Italian Design The Milan Triennale is an Italian State institution which, together with the Municipality of Milan and the Lombardy Region, is charged with preserving and promoting Italian Design as well as carrying out research in framework programs focusing on town-planning, architecture, handicrafts, industrial production, fashion, new media, etc. In its long history, the Milan Triennale has always followed developments in the field of applied arts; from the thirties to the post-war years, during the reconstruction years and the country's economic miracle and later during the economic and energy crisis of the seventies. Since the eighties, Milan has increasingly become an international centre of design. The Triennale played a leading role in organizing important qualitative events that have enhanced the city's image. Last but not least, the foundation of the Museum of Design. To achieve its goals, the Milan Triennale has established its own Research Centre and a Permanent Collection of Italian Design. The 100 objects of Italian Design on show in this exhibition have been selected from the Permanent Collection, a unique qualitative and quantative ensemble of Italy's design legacy. The Permanent Collection is used as a basis for all exhibits on Italian Design at the Triennale or around the world: its intention is to shed new light on the history of industrial production in Italy. The pieces in the Collection illustrate the heterogeneous history of Italian design, the innovation and experimentation that have made it famous and immediately recognisable thanks to the works created by its master designers. Italy is a country with a thriving manufacturing industry that focuses on quality design and products: in fact, design represents one of the country's strategic economic resources. Its "good fortune," and niche position on the international stage and world markets is primarily due to the "system" that has gradually been developed. The system unites design culture and production which are influenced, on the one hand, by the still unrivalled works of the past - for example, those by Leonardo da Vinci - and, on the other, by the vision of a future that goes beyond mere technique and the exploitation of natural resources. The exhibition 100 Objects of Italian Design, organised by the curator of the Collection, Silvana Annicchiarico, uses the objects that have made Italian design famous all over the world to tell this story. The exhibition is a way to discover the history of a country which, thanks to its creativity and design, is once again a leader on the world stage; a role it intends to pursue and develop by welcoming all and every contribution. Davide Rampello President of the Milan Triennale

The Italian household objects in this book over-dramatise the world and represent it within the walls of a home. Through a strategy of naming, the designers reverse the scale between large and small, internal and external, function and representation.

The term "small object" refers to the plethora of manufactured goods which we encounter every day in our domestic environments and in our work activities. More precisely, the adjective "small" can refer to the value of simplicity and essentiality that permeates a form and, as a consequence, its dimensions. The form of the small object is the result of a slow process involving production technologies and the use of materials. It is worth noting that one of the most common of these objects, the thumbtack, was manufactured in Switzerland by a company that transferred the experience acquired in the production of clock components into this new product. The influence of small objects in everyday life can be further confirmed if we look at packaging -- specifically, the containers we use on a regular basis to handle many different kinds of products: the jar, the flexible tube, the paper bag, the tetrapak. A powerful communication value is directly linked to function and, as such, influences our consumption and habits.

An inquiry into the origins of Italian design through those craft prototypes of the 1930s and 1940s, which foreshadow future mass production.

A world list of books in the English language.

Il libro è costituito da un progetto realizzato da Mari nel '74 e rappresenta uno stimolo (e una provocazione) per legare la creatività alla capacità costruttiva di ognuno, seguendo e/o modificando la traccia data dai disegni progettuali di Enzo Mari per la realizzazione di una sedia, un tavolo, un armadio, un letto. Il libro riprende la precedente pubblicazione "Proposta per un'autoprogettazione" curata dal centro Duchamp e stampata in occasione della mostra alla Galleria Milano, alla quale si aggiungono i testi dello stesso Mari a commento di quest'operazione, la documentazione di ciò che la prima uscita del progetto ha provocato (lettere, commenti, articoli), immagini, disegni e una riflessione sull'attualità della riproposta di oggi.