Underlight.Design as nature by Finsa x Arturo Álvarez

Underlight, design as nature by Finsa x Arturo Álvarez" invites the audience on a sensory journey from the forest to wooden-built spaces through luminous sculptures created by the Galician designer.

Finsa, a Spanish company with over 90 years of experience in producing wooden solutions for the built environment, is participating in Brera Design Week (April 8-13, with a Press Preview on April 7) with Underlight, design as nature by Finsa x Arturo Álvarez, a sensory experience that guides visitors from the forest to constructed wooden spaces through four light sculptures crafted by artisan Arturo Álvarez.

Underlight, design as nature can be visited inside the 19th-century building at Via Solferino 17, home to the Milan Order of Architects and its Foundation. Designed by Parisotto + Formenton Architetti, the installation invites the public to explore the life cycle of wood and its role in shaping the spaces we inhabit.

Through Arturo Álvarez’s luminous sculptures, visitors embark on a sensory journey that highlights the invisible processes behind product creation—a journey that, for Finsa, begins with responsible forest management and ends with human connection. With its participation in MDW, Finsa embraces the challenge of the Fuorisalone 2025 theme, "Thought for Humans," emphasizing the importance of placing humans at the center of design and ensuring that every project responds intelligently and emotionally to individual needs.

The installation consists of four light sculptures, each placed in a distinct environment representing a stage in the wood cycle and its relationship with humans. The first room, "Primary Habitat," symbolizes the forest as the starting point—the origin of Finsa’s life cycle, without which nothing could exist. The second room, "Cyclical Processes," explores wood’s transformation through fragmentation and reconstruction, symbolizing the circularity of the production process. In the third space, "Waves of Connection," the Atlantic Ocean serves as a global connector, bridging nature, culture, and innovation, and defining Finsa’s global identity. Finally, in the last room, "Organic Strength," wood and people illustrate the evolving relationship between humans and materials through design.

Alongside Underlight, design as nature by Arturo Álvarez, the Milan Order of Architects, in collaboration with Finsa, will host an exhibition dedicated to the Matilde Baffa and Ugo Rivolta European Architecture Award. The exhibition, set up in the courtyard of Via Solferino, will showcase the winning projects from the ninth edition of the award, which honors the best European achievements in social housing.