From April 8-13, Lexus is showing a collection of interactive installations at Milan Design Week that bring its vision for the future of mobility to life
Photography courtesy of Lexus featuring A-Un
Words by Jessica-Christin Hametner
Stepping away from Tortona’s bustling streets into Lexus’ much-anticipated exhibition at Milan’s lauded design week feels like entering a sacred hideaway. Amidst the hectic calendars and snaking queues, as the city-wide event returns for another year (6-13 April), the Japanese automotive brand encourages visitors to pause – and breathe.
Located at Superstudio Più, as part of its Superdesign Show, the Black Butterfly, a dual-interface control device featured in the cockpit of Lexus’ LF-ZC concept car, serves as the heart of the showcase. Set against dark surfaces, a series of immersive installations hide behind blackout curtains, which explore the future of machine and mobility with an unexpected twist.
‘We want to express ourselves, our way of thinking and what Lexus is,’ says Koichi Suga, Lexus design division general manager, of the brand’s presence at Milan Design Week. ‘The meaning [of being here] is to find something new,’ adds Suga, of how the event both informs and communicates the brand’s way of thinking to a broader, design-focused audience.
Photography courtesy of Lexus featuring Koichi Suga
This open-minded approach is integral to the Lexus DNA. Across the two decades since its first appearance at Milan Design Week in 2005, the Japanese company has collaborated with world-renowned architects, designers and artists to stage thought-provoking exhibits that forge connections with their audiences.
From Philippe Nigro to Neri Oxman and Sou Fujimoto, the installations Lexus has presented over the years often embodied the brand’s avant-garde vision and values. And while the firm is undoubtedly forward-looking and eager to experiment, there is also a strong respect for the past and its Japanese heritage.
Rooted in takumi philosophy, an ancient Japanese concept of artisan craftsmanship, Lexus straddles past and future in a way few companies do. These ideas manifest across a series of installations at Superstudio Più. In the first of three rooms, a sweeping 10 m wide screen, handmade by six craftspeople over three months using woven threads made from 35 km of bamboo fibre, invites visitors inside.
Photography courtesy of Lexus featuring A-Un
The installation, entitled A-Un, draws inspiration from the Japanese concept of A-Un no Kokyū, meaning harmonised breath. This term, Suga explains, refers to how two bodies or entities instinctively synchronise their movements and emotions – like twins sensing one another, or a couple relating instinctively at a deeper level. It’s knowing someone, with no need for communication.
‘The inspiration for the bamboo threads came from infinity or time,’ explains Suga. ‘So, the takumi craftsmanship feels more spiritual here, as it is one element that connects technology and people together. As technology continues to advance very rapidly, and takumis are being used less and less, people will demand more of a human touch. Handcraft is precious.’
‘Automotive designs are sometimes very fashionable,’ continues Suga. ‘But in the future, I hope to create long-lasting styles that are pure to their essence, based on technology and based on functionality, but at the same time, the designs have to appeal to the human emotion.’
Photography courtesy of Lexus featuring A-Un‘s handcrafted screen honouring traditional craftsmanship
Realised in collaboration with the Tokyo-based creative agency SIX and design studio STUDEO, the installation uses Lexus’ Black Butterfly motif as a way to connect. As visitors approach the installation, their heartbeats synchronise with fluctuations sampled from nature, an experience Lexus describes as shaped by the ‘A-Un effect’, so people will ‘feel what we are thinking’, adds Suga.
In the second room, viewers encounter three more installations as part of the Discover Together exhibit and each with a row of Black Butterfly interfaces. Building on the legacy of the Lexus Design Award, which launched back in 2013, three groups were invited to reinterpret the Black Butterfly through their own perspectives.
‘[With this technology], we invite the customer to discover the Black Butterfly for themselves,’ says Moto Tabatake, concept and vision designer at Lexus. ‘So, it’s sort of based on omotenashi, a Japanese concept that translates [roughly] to hospitality and respect for each person.’
Photography courtesy of Lexus featuring Our Energy Nexus by Northeastern University, which shows real-time pollution levels in Milan
Among the installations is Bascule Inc.’s Earthspective, which encourages viewers to shift their view of the world as if watching from space on a digital live stream captured by the International Space Station. Our Energy Nexus by Northeastern University explores the theme of reducing air pollution, using real-time interaction to visualise the power of community and collective action.
With the lightest touch of a hand, visitors generate a glowing “star” on an interactive screen, which shows real-time pollution levels and Milan’s global air quality index data. Serving as a reflection of their contribution to cleaner air, Our Energy Nexus reinforces the connection between personal action and environmental change.
Next to this, Discover your Butterfly, aims to capture the power of small actions. Realised by in-house Lexus designers Moto Tabatake and Yuri Tamura, the installation invites visitors to create a kaleidoscope of butterflies that grows in number as people engage with the Black Butterfly interface. This detects the presence of an individual and subsequently scans their face to generate a butterfly.
Photography courtesy of Lexus featuring Moto Tabatake (left) and Yuri Tamura (right)
Finding inspiration in nature and science, Tamura drew hundreds of butterflies by hand and wrote thought-provoking poems for each. Displaying a wide variety of looks and “gifts”, the butterflies encourage visitors to unleash their unknown potential, making the installation moving and memorable.
‘I think the core message of this artwork is that your existence has the power to create meaning, beauty and impact on the world,’ explains Tamura. ‘I wanted to convey the message that the individual potential within each of us can awaken at any moment and change the world.’
‘And this begins with asking myself: What will people feel? What kind of experience will they have? What story is the design telling? These are the most important questions I consider when creating,’ says Tamura.
Photography courtesy of Lexus featuring Discover Your Butterfly by Moto Tabatake and Yuri Tamura
‘Design is not just about form, but about what message is conveyed,’ she continues. ‘If a design can immerse the audience and their emotions and create a memorable moment, then I believe this is the most powerful part of design.’
The A-Un and Discover Together installations by Lexus run from April 8-13 at Superstudio Più, Via Tortona, 27, Milan
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