On the occasion of the conference “Building as green as glass”, which was held on Tuesday 17 September, at Fiera Milano Rho, the exhibition was presented “Glass. An endless story of materials, men, products”.
Scheduled for 2025, the exhibition will take visitors on an immersive journey through the history and evolution of glass, exploring the technologies and impact on society of this timeless material.
With the encouragement and support of VITRUM e GIMAV, Italian National Committee AIHV decided to curate an exhibition that retraces the technological and functional history of glass, from its origins (in the 2nd millennium BC) to the present day, through documents, original instruments or reproductions, but also modern objects.
The exhibition will be further enriched by multimedia installations and made more engaging thanks to the reconstruction of some structures and corners of artisan or industrial ateliers, such as:
- a Roman-style oven,
- a glimpse of a nineteenth-century glassworks,
- the display of parts of modern machinery for producing plates or bottles.
The immersive component of the exhibition will allow visitors to delve deeper into the lives of the workers of the glass. In particular, to better contextualize the discussion and anchor it to the Lombard reality, the events of some factories that arose in the pre-Alpine area during the 800th century will be presented. Stories of passion, migration, union demands and artisanal skill will be told, which contributed to building an important tradition, before the advent of industrialization.
“Glass. An endless story of materials, men, products” will dedicate a section to “The Thousand Lives of Glass Today”, focusing on contemporary applications of the material in industry, architecture and design, through the involvement of some companies in the sector.
The exhibition represents a unique opportunity for enthusiasts, scholars and professionals who wish to learn more about a material that has crossed the history of humanity, helping to shape our cities and our way of life. A journey through the past, present and future of glass, where each story will be a fundamental piece of an extremely fascinating mosaic, suspended between tradition and innovation.
