Sony is crafting unique materials
in pursuit of a more sustainable tomorrow—
when created, when held, and when released.
With every passing moment,
materials shift and transform—
taking on new forms, new purposes,
and awakening new emotions within us.
This exhibition explores the possibilities of materials
that invite us to imagine the future, through countless
shapes and ideas that spark a sense of wonder.
As we take a step toward the future we aspire to create together,
we welcome the insights you will discover through exploration
and engagement with these materials.
The Creative Center, the design team of Sony Group Corporation ("Sony"), presents ESQUISSE — A dialogue with materials for the future, an installation showcased during FuoriSalone 2026 as part of INTERNI MATERIAE, an event-exhibition ideated and organized by INTERNI, an interiors and contemporary design magazine directed by Gilda Bojardi.
Set within the historic spaces of the University of Milan (Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Festa del Perdono 7), the installation engages in dialogue with the architecture of the venue—one of the symbolic locations of INTERNI MATERIAE—enhancing the material research through a site-specific spatial experience.
To help realize a sustainable future, Sony is developing environmentally conscious original materials. For this exhibition, we have created furniture made of Original Blended Material, a paper material developed by Sony, as well as cushions and rugs made of Triporous™, a naturally derived porous carbon material. Through these exhibits, we seek to explore diverse applications and new possibilities for our materials.
The furniture was designed primarily by Sony designers, beginning with the search for the optimal material blends and processing methods. Original Blended Material has mainly been used for applications such as product packaging and business cards. This material can be molded into various items by altering the size and form of the raw materials: bamboo, sugarcane fibers, and recycled paper. Using this property, we are developing compressed boards formed by heat-pressing the raw materials, as well as cords made by thinning the fibers. The binder used to form the compressed boards is also newly developed from plant-based materials derived from corn stalks and wheat straw. Sony’s exhibits at INTERNI MATERIAE are prototypes designed to explore new applications and possibilities for Original Blended Material in furniture and booth fixtures.
Our exhibition also features collaborative furniture designed by Setsu & Shinobu Ito, Milan-based designers whose work includes the study of nature-centered design.
Exhibition Information
ESQUISSE— A dialogue with materials for the future
Proposal of furniture made of Sony's environmentally conscious materials and designed by Sony designers, in collaboration with Setsu & Shinobu Ito.
- Period:
- 20–30 April 2026
- Opening hours:
- 20-26.04 | h. 10-24 (last admission h. 23.30)
27-29.04 | h. 10-22
30.04 | h. 10-18 - Venue:
- University of Milan (Università degli Studi di Milano)
- Address:
- Via Festa del Perdono 7, Milan, Italy
Supported by
Nihon Houzai Co., Ltd.
@sonydesign_official
See how Original Blended Material, paper material
with an environmental message, was turned into furniture.
About the Furniture
SWAYSony Group Creative Center
A compressed board made of Original Blended Material is bent into a U-shape to form the shell, and paper cord made of Original Blended Material is woven across the shell to form the seat.
The user is filled with a reassuring sense of comfort, gently rocked and enveloped by the shell, snugly supported by the soft paper-cord seat.
RENSetsu & Shinobu Ito
Crafted with compressed boards made of Original Blended Material, this modular interior furniture allows for flexible configuration and connection of its elements for seating, conversation, space partitioning, relaxation, and connection within an interior space. Pieces sized for practical molding are curved from the board following the same radius, and the modular elements are connected using O-shaped joints.
Original Blended Material
Original Blended Material is a paper material that Sony developed with the aim of achieving effective material circulation in its product packaging. It is made from bamboo, sugarcane fibers, and recycled paper, all of which we carefully selected. It is used not just in product packaging, but also in a wider variety of items, ranging from business cards for Sony Group companies to fixtures for the exhibition booth.
Triporous
Triporous is a naturally derived porous carbon material made from rice husks. With its patented unique microstructure, a wide range of applications is expected such as water and air purification. Considering that Japan alone generates about two million tons of rice husk waste annually and the total annual amount worldwide is estimated to be more than 100 million tons, the utilization of this excess biomass to produce Triporous helps contribute to the realization of a more environmentally conscious, recycling-oriented society.
* Triporous is a trademark of Sony Group Corporation.
INTERNI MATERIAE
INTERNI is a magazine published by Mondadori Media S.p.A (hereinafter, "MM"), specializing in interiors and contemporary design, which also organizes events and exhibitions related to the design and architecture industry. MM, through INTERNI, on the occasion of the annual "FuoriSalonequot; event organizes, at the Spaces of the University of Milan, the event-exhibition named "INTERNI MATERIAE," to be held between 20 and 30 April 2026.
INTERNI, in continuity with the cultural directions of the latest iterations, sets out for the Exhibition Event in 2026 to come to terms with the theme of the technical and experimental value of single materials.
The Latin word "Materiae" generally indicates materials but also Materials=Disciplines=Topics and underlines the necessary multidisciplinary synergy developed in contemporary design and architecture.
In this sense, INTERNI MATERIAE implies reasoning on artifacts that present themselves as constructed elements; on the other hand, it suggests reflections on new arguments and new expressions of design and architecture with the aim of improving the life of our planet.
With MATERIAE, as Materials, the Exhibition Event aims to generate choral considerations on the contemporary context offering a panorama of investigation on new materials linked to creative expressions and new modes of use, from 3D printing to innovative production practices that involve the world of design.
On the other hand, with MATERIAE as Materials=Disciplines=Topics, it is intended to propose a debate between different disciplines, different cultures, different sensibilities and languages that interact with each other.
It is also a virtuous relationship that intersects with different knowledge (Ecology, Economics, Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics), aimed at a creative synergy of the whole, which becomes the answer for the configuration of sustainable projects for our tomorrow.
