Pirelli: When History Builds the Future. 150 Years of Innovation on Display
A century and a half of innovation, technology, and experimentation. 150 years of business to celebrate in the new Foundation exhibition Pirelli: When History Builds the Future.
Throughout its long history, Pirelli has always focused on constantly developing cutting-edge technologies for high-performance products, particularly in the field of sports racing. “From track to road” is indeed the concept illustrated by the multimedia environment that welcomes the visitor at the beginning of the show, offering a close-up look at the technology behind the engineering design, from the first technical drawings to the virtualisation of the tyre. By pushing tyres to the limit and seeing how they respond to extreme conditions, Pirelli’s Research and Development department works to ensure that its processes, performance and products always stay ahead of the game in terms of safety and sustainability.
“I know it’s taken years and years of stratagems and observations, conjectures and checks, and I know that the most delicate instruments of calculation have been called in to help draft a proper rule and code of conduct. Nature does not fabricate tyres the way it fabricates eggs and mollusc shells.” These words by Leonardo Sinisgalli, the engineer-poet who spent four years at the helm of Pirelli magazine, stand out in the new exhibition space of the Historical Archive, which is indeed devoted to research and experimentation. This is where the technical documentation relating to the design and development of products and machinery is preserved. Original mould designs, tread studies, technical test specifications, and price lists and catalogues. A heritage that is not just technological, but also cultural.
At Pirelli, research in the field of science and new technologies has always been accompanied by a future-oriented approach to communication. The company has always embraced a corporate culture that combines technology and artistic experimentation, and the promotion of talent and internationalism. Through its long-term partnerships with artists, designers, intellectuals and writers, Pirelli has always helped further the development of an all-embracing multidisciplinary culture, giving it space in its house organs, in the photo shoots of great photographers, and in global advertising campaigns that have made the history of visual communication. The director of the advertising department, Arrigo Castellani, pointed this out back in the 1960s: “Our work is extremely varied and it brings us into contact with artists, writers, architects, and journalists: people who are exceptional, to say the least, sometimes a bit strange, but always fascinating.”
In the Open Space, an exhibition hall on the first floor, a multimedia timeline tells the story of the company and of the great innovations it has brought about, influencing both Italian and international history. The site-specific Inner Future installation, the photo shoot and the video Shapes, Patterns, Movements and Colors illustrate the world of rubber from raw material to finished product, a “round black object” that seems never to change and yet that contains a whole world in transformation. A future that is already here today.
Graphic and Exhibition Design: Leftloft
“Shapes, Patterns, Movements and Colors”, photos and videos: Carlo Furgeri Gilbert
Multimedial environments “When History Builds the Future” and “Inner Future”: NEO narrative environment operas
A century and a half of innovation, technology, and experimentation. 150 years of business to celebrate in the new Foundation exhibition Pirelli: When History Builds the Future.
Throughout its long history, Pirelli has always focused on constantly developing cutting-edge technologies for high-performance products, particularly in the field of sports racing. “From track to road” is indeed the concept illustrated by the multimedia environment that welcomes the visitor at the beginning of the show, offering a close-up look at the technology behind the engineering design, from the first technical drawings to the virtualisation of the tyre. By pushing tyres to the limit and seeing how they respond to extreme conditions, Pirelli’s Research and Development department works to ensure that its processes, performance and products always stay ahead of the game in terms of safety and sustainability.
“I know it’s taken years and years of stratagems and observations, conjectures and checks, and I know that the most delicate instruments of calculation have been called in to help draft a proper rule and code of conduct. Nature does not fabricate tyres the way it fabricates eggs and mollusc shells.” These words by Leonardo Sinisgalli, the engineer-poet who spent four years at the helm of Pirelli magazine, stand out in the new exhibition space of the Historical Archive, which is indeed devoted to research and experimentation. This is where the technical documentation relating to the design and development of products and machinery is preserved. Original mould designs, tread studies, technical test specifications, and price lists and catalogues. A heritage that is not just technological, but also cultural.
At Pirelli, research in the field of science and new technologies has always been accompanied by a future-oriented approach to communication. The company has always embraced a corporate culture that combines technology and artistic experimentation, and the promotion of talent and internationalism. Through its long-term partnerships with artists, designers, intellectuals and writers, Pirelli has always helped further the development of an all-embracing multidisciplinary culture, giving it space in its house organs, in the photo shoots of great photographers, and in global advertising campaigns that have made the history of visual communication. The director of the advertising department, Arrigo Castellani, pointed this out back in the 1960s: “Our work is extremely varied and it brings us into contact with artists, writers, architects, and journalists: people who are exceptional, to say the least, sometimes a bit strange, but always fascinating.”
In the Open Space, an exhibition hall on the first floor, a multimedia timeline tells the story of the company and of the great innovations it has brought about, influencing both Italian and international history. The site-specific Inner Future installation, the photo shoot and the video Shapes, Patterns, Movements and Colors illustrate the world of rubber from raw material to finished product, a “round black object” that seems never to change and yet that contains a whole world in transformation. A future that is already here today.
Graphic and Exhibition Design: Leftloft
“Shapes, Patterns, Movements and Colors”, photos and videos: Carlo Furgeri Gilbert
Multimedial environments “When History Builds the Future” and “Inner Future”: NEO narrative environment operas
