Cartier "The Legendary Thrill"

Arco della Pace, Milan (IT) 2018
2018
Completed
Events

A monumental pop up structure at the Arco della Pace, has explore the theme of exposed technology, engaging both citizens and visitors.

We have designed the project to presents the new Santos de Cartier collection in The Legendary Thrill, a themed design exhibition held at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, celebrating the iconic first wristwatch created by the Maison in 1904.

A monumental pop up structure at the neoclassical Arco della Pace, a landmark of the historical Milan, has explore the theme of exposed technology, engaging both citizens and visitors.

An outstanding design installation has evoke the legendary figure of Alberto Santos Dumont, a founding father of aviation, who in 1906 flew on his biplane 14 Bis over a distance of 60 meters in a Paris park. That groundbreaking take off earned the man the very first three world records officially proving to the world that manned powered flight was possible “for heavier than air machines”.

A pioneer and visionary, Santos Dumont inspired Louis Cartier to design the first pilot wristwatch, allowing him to check the time while keeping both hands on controls. Both men shared the same farsighted spirit of innovation and modernity.


A transparent tunnel 60 meters long (the same distance traveled by Santos in his revolutionary take-off in 1906) connects two limestone motorway toll booths built at the end of the 18th century. Inside, suggestive installations, designed to make the immaterial visible, involved the guests. Between them, an imposing 12-meter crystal cube showcased a model of the 14 Bis biplane, reinterpreted with contemporary high-tech materials. The entire installation is a living body, animated day and night by projections, LED lights and music, for a spectacular celebration of time.

Night view of the Arco della Pace in red light with the installation set beneath the arch – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event design
Inside the pavilion: a suspended propeller and red lights hang from a steel truss above visitors – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event designDark room with a Santos de Cartier sign in a glass case and a lit panel titled The Legendary Thrill – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event design
Visitors facing a red-lit wall of screens showing clouds, with Crafted Wi... banners and cables – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event designHanging red message boards and mirrored strips under a stone vault, Santos de Cartier below – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event design
Front night view of the Arco della Pace with the red-lit pavilion framed inside the central arch – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event designWide dusk view of the square and the arch, with long red-lit pavilions and flanking buildings – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event design
DJ under a red steel truss with light panels, the arch visible through the glass walls – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event designWhite statuettes of two figures in front of a glass wall printed with the word Future – Cartier The Legendary Thrill, Milan, Italy, 2018 – event design