Taiwan Pavilion

"Who is going to raise the questions?

The questions are designed in Taiwan"

Taiwan design showcased at Milan Design Week

Who will ask the right questions in this age of complex transformations? On display at the first Taiwan Pavilion in Milan, fifteen Taiwanese studios and brands are confronting global issues from the point of view of local material culture and reflections. Through their projects, they examine the role of design in contemporary society and the value of design thinking in asking questions correctly. The questions, in fact, are designed in Taiwan.

An exhibition on the present and the future of Taiwan

Taiwan is an island nation that has been colonized several times in its history. It carries on a legacy of Chinese culture but is also deeply influenced by Japanese culture. The island is surrounded by the sea while also boasting mountains more than 3000 meters tall and many beautiful lakes. In addition to its landscapes and natural resources, Taiwan is also globally famed for its technology and semiconductor industries.

The exhibition not only aims to highlight Taiwanese material culture and the state of the art of local design, but also to challenge conventions and redefine the boundaries of creativity in solving global and collective problems. The fifteen participating designers and brands, already awarded by the Golden Pin Awards selecting local excellence, represent a diverse and exemplary range of talents and perspectives on local identity and project values within broader issues, such as environmental impact and holistic design. The products on display - from home accessories to furniture, from sustainable textiles to materials from recycled and post-industrial resources - allow us to reflect on the role of design in the innovation industry, promoting a new paradigm of quality and production models that leverage technology to make progress towards social and manufacturing sustainability goals.

Among the examples, the patented joint, without mortar, by the MINIWIZ studio, for bricks in Polli-Ber™, polymer composite from agricultural waste, the Green Footprint Int'l Co. recycles plastic from the toy industry to create modular and stackable seats that can be used by children and adults. Or UKL Enterprise Co. uses pineapple leaf fiber, of which Taiwan is a large manufacturer and exporter, to create fabrics for fashion. Or again, Hsiang Han Design with W Glass Project requalifies glass from ocean waste or from the ITC (Information and Communication Tecnologies) sector to make home blown glass accessories. This latest project, as well as the bamboo chair by s2studio, a local and highly regenerative material, which integrates additive design with layered assembly techniques to minimize production waste, are examples of "innovation in tradition" the ability to reread low-cost materials with highly qualified techniques, both artisanal and industrial, passing from being subcontractors to producers of complex goods.

"We aim to export Taiwan’s design to the world," says Chi-Yi Chang, TDRI President, "showing our vibrant and dynamic design ethos to an international audience and highlighting the creativity, innovation and craftsmanship that define Taiwanese culture. At TDRI, we believe that design is an essential tool for interdisciplinary cooperation and that, integrated in the business and operational strategies of the productive sectors, can give strength to young people and promote growth."

"We weren’t just looking for good projects," said curators Eric Yu and Tsung-Yen Hsieh, "we were looking for voices that resonated with the rhythm of our times. We have identified designers and companies with a proven track record of pushing boundaries and contributing significantly to the design industry."

An exposition between products and flying thoughts

When visitors enter the Taiwan Pavilion, they find themselves in a kind of cloud full of comics, as if they were immersed in someone’s thoughts and questions. "Who am I?" and "Where am I from?" are ontological issues that help us understand ourselves and our communities and, through design, allow us to promote a meaningful future. The entire exhibition hall is dotted with "dialogue balloons" and "thought balloons" that evoke comic strips and create a dialectic between thoughts and spoken words.

The set designed by Atelier SUPERB, with the graphics of S.SELECT LAB, divides the environment into three areas: the first collects projects focused on upcycling waste. The second welcomes sustainable brands and products with high recycled compositions. The third is an interactive space with an area where visitors can write down their thoughts. Each of the exhibited products is accompanied by a question that stimulates deeper reflection and appears alongside LED screens that illustrate the production processes or capture the landscape of Taiwan. The views show both the beauty and the ugliness of the Island, like discarded waste on the beaches, offering visitors an unusual and less predetermined view.

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Official Organizer: Industrial Development Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan

Supported by: Ministry of Culture, Taiwan

Executive Organizer: Taiwan Design Research Institute

Curator: Eric Yu, Atelier SUPERB

Co- Curator: Tsung-Yen Hsieh

Designers: Atelier SUPERB, Eric Yu, Ming-Ching Hsu, Ai-Wei Kung

Visual: S.SELECT LAB

Taiwan Brands: Nestle Taiwan Ltd., Nespresso Branch, YSTUDIO, SJ Furniture LAB, s2studio, Green Footprint Int''l Co., Ltd, Dot Design Co.,Ltd., UKL Enterprise Co., Ltd., Good Form, JC Architecture, Kobe Leather, Studio Kiichi, Taiwan Power Company, 2 by Wu&Chen, Duolog Design LLC, W Glass Project × Hsiang Han Design, Test Rite Retail Co., Ltd. hoi!, Department of Industrial Design, Tunghai University, Department of Industrial Design, Tunghai University / Qiao-Yun Hong, Fang-Xi Lin Ling Tung University Designers: Yuh Ching Weng, Ru Yun Lee, Hsin Ting Ko, Sevane Yen, and Shan Wei Hsieh.

Collaborative Partner: Taiwanese Student Association of Milan

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