Museum MUMAC / Arkispazio

Curated by ArchDaily

Architects: Arkispazio
Area: 1800 m²
Year: 2012
Manufacturers: Mottura

Text description provided by the architects. The MuMAC, Museum of Coffee Machine, was designed by architect Paolo Balzanelli owner of Arkispazio and engineer Valerio Cometti to celebrate the centenary of the Cimbali Group.

The Mumac lies in the establishment of the Cimbali Group in Milan, inside the building previously used as a warehouse, within which are located the museum area, an area for temporary exhibitions and dedicated to the culture of coffee.

MuMAC tells 100 years of the history of objects that find home within its 1,800 square meters, besides museum there is an area dedicated to the "world of coffee" and an area for temporary exhibitions. The facades of the museum are covered with strips of metal "red Cimbali", sinuous and enveloping to resemble the waves of hot coffee, which at night filters the artificial light creating a striking illuminated reticle that evokes the energy of MuMAC.

For visitors to the Mumac, there was created a new entrance through which you can access an area bounded by a coffee-colored fence. The back wall of the fence is marked by nine trees which divide it into 10 equal spaces: ten decades of the century that symbolize life and achievements of Gruppo Cimbali. The opposite side of the building is facing industrial area of the property provides entrance for corporate visitors.

The museum area offers an exposition divided into six historical periods from the beginning of the century to the present day: The early years, The age of Rationalism, Invention of the lever, Under the banners of design, The International dimension and The New Millennium. Area called The early years is characterized by suspended ceiling and posters from art deco period. Exhibition of The age of Rationalism include severe fascist colonnade, a game of orthogonal lines of marble display stands.

In a space dedicated to 50s and 60s we can find a reconstruction of a bar and a structure entirely cantilevered, that supports the machines of the period where thanks to the use of the mirrors visitors can to enjoy both sides of these wonderful machines. Under the banners of design is the part of the museum where was placed the collection of the design masterpieces of the late '60s and '70s.

The New Millennium – is where the exhibitors coated in white resin emerge from the floor also made of white resin: in this area are the most modern machines, those designed for increasingly fast society. This room has a height red volume, visual centerpiece. Within this volume is hosted installation of the new Cimbali M100 coffee machine, that allows to grasp the technological content and the level of complexity of its interior, becoming invitation to reflect on the extraordinary journey that the coffee machine has made during the last hundred years.