British artist Alex Chinnick, known for his surreal public sculptures that combine art, architecture and theatre, has teamed up with tobacco brand Philip Morris to create this conceptual IQOS (I quit original smoking) project for Milan’s Design Week. The architectural illusion dominates the courtyard at Spazio Quattrocento with a building that appears to have a giant zipper, unfastened, to expose a corner of the facade.

Alex Chinnick IQOS World Revealed

The Philip Morris company has spent more than a decade and billions of dollars developing its IQOS (I quit original smoking) range of smoke-free devices that heat, instead of burn, tobacco in effort to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals produced. This is the third year that they’ve participated in Milan Design Week.

“We’ve tried to unzip conventional thinking to come up with a transformative vision for our company and our industry that gives smokers a better alternative,” says Frederic de Wilde, president of EU Region at Philip Morris International.

“IQOS World Revealed” Alex Chinneck, 2019 Salone del Mobile

The false facade is an amalgam of references drawn from the surrounding streets and is rendered with impressive accuracy, down to the graffitied shutters and aged plasterwork.

The illusory experience continues inside, where further zippers are integrated into the walls and floor of the minimal exhibition space.

Visitors can pass behind the illuminated wall to have their photograph taken inside the artwork, and each room features a dedicated soundscape that adds to the futuristic feel.

Project: IQOS World Revealed
Artist: Alex Chinneck
Brand: Philip Morris International
Location: Spazio Quattrocento, Opificio 31, Tortona District, Milan
Opening dates: 9th-14th April 2019

Photogaphy by Marc Wilmot
Info and some images courtesy of Domus, other photos courtesy of the artist.