Design Miami/ Basel attracts thousands of visitors annually and this year experienced a growth of 30% in VIP attendance on Preview Day from last year with a total attendance of 28,700 over the week. Notable guests at this year's fair included Tracy Amon, Abigail Asher, Lord Norman Foster, Keanu Reeves, Adrian Brody, Princess Eugenie of York, Dustin Yellin, Ambassador Paul and Trudy Cejas, Catherine Dunne, Tracy Emin, Archduchess Francesca Von Hapsburg, Goga Ashkenazi, Kweku Mandela, Ndaba Mandela, Asaf Gottesman, Noam Gottesman, Jaimie Frankfurt, Stellar Holm, Christian Larsen, Dominique Levy, Alberto Mugrabi, Jose and Mary Mugrabi, Cathy and Paolo Vedovi, Catherine Lagrange, Luis Laplace, Jo and Marie Donnely, Simon and Dr. Michaela de Pury, Peter Brant, Lisa Schiff, Becca Cason Thrash, John Thrash, Alice and Tom Tisch, Gordon Veneklasen and Sheila Wagstaff.

Lee Mindel of Shelton, Mindel & Associates commented the following on Design Miami/ Basel 2016, "It was an extraordinary experience. Not only was the Basel venue spacious, beautifully designed and carefully curated - it also felt optimistic in a time of political upheaval and social change. This year’s event will be remembered as a game changer as it was about celebrating the past, working in the present and looking towards the future. For example, at Galerie Jacques Lacoste we were able to experience a space designed by Diego Giacometti, it wasn’t an object but a space in a library that he created. Carpenters Workshop Gallery exhibited many current artists and imaginative uses of new materials including resins and curved lighting strips. At Dansk Møbelkunst, a relatively unknown modernist architect, the late Palle Suensen, demonstrated the unique relationship between the Danish cabinet maker and the architect with his slatted wood bench; his brand of organic modernism was found in a pair of sconces whose perimeter baffle resembled the petals of a flower."

"It was a year of looking and learning that touched us all, a year not to be forgotten."

Gallery Highlights/Each year, the best in contemporary and historical design come together at the fair; the 2016 edition of Design Miami/ Basel included 46 of the world's leading authorities in collectible design, who enjoyed robust sales and an opportunity to connect with a particularly international array of collectors, curators, critics and influencers. Design Miami/ Basel Executive Director, Rodman Primack, stated: "We have been especially pleased this year with the diversity and high quality of collectible design work exhibited at Design Miami/ Basel. The fair has always been a destination for private collectors, museum curators, and aficionados of design and architecture but this year’s selection was considered by many to be of an even higher quality than previous years."

"The presence of a number of top design collecting institution curators on the show floor throughout the week has certainly underscored the sense that Design Miami/ Basel is a place to encounter the most important work in the market, a number of notable works make this clear."

/ Galerie Jacques Lacoste/ Diego Giacometti, Chambre a LivresMarc Barbezat, famed publisher of existentialists like Jean Genet, commissioned Diego Giacometti in the late 1960s to create this extraordinary bookcase for his home. Giacometti holds a particularly strong place in the market and this piece captures all the hallmarks of his work, its rarity and provenance unparalleled.

/ LAFFANOUR - Galerie Downtown/ Jean Royère, Ours PolaireThe Ours Polaire chairs are possibly the most recognizable of all Royère pieces; this pair is particularly special due to the color and upholstery, which is most likely original. The nails that pierce the upholstery throughout are consistent with those used in the original production — similar pairs at auction have recently sold for over half a million dollars.

/ Galerie Patrick Seguin/ Jean Prouvé, Maxéville Design OfficePatrick Seguin has worked for two years to restore this important structure, which was Jean Prouvé’s personal design studio in the early 1950s. The building had been forgotten and subject to a variety of fates, but luckily remained virtually intact until Seguin discovered it.

/ Demisch Danant/ Pierre Paulin, Élysée BookcasePierre Paulin was commissioned to redesign a number of rooms at the Palais de l’Élysée, the official residence of the President of France, for Georges Pompidou in the early 1970s, resulting in some of the most iconic design work of the time. Made of a then high-tech acrylic resin called Altuglas, this futurist Élysée Bookcase is thought to be one of only two that were ever made, the original of which is now part of the permanent collection of Le Mobilier National.

