PIRELLI REVEALS ITS "RUBBER SOUL" WITH AN EXHIBITION AT TRIENNALE DI MILANO

Pirelli reveals its “rubber soul” with an exhibition curated by the Fondazione Pirelli and hosted from June 21 to July 24 by Triennale di Milano museum. “L’anima di gomma – Estetica e tecnica al passo con la moda” (“Rubber Soul. Aesthetics and Technique in step with Fashion”) is the title of the exhibition that recounts the history of Pirelli clothing and its advertisements through original artwork and multimedia installations, from the time of the company’s foundation, at the end of the 19th century, to today. Over a century of industry and social customs distinguished by research applied to materials and processes, which characterize all Pirelli’s activities, illustrated across four exhibition spaces: one dedicated to walking (rubber soles and heels), one to clothing (outerwear and raincoats), one to the sea (bathing suits and other products for the beach and water) and one for Pirelli PZero, Pirelli’s current project of industrial design applied to clothing. Rubber takes the starring role and, in the form of small multimedia ball, guides the visitor through the exhibition, it illustrates the properties of a material which, through various processes, becomes tyres, elastic thread, fabric and object.

Beginning with the caucciù tree, “the tree that cries”, whose gum was used by the Maya as early as 500 A.D, the first three exhibition spaces are dedicated to the past using innovative multimedia representations and showing, for the first time since their recovery and restoration, original sketches of the twentieth century advertising for Pirelli signed by leading names in graphic design and photography nationally and internationally: Jeanne and Franco Grignani, Alessandro Mendini, Bruno Munari, Ugo Mulas, Ermanno Scopinich and others. This material, which constitutes an important body of work and is conserved in the Historical Archives of the Fondazione Pirelli, will for the first time be shown in public after its careful recovery and restoration. It will be a “premier” as it was only recently discovered during the archival process, even an advertisement from 1952 with Marilyn Monroe modelling bathing suits in Lastex, an elastic fibre of the time produced exclusively by Pirelli. The last room, in conclusion, is dedicated to the current Pirelli PZero.

The exhibition was launched today by the Chairman of Pirelli and of the Fondazione Pirelli, Marco Tronchetti Provera, and the President of the Triennale di Milano, Davide Rampello, together with Germano Celant, Alessandro Mendini and with a video commentary from Umberto Eco. “Exhibiting – Germano Celant commented – shifted from a “museum-like” collection of objects, exposed and illustrated, to a specific staging, to an exhibiting which is pure non-material communication, fed by highly technological media”. “There are no objects, but representations, so as to shift our focus from the tangible aspects of fashion to the level of dreams: a portrait image of fashion”, commented Umberto Eco, underling that “nowadays everything is multimedia, and in this way looking back on the past can be quite enjoyable”.

Info: 

Triennale di Milano, viale Alemagna 6 – Milano
June, 21 - July, 24 2011

- free entrance -

www.fondazionepirelli.org
www.triennale.org

INNOVATION IS IN OUR DNA

The National Award for Innovation was presented at Rome’s Quirinale Palace in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, and the Minister for Public Administration and Innovation, Renato Brunetta.
Among the protagonists was Pirelli, distinguished for its long industrial tradition together with its ability to innovate, quality of production and strength of its brand
The Pirelli MIRS Processes won the award for innovation in the industry and services sector (large industrial groups of international significance).
A prestigious award received by Dr. Marco Cantù, one of the inventors of the patent, in the presence of Gianni Mancini, who represented Pirelli as head of process innovations (Next MIRS).
The award was made for “the invention of a new tyre production process, starting with thin strips of rubber on a drum, which permit the maximum control of the geometry of the rubber placed on it and the phases of vulcanisation”.
The 2011 was the sixth such awards ceremony, which has as its principal objective the enhancement and support of the best innovative and creative ability of companies, universities, public administrations, bodies and individual inventors, also with a view to favouring the growth of the culture of innovation in Italy.

PIRELLI EXPANDS THE “GREEN” RANGE WITH CINTURATO P1, THE PREMIUM TYRE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED CARS

Pirelli presents Cinturato P1, the high-tech “green” tyre developed for small and medium-sized cars, which guarantees lower, performance on every surface and is environmentally friendly. The new addition to the Cinturato family was tested at its world premiere by the European media in Puglia, on a route winding through olive trees, beautiful villages and the Adriatic coast. Cinturato P1, soon to be launched also in Latin America and Asia, will be available on the European spare parts market by the end of 2011 in sizes ranging from 14” to 16” and has already been selected as original equipment by BMW.
Cinturato P1 expands Pirelli’s “green” range and includes Pirelli technology developed for its Ultra High Performance tyres: Cinturato P1 was designed according to the already successful state-of-the-art standards of Cinturato P7 and developed at Pirelli’s Research and Development center in Milan, where Formula 1 tyres are also devised.
The DNA of Cinturato P1 thus summarizes the “green” characteristics of Cinturato and Scorpion Verde, the eco-friendly tyre studied for Suvs and Crossover vehicles, and the technology studied for the P Zero family.
Safety, driving pleasure, attention to the environment and versatility are the four key characteristics of Cinturato P1, perfectly in line with new market requirements: performance seen as safety, energy efficiency and low environmental impact. Cinturato P1 is the tyre designed to comply with the coming 2012 UE Directive and label: in the first official tests, the new Pirelli tyre distinguished itself in terms of fuel savings and noise reduction, two key parameters to ensure a high “environmental score”. Thanks to its 15% lower weight and the choice of innovative technological solutions, the new Cinturato achieves a reduction in rolling resistance of up to 25%. Also in “green” terms, Cinturato P1 reduces external noise by 1,5 dB and inner noise by 1dB, improving ride comfort and driving pleasure. The P1’s eco-friendly character is matched by its high technological content: in some sizes, the new tyre is available also in the Run Flat version, which provides continual mobility.
The new Cinturato reinforces Pirelli’s “Green Performance” strategy – “green” products accounted for 36% of sales in 2010 – and accounted for 27% of the total sales worldwide. This makes the Cinturato eco-friendly range the Group’s most important and one that is destined to grow, in line with the expected growth of the “Green Performance”.