Black, white. High, low. Hot, cold. You're getting the theme, right? South Korean automobile giant Kia landed in Milan for Design Week 2023 with ‘opposites’ at the heart of its design exhibition.
Aptly titled 'Opposites United,' Kia wanted to show its guests that it is more than just a car brand. From 17th - 23rd April, housed in the Museo della Permanente, you can see the brand’s global design philosophy come to life in a series of art pieces that seek to find the synergy between opposing concepts.
The whole spectacle is based around Kia entering a new era of sustainable mobility. Inspired by the contrasts found in nature and humanity, immersive media art installations, including video, sound, and sculpture, have been scattered across seven exhibition halls that not only offer visitors a sensory experience but pose questions around the future of car design. The original concept for the exhibition premiered at the 2021 Gwanju Design Biennale in Korea (where it got critical acclaim). Now updated and reworked with added installations and works, the show in Milan will see design executives and key members of Kia's design team give talks about the car brand’s vision as well as the pieces themselves.
Five design pillars form the foundation of Kia's Milan Design Week showcase: Bold for Nature, Joy for Reason, Power to Progress, Technology for Life, and Tension for Serenity.
Let us walk you through the space. You arrive at the Palazzo della Permanente. A gorgeous neoclassical building designed by architect Luca Beltrami in the heart of the city. When you enter, you’re surrounded by archival material from Kia's history that shows the thought process of how the whole show came to life, which leads you to the Opposites Lobby. From here, the ball is in your court as you're presented with five unique spaces (one for each pillar). Each day of Milan Design Week is actually dedicated to one of five key principles, with guest speakers and performers invited to incite imagination and redefine how we look at car design and design in general.
First up is Bold for Nature. Based off of the forms found in the natural and human worlds, this room mixes organic structures with more technical details through a series of digital and video pieces. With the aim of highlighting the harmony between nature and design, Kia has called upon critic Alice Rawsthron and landscape architect Bas Smets to host talks on the subject, which will culminate in an evening performance by electronic musician Pantha du Prince on the first night.
Day two sees the focus shift to the Joy for Reason room. Marie Kondo may have had a whole show about it, but Kia is now building a space, identity, and vehicles on experiences that 'spark joy.' Playful products, sensory materials, and new organic materials combined with more daring colors express the brand’s desire to inject some youth and excitement into its automobile ethos, turning the mundane experience of driving down a highway into an unexpected joyful memory inspired by the driver's mood. Carlo Antonelli, who produced the hit film Suspiria is the guest speaker for this installment, with a classical performance by the quartet of La Scala to top off the evening.
Karim Habib, Head of Global Design.Our goal is to create a positive space where people feel comfortable, relaxed and at home: we are not selling cars – we are selling an experience.
Tension for Serenity marks the middle of the week. 'There is no balance that did not stem from a storm; there is no form or thought that does not derive from an intertwining of tensions,' says Kia. With large abstract screens evoking the tension between opposing forces and bringing order out of chaos, the brand dives into how sharp design concepts can, on the surface, create tension but actually build on this idea of equilibrium. NTS Radio Founder Femi Adeyemi, alongside singer-songwriter Alewya, are the special guests of the night, aiming to touch on how a sense of calm and balance can actually be found by stirring a melting pot of different fields.
Day four's Technology for Life speaks for itself. All about how new technologies and innovations, the room (which includes a seemingly floating white cube) focuses less on devices themselves but more on the way we as humans engage with them — is Kia hinting at future products that will adopt a next-generation in-car experience? Who knows. But with elevated lighting and in-car connectivity at the core of this design principle, Kia is here to revolutionize the driving experience one step at a time. Marco Sammicheli, who was last year appointed as Director of the Triennale Design Museum, will explore this theme more, with a little musical accompaniment from Talpha, a Serbian psychedelic trance artist.
Ho Sung Song, Kia President, and CEO.By adopting the 'Opposites United' ethos across our current and future models, we hope to leave a legacy for future generations.
The last design pillar space, and grand finale for the week of events, is on Kia's Power to Progress concept. Standing for the drive to move forward, onward, and upward, this strong showcase is all about how Kia has built on and developed its skills and expertise over the years, metamorphosing and innovating at every chance it gets. To celebrate the end of Milan Design Week, the brand calls on curator Andrea Lissoni, philosopher Emanuele Coccia, pop music producer Hudson Mohwake, and electronic music DJ Afrodeutsche — a pretty stellar lineup if you ask us.
'Opposites United' is more than just a design approach. It’s actually an identity for Kia, whose shifting attitude towards change and tackling the challenges of the automotive industry become the path they drive down. For Kia, this means building an EV lineup of 15 models by 2027 (the brand already has its first dedicated electric vehicles EV6 and later this year EV9), upgrading its technology for an improved customer experience, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2045 — big goals you might say, but a greener future has to start somewhere.
