Lexus — a journey of the senses

LEXUS TO PRESENT UNIQUE EXPERIENCE AT THE MILAN DESIGN WEEK FROM APRIL 14 TO 19

Since 10 years, Lexus is joining the world's largest design event, the Salone del Mobile di Milano (Milan Design Week). Through collaborations with world-renowned designers that create unique installations, Lexus aims to express its vision of a true luxury brand and its unique interpretation of design.

This year's exhibit titled "LEXUS — A JOURNEY OF THE SENSES" consists in a journey through three zones designed by the French designer Philippe Nigro. Each zone will awake the five senses in many different ways.

Senses are intrinsic to life: they are what allow us to perceive the world. Taking this purposefully broad theme, considering seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting, we open ourselves up to a wide range of possibilities. This theme is particularly relevant to Lexus, as the whole driving experience is about senses: from seeing the striking exterior design of our cars, to hearing the sound of our finely tuned engines and feeling the sensation of our steering wheel when you round a corner. Everything is engaged.

Philippe Nigro said: "When I visited Lexus plants to see how the cars are designed and built, I was greatly impressed by how much care goes into not just the exteriors, but also into the invisible internal details. It was this insight that led me to the 'Inside-Out' design concept that enables visitors to experience beauty from every angle." 

By revealing things that are normally hidden from view, Lexus will invite visitors to make new discoveries and have new experiences in each of the various zones.

Zone 1: New insights in Lexus design

A bespoke Lexus design concept will be positioned at the heart of an exclusive installation, using special mirrors to generate unexpected reflections and illumination to create a flow of motion stimulating the imagination.

Created by the company's Europe-based design studio, ED², this concept is a perfect illustration of Lexus' passion for upcoming design trends.

Zone 2: The Lexus Design Award 2015 - Ideas to shape the future 

Visitors will be invited to successively explore three cocoons constructed of an intricate wooden lattice work. The cocoons titled "Rain" "Wood" and "Earth" will create a primal environment in which visitors will be able to savour the work of food designer Hajime Yoneda as they move progressively forward on a sensory journey into the Lexus brand experience.

Zone 3: Experience the 5 senses

Visitors will be invited to successively explore three cocoons constructed of an intricate wooden lattice work. The cocoons will create a primal environment in which visitors will be able to savour the work of food designer Hajime Yoneda as they move progressively forward on a sensory journey into the Lexus brand experience.

In the first cocoon, visitors will be given a rain flakes and ushered into a darkened room to experience the feeling and sound of falling rain.

Hand-crafted chocolatewill be given to visitors as they will enter the second room to sense the smells, the sounds and the taste of a forest from the inside-out.

Finally, visitors will be given a bowl of 'Earth Soup' before entering a beautiful universe with stars twinkling in the darkness — symbolising the life force of mother earth.

LEXUS — A JOURNEY OF THE SENSES will be open to the public from Tuesday, April 14 to Sunday, April 19 from 11 AM to 9 PM at Lexus Spazio — La Torneria, Via Tortona 32, Milan.

A press preview will be held on Monday April 13 from 10 AM to 6 PM.

Official Hashtags: #LexusDesignAward, #MilanDesignWeek

DESIGNERS' PROFILES

Philippe Nigro - Space Designer

Philippe Nigro, was born and educated in France and divides his time between his homeland and Italy. Nigro's works are characterized by a mixture of prospective research and a pragmatic appreciation of the manufacturers with whom he works. This knowledge allows him to navigate among projects of different designs and scales. Some objects he designed are in museum collections including his "Twin-Chairs" and "T.U. table" at Centre Pompidou. He also collaborates with a number of prestigious international brands. In 2014, Nigro was named Designer of the Year by Maison & Objet in Paris, and was commissioned to create the scenography for the 7th edition of the Triennale Design Museum in Milan.

Hajime Yoneda - Food Designer

A former computer engineer who has become one of the world's most talked-about chefs, Hajime Yoneda has earned the admiration of the restaurant industry for his extraordinary skill, innovative thinking, uncompromising insistence on perfection, and the vast scope of culinary vision. His restaurant was awarded three Michelin stars in 2009, only a year and five months after opening, an honour no other establishment in the world has earned so quickly. It is also ranked in the Foodie Top 100 Restaurants and Asia's 50 Best Restaurants. In January 2015 Yoneda was listed among the 100 Best Chef's of the World by the French magazine Le Chef.