This year's sales highlights include a wide variety of works ranging in value from USD $1,000 to over USD $2 million:/ Caroline Van Hoek: Sold works by Gijs Bakker, Giampaolo Babetto, Hermien Cassiers, Daniel Kruger, Nadia Morgenthaler and Lavinia Rossetti/ Galerie VIVID: Sold five works by Ettore Sottsass/ Cristina Grajales Gallery: Sold several works to new collectors from Poland, China and Italy/ Gallery Japonesque: Sold the Zazen Stone Tea House, Meditative Alcove by Masatoshi Izumi & Koichi Hara from the Design at Large program/ Galerie Jacques Lacoste: Sold the Diego Giacometti, Chambre a Livres./ Elisabetta Cipriani: Sold Ai Weiwei's Rebar in Gold./ R & Company: Sold a Joaquim Tenreiro table./ Galerie Philippe Gravier: Sold Kengo Kuma's Owan from the Design at Large program and Claude Parent’s Les Îlots from the Gallery Program.

Design at Large/This year's Design at Large anchored the fair’s entrance with monumental works that go beyond the traditional gallery booth, with an emphasis on nature and outdoor living curated by Martina Mondadori Sartogo, invited guests to interact and explore unique ways of living with design. The program featured installations by Alexandra Kehayoglou, Tom Price, Kiki van Eijk, Ron Arad, Jean Prouvé, Kengo Kuma, Masatoshi Izumi & Koichi Hara, Enzo Enea and DIMORESTUDIO. The exhibition provided a perfect introduction to the Gallery Program through its mix of contemporary and modern works from across the globe. Christian Larsen, Associate Curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art shared: "Allusions to nature were a strong trend in the 2016 edition of Design Miami/ Basel. Whether understood as a generative force for organic forms, or as a precious endangered resource, nature was a font of inspiration for many of the featured designers. Their products--whether the sensuous rounded wood of Scandinavian and Brazilian design, or the technological avant-garde of 3D printing, or handcrafted intricacies--demonstrate how design heightens our appreciation and awareness of our environment."

Swarovski Designers of the Future Award/This year’s Swarovski Designers of the Future Award was presented to a group of emerging new talents tasked with the challenge of designing for future living and betterment in a holistic, adaptable and personal way. German-Icelandic duo Studio Brynjar & Veronika created unexpected moments of beauty using natural light almost in conversation with crystal; sound artist Yuri Suzuki presented a crystal ‘orchestra’ installation that explored sound through crystal while creating interesting visual and light effects; while glass artist Anjali Srinivasan offered an installation in which visitors were invited to interact with an elegant glass and crystal wave made up of touch crystals, standard crystals, Srinivasan’s own blown glass and sensor LED connectors.

Design Talks/Highlights of the 2016 Design Talks program included Andreas Ruby discussing how architecture is viewed and experienced beyond the walls of a traditional museum with SO-IL's Florian Idenburg, and Berlin-based Kuehn Malvezzi; Basel’s own Christ & Gantenbein talking about contemporary architecture in dialogue with historic structures in a conversation with Wallpaper* editor in chief Tony Chambers; and designer Andrea Trimarchi of Formafantasma, rug maker Alexandra Kehayoglou and jewelry designer David Bielander in a conversation moderated by Christian Larsen, Associate Curator Of Modern and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Satellites/Design works by Zaha Hadid have been a strong presence at the fair over the past decade. To mark the architect’s passing earlier this year, Design Miami/ Basel honored the groundbreaking architect and designer with a special presentation by Zaha Hadid Architects showcasing her latest innovative work in the field. Originally planned as a Curio designed by Hadid herself, her untimely passing spurred her eponymous architecture firm to expand the concept in honor of her memory.

For the first time, the fair played host to collectible vintage cars. Hess Classic showcased masterpieces of Italian automotive innovation from the 1950s to the 70s from the company's private collection. A non-commercial exhibition, the display elicited interest and positive responses from visitors to Design Miami/ Basel 2016.

Guest curator of this year’s Design at Large program Martina Mondadori Sartogo – founder and editor in chief of Cabana Magazine – collaborated on Design Miami/ Basel’s eclectic 2016 graphic identity, which was characterized by diverse prints, geometric shapes and bright, bold fruit and floral graphics that are a main feature of Cabana magazine.

More food-for-thought came courtesy of Berlin bookshop do you read me?! who returned to Design Miami/ Basel with a pop-up packed with all that is most beautiful in print.

Collectors Lounge/ Kuehn Malvezzi with Artek and Kvadrat/Architects Kuehn Malvezzi were commissioned by Artek and Kvadrat to create the Collectors Lounge at this year’s Design Miami/ Basel. The Berlin-based studio has a strong background in museum and exhibition design and their lounge celebrated the interplay of design, art and architecture. The space was dressed with Artek’s Kiki collection, upholstered in new fabric designs created by Raf Simons for Kvadrat. Designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara in 1960, the Kiki designs are based on a metal tube framework and were a favorite among Modernist architects in Finland during the 1960s. The upholstery is part of the the third textile collection created by the Belgian fashion designer for Kvadrat and explores the stripe in varying degrees of graphic boldness, drawing inspiration from Modernist furniture, pop and contemporary art, fashion textiles, and music.