OFFICINE SAFFI. | MILANO DESIGN WEEK 2026
From April 20 to 26, 2026, during Milan Design Week, Officine Saffi Lab unveils a majestic ceramic wall installation designed by Hannes Peer. The composition unfolds as a stratified landscape in which distinct ceramic masses collide, overlap, fracture, and realign. The surface operates like a tectonic system — governed by tension, displacement, and rhythm rather than symmetry — forming a dynamic sculptural choreography.
Conceived in close dialogue between Hannes Peer and the technical team of Officine Saffi Lab, the project represents an extraordinary technical undertaking, requiring advanced ceramic engineering, meticulous material control, and many months of research and production.
Peer’s practice draws on historical references while remaining firmly anchored in the present. His research echoes key figures of Italian design culture such as Giò Ponti, Lucio Fontana, and Fausto Melotti, as well as the architectural experimentation of the 1960s and 1970s, when ceramics were rediscovered as a primary construction material capable of transcending pure ornament. Yet this legacy is not approached nostalgically. It is reactivated as an operative framework for today. At the core of Peer’s approach lies what he defines as a “nostalgic utopia”—a design tension in which memory becomes an active force, generating new formal and spatial possibilities.
Looking to the past as a way of moving forward, Terrain proposes ceramics as a relational device: between history and contemporaneity, surface and depth, construction and landscape.
Color plays a foundational role in shaping this terrain. The chromatic language draws from landscapes where color is inseparable from land and light. Mineral reds, ochres, and dusty tones evoke the heat and horizontal vastness of Arizona; pale blues recall expansive desert skies often associated with Georgia O’Keeffe, introducing moments of suspension and openness; deeper, saturated hues reference Mexico’s earth, pigments, and craft traditions. This nuanced palette is the result of extensive material research conducted by Officine Saffi Lab. Through the development of bespoke glaze formulations inspired by diverse geographic traditions and experimental techniques, the Lab has transformed the ceramic surface into a stratified, almost geological field. Each module becomes a micro-landscape: never flat, never merely decorative. Beneath the surface lies a world shaped by chemistry and physics—by crystalline reactions, mineral deposits, and, at times, the unpredictability of the firing process itself.
Terrain ultimately proposes a renewed vision of ceramics within contemporary architectural space.
Officine Saffi Lab is a studio dedicated to the creative investigation of ceramic production, collaborating with an extended network of local and international experts from the field. Foregrounding collaboration and co-creation, Officine Saffi Lab connects artists, designers and brands with ceramic culture. Working in constant dialogue between tradition and innovation, the studio weaves the legacy of Italian ceramics with international techniques and experimental practices.
Officine Saffi Lab engages with projects of significant scale and complexity, while pursuing ongoing research into raw materials—an investigation that has led to the development of thousands of unique glaze recipes, now integral to its identity. Through an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach, the studio brings together technical rigor and imagination, artisanal expertise and design vision. Composed of a team of artisans driven by curiosity and passion, the Lab approaches each project as an experiment—an inquiry into what ceramics can be today, contributing to the emergence of new possible traditions.
Founded in 2020, Officine Saffi Lab has collaborated with design companies such as Cassina and Poliform, fashion brands including Bottega Veneta, Loro Piana, and Fendi, as well as architects and artists such as Ronan Bouroullec, Elisa Ossino, Giampiero Tagliaferri, Conie Vallese, and Alberto Garutti.
Hannes Peer is an architect and designer from South Tyrol based in Milan. His work, defined by a sophisticated form of eclecticism, blends architectural precision with a deep sensitivity to craftsmanship, materiality, and narrative. After studying at the Politecnico di Milano and the Technical University in Berlin, and working with OMA in Rotterdam and Zvi Hecker in Berlin, he founded Hannes Peer Architecture in 2009. The studio’s portfolio spans hospitality, residential, and product design, always guided by a commitment to context, culture, and emotional depth.
Working across scales—from urban interventions like the Baths of Caracalla masterplan in Rome to residential and hospitality projects in Italy and abroad—Peer’s practice is grounded in craftsmanship and cultural depth. Recent highlights include The Manner hotel in New York’s SoHo and a newly completed hotel in South Tyrol, both reflecting Peer’s ability to weave history and modernity into richly layered experiences. Current projects include chalets in Cervinia, a villa in Puglia, the upcoming Hotel Aurora in Meran, a private villa in South Tyrol, a hotel in Rome, and various residential projects across Italy and abroad.
Since 2024, he has designed sculptural, detail-driven design pieces for global brands like Minotti and Baxter, blending architectural thinking with refined craftsmanship. In parallel, he continues to explore collectible and experimental design through collaborations with design galleries such as Nilufar in Milan and bespoke design brands as SEM, 6:AM and La Chance in Paris.
Peer’s work is defined by a rigorous yet emotional design language—rooted in contrast, material tactility, and a deep engagement with context—earning him regular recognition on the AD100 and the Elle Decor A-List, and establishing him as a singular voice in contemporary design.
