Project done in 2012 with another friend for the Final Synthesis Design Studio of the Master in Product Service System Design of Politecnico di Milano.
Briefing
Living with Animals in Milan was the theme of the Studio and our mission was to create a PSS (Product Service System) related to animals in several ways. It could be domestic pets, animals working for humans (e.g. guide dogs for blind people), wildlife, insects, food, etc.
The animal chosen by us was the silkworm. The city of Como, nearby Milan, is famous by their tradition as silk producers. But this market is is crisis. Because the material is mostly used in the high-end fashion market, and the market itself is in crisis, loosing a big part of their share for the cheaper retail brands, the silk producers of Como have been loosing profit in the past decade.
Milan is one of the most important fashion capitals in the world and a great deal of the upcoming fashion and design professionals graduate every year with a lot of will to produce and innovate in their field but without opportunities.
Therefore, we decided to ally the need for new outcomes for the silk material with the need of these young professionals together in a laboratory specialized in experimentation with silk.
The Project
. The Breed, that includes the visit and the production;
. The Hub + Lab where the creatives meet and work;
. The Store where products developed inside the laB.Mori can be displayed and commercialized.
The Space
Recently graduated creatives that would like to start a career would be the main target of laB.Mori.
They would come to the space to either work for a day or to become a member, paying a monthly fee according to the number of the days a week they would spend at laB.Mori.
The focus of laB.Mori is on the experimentation with silk. The characteristics of the final silk material are intimately connected to the way the breeding of the silkworm is done. Even the quality of the mulberry tree leaves that are the food of the worms influence in the quality of the final material. Therefore, a space to study and understand the production of the material was created.
The breed is open to visitors and all the production is destined to internal use only. That is because the raw material is expensive and the goal is to have enough for the creatives to test and make the prototypes of their projects.
The breed is open to visitors and all the production is destined to internal use only. That is because the raw material is expensive and the goal is to have enough for the creatives to test and make the prototypes of their projects.
The Hub is where the creatives can gather to work in their individual projects and benefit from the connections and network created. The space is designed to stimulate the exchange of ideas with a common big table to be used by all.
The Lab is where the creatives can experiment with silk in all stages, from weaving to dyeing and painting. It is where things get messy and they can exchange real experiences.
The Library is where the creatives can find not only books but also materials. But this space is mostly designed for the people to register their experiences, both the ones that went right and the ones that didn't work. So whenever a person has a new idea, they can always access the library (with real samples in the space and photographs and videos on the website).
The Store, placed somewhere in the city, is where individual projects done by the creative young professionals can sell their work. It is supposed to be a retail that includes all the outcomes for the silk (not only fashion but furniture, wall paper, literally everything). Here every designer or artist can have their "by laB.Mori" brand.
The website also promotes the connections because it offers a social network platform where the members can display their work, exchange comments and tips. They can also chat and set up meetings at laB.Mori.
The System map displays how the entire system and how it works. The Mantero and the Setificio would be the main Stakeholders and investors of the space. They would build the space as an investment to find the new possibilities for the silk market.
The users (the creatives, young professionals, designers, artist, etc) would pay the membership fee according to the number of days they want to use the space and develop projects there.
All the projects developed in laB.Mori are related to silk and will need a silk supplier to be commercialized. Here is where the investors get most of their revenues, since they become the exclusive suppliers of all the silk used in the final projects.
Touchpoints are how people can get to know about the service, and here they are:
