The essence of wood. Architectural purity.
20-22 November 2019
Hall East / 2ND Floor / Stand ES38
Set-up design by Piero Lissoni

For the 4th consecutive year Porro flies to China to participate in the Salone del Mobile Milano.Shanghai.
As a prestigious showcase gathering the excellence of Italian furniture in the economic and financial capital of the country, the exhibition aims to attract, on the one hand, luxury customers and, on the other, architects and developers with an extremely varied and fully-fledged standard production, but at the same time offering also a bespoke service.
Among the most famous brands of contemporary furniture, sought-after in Asia especially for its refined selection of 20 woods and for its exclusive system of Storage wardrobes and dressing rooms, Porro can rely on a widespread distribution network in China, thanks to its flagship showrooms in Shanghai and Beijing, its dealers in Hangzhou, Xiamen, Jiangsu, the large dedicated area in the Suzhou design hub and the new single-brand store which is about to open in Changzhou.

In a walk through architectural systems and refined collections, Porro gradually reveals its "idea of home”: a world of purity that bridges the gap between two worlds – the industry and handicraft – by combining avant-garde and tradition, rationality and imagination, functions and passions of its occupants, while unveiling the incredible expertise and continuous technological innovation that characterize the brand at a worldwide level.
Once again Piero Lissoni, Porro’s designer and art director since 1987, is leading us in the discovery of the new Porro’s settings. As the creator and main interpreter of the brand’s style, he imagines the Porro 2019 home environment as an open space: the walls disappear and the systems become architecture, capturing the visitors’ attention with their impeccable design, the unusual mix of functions, the unprecedented juxtaposition of materials and the new role given to colour.

Customized by the signature coffee table Balancing Boxes in Tineo wood designed by Front as well as by a series of boxes irregularly stacked on each other and balancing in space, the entrance of the stand is surrounded by a System bookcase designed by Piero Lissoni + Porro Research Center in black-stained hemlock with an amusing random arrangement. It is an architectural backdrop that, through the black and white contrast, highlights the whiteness of the new Offshore drawer unit designed by Piero Lissoni, with ash wood exteriors featuring an open-pore moon white staining finish.
In the dining room, the Materic table designed by Piero Lissoni is a sculptural object where the absolute simplicity of design is juxtaposed to the sophistication of materials and workmanships. The round calacatta oro marble top with a built-in rotating tray is suspended upon a black-stained ash base characterized by a distinct wood grain. The rotating tray in the middle is perfectly flush with the top and is cut from the same marble slab; the exact coplanarity provides for the utmost consistency of the surface and texture of the table top. The table is surrounded by the French-styled armchairs Frank by Piero Lissoni; their design unites 3 distinct elements in a harmonious indissoluble whole: the shell-shaped backrest with a soft and enveloping velvet upholstery, the brass-painted metal legs that gain momentum thanks to their variable circular section, and the padded seat providing superior comfort. Geometry is enhanced by the round Sospeso rug in pure New Zealand wool from the "Enigmi" collection designed by Elisa Ossino, where the contrasting embroidered graphic designs evoke the great tradition of Berber master craftsmen, reinterpreted in a contemporary way through natural geometric patterns.
To fulfill the display and storage needs of the dining room, a Modern + Load-it composition by Piero Lissoni and Wolfgang Tolk focuses on the delicate visual effect of wall panels in natural canneté textures, with a colourful note: the Modern hanging unit with a glossy lacquered drop-leaf door in the new pumpkin orange shade – a vibrant colour resulting from Porro's continuous research on finishes. With a unprecedented mix between the classic elegance of marble and a minimalist graphic design, a floor-to-ceiling Modern composition designed by Piero Lissoni + Porro Research Center plays with the emptying of its central part, thus offering a convenient worktop. A calacatta oro marble shelf separates the lower area, with suspended black-stained hemlock drawers and marble top, from the black-stained hemlock hanging units on top, featuring glass cabinets, transparent lighted shelves and a marble back panel.

