Molteni - Twelve A.M. double bed

The cushion is hooked to the headboard by means of different colours hide leather two straps, underlining the designers’ signature attention to detail. At the side of the headboard there are two small circular wooden trays that act as bedside shelves. At the back, if the bed is positioned in the centre of the room, Twelve A.M. can be fitted with a small projecting shelf.
The bed’s wooden frame rests on four slim metal legs, which, in turn, support a concave leather or textile container that can accommodate all types of mattresses. A comfortable bench, echoing the design of the bed, the cushion of which is held by leather straps like the bed, can be placed at the foot of the bed.
Thanks to Neri&Hu’s inventiveness, the bench can also be turned into a new accessory for a dream bedroom. By adding a unit similar to the bedhead, the bench can become a small alcove in which the residents can change their clothes or fashion items, hanging or placing them temporarily. This accessory too is fitted with comfy cushions, of which the one on the backrest is movable, thanks to the leather strap that holds it in place, inserted into a horizontal slit that enriches the whole design.

For this series, Neri&Hu contemplates on the notion of midnight as the transition time period from one day to the next. In Roman timekeeping, midnight was the exact halfway point between sunset and sunrise, marking the moment between the dichotomies of day and night. Playing on this duality and the rituals we perform that become markers of time, the Twelve AM bench is conceived as a foyer bench for putting on and taking off shoes, a daily act that marks the beginning and end of each day. The Twelve AM bed features a high headboard which folds and envelops for a deep sleep in the night, but on the opposing side, there is a small desk from which to work during the day.

Neri&Hu

Founded in 2004 by partners Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office is an inter-disciplinary architectural design practice based in Shanghai, China with an additional office in London, UK. Neri&Hu works at global level providing architecture, interior, master planning, graphics, and product design services. Currently working on projects in many countries, Neri&Hu is composed of multi-cultural staff who speak over 30 several languages. The diversity of the team reinforces a core vision for the practice: to respond to a global worldview incorporating overlapping design disciplines for a new paradigm in architecture.

Neri&Hu’s location is purposeful. With shanghai considered a new global frontier, Neri&Hu is in the center of this contemporary chaos. The city’s cultural, urban, and historic contexts function as a point of departure for the architectural explorations involved in every project. Because new sets of contemporary problems relating to buildings now extend beyond traditional architecture, the practice challenges traditional boundaries of architecture to include other complementary disciplines.

Neri & Hu and their design have been recognized by a number of prestigious international design awards. Maison & Objet named them Asia Designer of the Year 2015. Moreover UK Wallpaper* has named the Partners founders Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu as "Designers of The Year 2014". Finally, they are also included in the list of the 40 most important designers "under 40" who shape China.

Molteni

Angelo Molteni, born in 1912, began his entrepreneurial activity in Giussano, now the province of Monza and Brianza, the furniture district. His workshop becomes, in a short time, synonymous with high quality product. The 60s began in the best way, in fact Angelo Molteni is in the founding committee of the first Salone del Mobile in Milan, which opened on 24 September 1961 with great success. This is the decade of the revolution: in a few months, the production is converted from classic to modern, to create well-designed furniture, designed for the series. Luca Meda, a student of the Ulm School, is the man of the revolution, his Iride containers presented at the Salone del Mobile in 1968. From the 70s until today, Molteni grows, is renewed and concretizes in a definitive way its value, and the undisputed style in the world panorama. In 2008 the distribution expanded beyond the Italian borders and was structured with foreign branches. New molteni&c | Dada monobrand stores are opening: about 600 in the world, including 40 Flagship Stores, also present in the largest international design metropolises such as London and New York. Moltenigroup.com is born, the web address of the new website of the Molteni Group. Key words are narration, inspiration, contemporaneity of molteni&c and Dada brands. As of April 2016, Belgian architect and designer Vincent Van Duysen has been appointed creative director of molteni&c and Dada. After the success of the Gliss Master wardrobe collection, the new collaboration focuses on image coordination and the retail concept.