NEVER STOP RESPECTING TOMORROW

Respecting the future: Never Stop Respecting Tomorrow is the concept that innovative Italian design brand LAGO brought to Milan’s Design Week 2019 with furniture for every area of the home. With the aim of exploring sustainability from an unconventional point of view, LAGO presented a respect-themed journey around different locations at the Salone and Fuorisalone. Respect is interpreted as concern for other individuals, the environment and the community, as well as an awareness of the repercussions of our choices in the near future.

The idea behind this concept was born out of a need to make people and the environment the central focus again, and to take another look at the impact of our actions and decisions on our future and the future of the generations to come. The starting point was, then, the concept of respect, in the broadest sense of the word. Guided by the word’s etymology, meaning to look back at, LAGO invites us to look back at the past to understand the mistakes that have led our society and planet to the point of no return. Looking back then becomes an invitation to look forward, more aware, and to see things in a new light. To do this, LAGO has chosen to share its journey with some exceptional companies and individuals, including our main partner, BMW.

 
The main focal points of the “Never Stop Respecting Tomorrow” campaign are LAGO’s four chosen cities, which stand out in particular for their environmental efforts to become more sustainable and capable of resisting climatic, social and economic crises. They were the stars of LAGO’s exhibition space at the Salone del Mobile. The journey begins with Milan: a unique Italian city now armed with a Chief Resilience Officer whose role is to target redevelopment and integrate nature back into the urban space. The aim is to plant three million trees across the metropolitan area. Next, Singapore, which has invested in structural works to protect buildings and prevent coastal erosion, also restoring mangrove forests. And then Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city, adopted practices to boost its resilience, building canals for collecting rainwater, for example, and investing in pedestrian, cycling and public transport, back when no one expected it. And finally, Vancouver, which has increased the number of green buildings, reduced CO2 emissions, invested in sustainable mobility and pushed for social inclusion – just as much a requirement for resilience as adaptable infrastructure is.

 
Never Stop Respecting Tomorrow came to life for the international design week through a series of events centred around the theme of respecting our planet. Among the key locations again this year were Casa Lago near Milan’s cathedral at Via San Tomaso 6. This 400 square metre space was packed with design content. Here, the theme of respect was explored though sport, morning rituals, talks, workshops and aperitifs. Another key spot was the Appartamento Lago Contract Lab – MAD051 Materials, which has been the hub of the Fuorisalone programme for almost ten years and which, this year, changed its look to become a real centre of activity for professionals in the large turnkey project sector. Not to be missed was Il Faro in the Navigli district, a unique location created to offer a new concept of hospitality, that unfolded in a 600 square metre open space with a lounge area and a space designed for coworking on the ground floor.
On the eighth floor, the top floor of the building, there is also an impressive terrace offering a 360-degree panoramic view of Milan. The theme of respect was also carried through to the exhibition space which paid homage to four of the most virtuous models of sustainable cities, transforming them into four interior design projects which interwove the many new product innovations with some of Daniele Lago’s most iconic designs.