Milan
Manuscrit, non publié à l’époque. Seul le prononcé fait foi. Les notes de travail ont été retirées.
Discours prononcé en italien et en anglais. Texte original, non traduit.
Gentili Signore e Signori, sono particolarmente lieto di essere qui a Milano.
Una città un tempo svizzera.
E sì – perché all’inizio del sedicesimo secolo
Milano ha fatto parte per alcuni anni della Confederazione, se mi consentite questa piccola esagerazione.
Tutto è però finito con la Sconfitta di Marignano.
Correva il mille cinquecento quindici / quinze cent quinze / Fünfzehn-fünfzehn – un anno dal design geniale, se mi passate la metafora.
Mi dispiace che questa grandiosa città non faccia più parte della Svizzera.
Altrimenti, subito dopo Bellinzona, Lugano, Locarno e Chiasso, sarebbe ora una delle cinque principali città del Ticino …
ladies and gentlemen
Switzerland has an extremely creative and lively design scene, as you can very well see here in the House of Switzerland at the Milan Design Week.
The works of young designers are just as much on display here as those of leading brands. (With Pro Helvetia making the link between the two)
And representatives from business and education are here from the different regions and all parts of the country.
It is important for Swiss design to be present in Italy in all its diversity.
The two countries share very close cultural and economic ties.
Around half a million Italian nationals live and work in Switzerland.
And around 50,000 Swiss nationals live in Italy.
Italy is Switzerland’s fourth largest trade partner after Germany, the USA and China.
Switzerland would be poorer without these good neighbourly relations
Not just economically but also culturally.
Ladies and gentlemen
Why is Swiss design so successful?
Switzerland has always been a country with few natural resources.
It is used to deriving value from situations of scarcity accumulating as much knowledge from around the world as possible and of creating products through innovation.
This mind set of seeking out ideas is a trait of Swiss design up to the present day.
Swiss design is innovative, original – and of the highest quality.
it rejects the inflationary design tendencies of recent years.
Not everything is design, and design isn’t everything.
But good design is timeless.
If you don’t believe me, take Rex, the famous vegetable peeler and apply the marketing strategy of planned obsolescence – we look forward to seeing the outcome…
Ladies and gentlemen
The eminent social importance of design was already well recognised when efforts to promote good design in Switzerland came into being around a hundred years ago.
This was done out of the conviction that the shaping of our environment was so important to the cultural and economic well-being of our country, that its promotion was in the interests of general public;
It is a view that I share:
There is a whole world of influences in good design.
Ladies and gentlemen
How will we look back on today in a few years’ time?
Perhaps as a time when we suddenly realised that the world of abundance came to an end – and an era of scarcity began.
Design can offer up answers to questions that scarcity presents us with.
Good design involves
Well-considered self-restraint
The ability to distil complexity – while not removing it altogether.
And indeed maximising its potential.
Good design holds its value.