Nemo Lighting’s Milan space is like a surrealist treasure hunt

Launched during Milan Design Week 2026, when the city overflows with temporary installations destined to disappear as quickly as they arrive, Nemo Lighting's new showroom (Via Santa Cecilia 4/A) quietly did the opposite. What designer Ron Gilad has created is anything but ephemeral; the project represents a radical rethinking of retail, transforming the showroom into an environment where light becomes something to inhabit rather than simply observe.

Nemo Milan by Ron Gilad

‘I tried to give the light the freedom to live,’ says Gilad. That ambition is immediately apparent, even before you step inside. There is, in fact, no traditional threshold. Above the entrance, two intersecting LED crosses (reminiscent of a pharmacy sign) display haiku dedicated to light. Visitors may walk through the large glass façade or ring a doorbell that makes no sound at all. Instead, it activates a light embedded within what appears to be a framed artwork, discreetly alerting the staff gathered around a large circular table on wheels. The same illuminated frame conceals a printer: objects refuse to be what they first appear, setting the tone for a visit that blurs the boundaries between function, illusion and play.

On one side, a wall-mounted shelf gathers an eclectic mix of objects, from the classic ‘Kuta’ lamp, designed by Vico Magistretti in 1972 to an AI-generated reinterpretation of Edward Hopper paintings. On the opposite side of the room, concealed niches hide unexpected discoveries – guests lift what seems to be an orange canvas with a wall lamp to reveal ‘Pivotante à Poser’, the celebrated lighting design by Charlotte Perriand.

Digital figures with human legs, fictional monks, pigeons and even a towel-bearing female populate the showroom, reinforcing Gilad's surreal narrative. Beyond the main area unfolds a sequence of rooms connected by distinctly Milanese arches. Here, historic classics converse across generations: ‘Parliament’, originally designed by Le Corbusier for Chandigarh's Parliament in 1963, faces the contemporary ‘Fox’ lamp, while ‘LBB01’ by Lina Bo Bardi illuminates a glass table beside ‘Cupido’, casting light onto an impossibly tall volume titled The Lamp Waits Alone Then Suddenly Remembers How To Be a Sun. Even after closing hours, dedicated videos transform the large windows facing Via Damiano into illuminated urban stages.

The spiral staircase leads downstairs into the technical world of brands Reggiani and ILTI Luce, but the surprises keep coming. Inspired by Milan's Duomo, the welcome area features a black daybed balanced on four miniature chairs facing a giant screen that frames a virtual view of the Madonnina, the golden statue crowning Milan Cathedral. Different marbles recreate shifting sunlight across the floor, while in another room, an enormous cabinet conceals countless drawers filled with lighting solutions.

‘For Ron and me, this is more than a showroom – it's a manifesto,’ says Federico Palazzari, CEO of Nemo Lighting and Nemo Group. ‘We simply wanted to create the most interesting lighting showroom in the world.’ More importantly, he argues, it is an antidote to today's fragmented attention span. ‘We work for people's eyes. Our goal is to invite concentration – not only on the product itself, but on how light is staged, experienced and understood.’ The result is a retail environment where curiosity replaces mere consumption, and every visit becomes an invitation to slow down, look closer and rediscover the pleasure of being surprised.