The journey continues in the wardrobe, where clothes are stored and the space becomes a secret room at home. The Storage Dressing Room designed by Piero Lissoni + Porro Research Center is presented with its new square section profile 25x25mm, which makes the frame look even lighter by creating an airy feeling and enlarging the space, and allowing for the combination between Storage and Storage air – with fully transparent glass compartments placed next to spaces that are partially or completely closed by doors. The fittings are in the new ciliegio white melamine finish, which reproduces the grain of cherry wood but softens its rosy nuance with more neutral, universal tones: it is the new elegant light-coloured version of Porro’s wardrobe. Porro’s bespoke expertise is expressed not only in the accuracy of door and interior finishes, but also in bold and innovative design solutions as well as in the functional organization and optimization of the interior space, so that the stored objects – one’s favourite shirts, clothes and accessories – are not only protected and in perfect order, but also displayed and enhanced, with such an obsessive care also for hidden details that makes Porro’s wardrobe look different from all the others, a world apart.
A twist of colour is provided by the Offshore containers designed by Piero Lissoni, presented with exteriors in royal blue open-pore stained ash wood and interiors in natural maple, in the 3-drawer version designed for the needs of the sleeping area.
In the relaxation area, you can comfortably sit on green velvet Kite armchairs, showing a timeless charm, next to the Palladio coffee table, featuring a round Verde Rameggiato top and a brass rod base with a special striped texture, that reinterprets traditional decorative profiles in a contemporary fashion – in line with the sophisticated elegance by GamFratesi.

In the bedroom, the Makura bed by Piero Lissoni in coarse linen natural fabric represents a new interpretation of domestic warmth. Slightly suspended from the ground, it has a welcoming and inviting shape thanks to its sinuous and enveloping headboard and to the presence of comfortable removable cushions. Next to it, the classic Boxes bedside tables by Piero Lissoni in the silk-grey lacquered version and in black-stained hemlock. At its feet, on the Immaginario rug designed by Elisa Ossino, the Lullaby lounge chair by Nicola Gallizia in a powder blue fabric, with its peculiar configuration and inclination, evokes comfort and the act of rocking. As a small object of desire, with an off-plan shape that catches the eye despite its small size, Lullaby reveals sophisticated details behind the apparent simplicity, such as the supporting foot in a metallic cuvée finish, the elegant curved solid ash armrest with a variable section and the refined fabric, leather or eco-leather upholstering.
On the wall, the Gap bookcase designed by Carlo Tamborini is presented in porphyry grey. As an object with a sculptural vocation, it is made up of a back panel, shelves and an external metal frame acting as a strong aesthetic element and at the same time as a bookend and light source, thanks to the built-in LED lighting.
In an office space with a retro flavour, the Collector desk by GamFratesi, with an exposed metal structure to which drawers, cabinets, internal panels and a worktop in fine apple wood are attached, is combined with the Voyage chair, featuring an exposed solid turned maple frame and a leather upholstery which fits perfectly on the structure and gives shape to the back and the seat.
A seasonal Storage Battente wardrobe in a eucalyptus melamine finish catches the eye with its glossy lacquered powder blue doors with Block metal handles painted in the same colour: they create a continuous coloured surface, interrupted only by two elements – a vertical glass cabinet with Iron doors and the new Bento open box in black-painted wax-finished metal with built-in lighting.

Again, the journey continues with Storage, Porro’s system of wardrobes, open wardrobes and dressing rooms – best-sellers and symbol of the bespoke possibilities offered by Porro. The Storage Battente wardrobe has 32s heat-treated oak doors and Oslo handles entirely made of wood, cut out with careful carpentry work. Inside, black sugi melamine interiors with a grey fabric upholstery. In front of it, Storage Boiserie features ecru linen back panels and the new eucalyptus equipment: drawers with a full-length glass top, angled shoe shelves, a free-standing drawer unit, lighted shelves and the new wooden shelf. A Modern-Load-it vanity niche designed by Piero Lissoni + Wolfgang Tolk and dedicated to self-care features steel shelves, mirror panels and a suspended pale moon top; next to it, the Conch swivel armchair by Decoma Design is characterized by a welcoming oval shape and an extremely elegant hole in the middle.