2014, submitted his
resignation to the board in late December 2014.
Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr cofounded Architecture for
Humanity-while Sinclair was a designer at Gensler in New York-to
organize a design competition for shelters in Kosovo in 1999.
Architecture for Humanity grew, took on more initiatives and hired
trained architects as staff. It had more than 60 chapters in 25 countries
and volunteers worldwide. While the organization's headquarters has
closed, some individual chapters are attempting to continue their work.
The organization relied heavily on donations for funding. Sinclair
and Stohr were asked to leave the organization in 2013 as Architecture
for Humanity was already experiencing financial difficulty, but it was
the organization's founders that had attracted funding and loyalty
as evidenced in social media posts after the announced closing.
With Sinclair and Stohr departed, Cesal attempted to correct the
financial situation in 2014. Regarding the deficit and a June 2013

Yodakandiya Community Centre in Sri Lanka, completed
by Architecture for Humanity in 2007.

auditor's report, Cesal wrote on Facebook on January 20: "In 2012-2013,
this deficit exploded to $1.2M, growing on average at $100K per month. It
was ultimately our auditors' conclusion that the organization had no plan
to arrest the growth of this deficit." -JOHN CZARNECKI

contractdesign.com

MARCH 2015

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DEL MOBILE (TOP); VIA OPEN ARCHITECTURE NETWORK (BOTTOM)

INDUSTRY NEWS

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Contract - March 2015

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