The structure of the Mi high cabinet is made with a metal frame. The sides consist of curved poplar plywood panels, while the bottom and back panels are in birch plywood. The cabinet features two hinged doors enclosing a single internal compartment fitted with two birch plywood shelves veneered in Canaletto walnut, with solid wood edges in the same finish. The upper shelf is fixed, while the lower one can be adjusted to three different heights. The doors close with a magnetic system. Above the body, supported and separated by the metal frame, is the top, available in marble with various finishes. The cabinet stands on adjustable black plastic feet. The exterior is covered in leather with Canneté workmanship, featuring an exclusive vertical striped bas-relief pattern that gives the piece a distinctive and refined appearance.
A game of solids and voids, an attentive study of materials and forms and a design approach which operates by subtraction until it achieves the perfect balance between simplicity and elegance. The Mi storage units designed by Neri & Hu for Poltrona Frau play around with light, shade and transparencies to conceal or reveal the objects they house. Mi is a Chinese pinyin word with a dual meaning used to express both the action of “looking” but also the word “secret”, which inspired this project. In fact, in the Mi storage units, rather than being displayed in full view the objects are hidden by the oblong external shell. You can only discover them by peeking through a layer of tempered glass which closes the space left by the shelves, raised and separated from the body of the unit.
