In 2019, the world’s leading manufacturer of sliding window systems presented itself at Milano Design Week for the first time. In one of the abandoned warehouses beneath Milano Central Station Stephan Hürlemann transformed Sky-Frame’s claim «A view, not a window» into a spheric experience. «I wanted to offer visitors an aesthetic encounter with the brand Sky-Frame. A story, which will be retold. The challenge was to provoke as many positive emotions as possible with a reduced and clear form language», says Stephan Hürlemann.

Visitors enter a dark vaulted hall filled with noises. It is the sound of the earth’s rotation recorded by NASA and morphed into audible frequencies. The tone stems from the more than man-size hexagonal funnel in the middle of the room. Once visitors step into the installation , they find themselves facing a gigantic sphere. The orb glows in bright colours, which can be altered with a control in the ground. It seems as if one is looking down on earth from outer space.

Also the outside of «A Piece of Sky» is essential to the experience. Technical elements, such as cables or screws, are not hidden, but overtly on display. The body reminds one of an unfamiliar spaceship. Stepping inside, one is catapulted into the orbit and sent on an emotional journey.

In the dark area behind the funnel, a second installation reveals itself. It consists in stars which come into being, lighten up, eventually collapsing into a supernova and disappear. «This addresses a change of perspective regarding time. One’s self with its inherent limited time horizon is set into relation to eternity*», explains Hürlemann.

Design: Stephan Hürlemann

Photos: Hürlemann (Elisa Böll) and Pietro Baroni

Video: ©Sky-Frame

Funnel construction: Nüssli AG
Light programming: Licht und Ton AG