A Fondazione Prada exhibition about Chinese export porcelain, designed by Dutch firm Tom Postma Design, is housed within three prefabricated timber volumes clad in velvet and real gold leaf.
Until 10 January 2021, The Porcelain Room installation is being staged in one large exhibition space in the OMA-designed Torre annexe.
The Porcelain Room has been shortlisted for this year's Dezeen Award in the exhibition design category.
Above: two of the timber volumes are clad in velvet and one in gold leaf. Top image: the final, golden room houses 1,400 porcelain plates
Visitors pass through the walk-through volumes within it, tracing the history and legacy of Chinese porcelain in Europe and the Middle East.
The installation progresses in chronological order, showcasing porcelain pieces dating back to the arrival of the Portuguese in south China in the early 16th century, all the way up to the 19th century. After passing through the first two rooms, the climactic highlight of the show is the final, gold-gilded room. Here, 1,400 of the approximately 1,700 porcelain pieces in the exhibition are suspended from the walls and ceiling.
Porcelain pieces are suspended from the walls and ceiling of the Golden Porcelain Room
This offers a modern reimagining of the porcelain rooms found in European palaces and aristocratic houses of the time, such as the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin and the Santos Palace in Lisbon.
Then, China plates and other tableware pieces were used as decorative rather...