Air Lab, a permanent prototyping facility developed by Nike in collaboration with DROPCITY, has been unveiled in Milan, offering public access to industrial-grade tools centred on air as a design medium.
Presented during Milan Design Week, the initiative was previewed through a temporary installation titled NikeAir_Lab, before transitioning into a long-term component of DROPCITY’s production infrastructure. Located behind Milano Centrale within a series of repurposed warehouse tunnels, DROPCITY is being developed as a large-scale architecture and fabrication centre in the city.
Installation explores air as a material and process
The preview installation was organised across a sequence of tunnel spaces, each examining a different behaviour of air, from forming and deforming to suction, compression and cooling. Machinery, including robotic arms, thermoforming equipment and pneumatic systems, was presented alongside material samples, allowing visitors to engage directly with the processes behind the prototypes.
About 100 prototypes were exhibited, tracing the development of air-based design approaches across multiple applications. Archival material was also included, offering insight into early experimentation as well as more recent innovations.
The equipment used in the installation will be retained and integrated into DROPCITY’s workshop network following the event, shifting the project from a temporary showcase to a working facility.
Permanent addition to Milan’s emerging design infrastructure
DROPCITY spans more than 10,000m2 and is being developed as a publicly accessible centre for architecture, design and production. Its facilities include dedicated workshops for robotics, model making, 3D printing, textiles, ceramics and woodworking, alongside exhibition areas and subsidised workstations for designers and architects.
Air Lab introduces a specialised layer focused on air-driven fabrication and experimentation, adding to DROPCITY’s broader network of publicly accessible production spaces.
