For the year’s most important design-world gathering, Calvi Brambilla have designed temporary works of architecture that, far from being mere booths, become places rich in meaning, to nurture contact with the public. Every project stands out for in-depth technical and stylistic research, as well as careful study of the finest functional and aesthetic solutions. The personality of each company is interpreted in keeping with rigorous guidelines and every concept – unique and original – expresses various design approaches with precision and creativity.
ADELE-C
An environment of warm, seductive tones, from soft cipria to rich cacao. The architectural enclosure is paced by a sequence of bands that border precise sections, each with one colour and one product. The connection created between space, colour and object triggers a space of suspension in which to linger, enveloped in the elegant but familiar dimension of the booth and the new developments on display. The colours, selected by the architects to complement those of the products, transform a graphic device into a spatial effect.
BAROVIER&TOSO
An installation that pays tribute to fire, a fundamental part of the production of blown glass, and a reference to the video art of Fabrizio Plessi. Visitors are welcomed into a setting that suggests the world of glass furnaces, where the dominant tones are red and black: in an itinerary winding through evocative virtual flames, they can discover the new creations of the historic Murano-based brand. The structure of the booth is divided into two parts: the reception to the left, followed by a zone of welcome dominated by cardinal red, and the display zone to the right, where the main colour is black. Tall semi-circular niches feature LED walls to screen videos of dancing flames. The glossy black floor reflects their glow and forms a contrast with the white curtains that are the backdrop for the new chandeliers in blown glass by Barovier&Toso.
FLOS An architecture composed of minimal but dynamic spaces to form a setting for products displayed like works of art. Visitors are greeted by a shady space containing poplars and grasses taken from the local agricultural landscape, an ideal context for the products of the Flos Outdoor collection, and are then invited to proceed through a sequence of situations, all with different spatial solutions. The pavilion, far from being a mere container, metaphorically reflects the intrinsic tension of the design research process. The walls seem to come alive with movement that makes them change, expanding or opening like curtains pushed aside by a gesture, giving the architecture character and expressive force.
OLIVARI An unexpected, surreal display landscape. A large, completely white room is subdivided by panes of glass with different degrees of transparency, on which rows of handles are hung in rigorous alignment at different heights, seeming to move like blades of grass in the wind. Transparency and light bring out the precision workmanship, the reflections and colours of the metal. The space can be explored along a double spiral path, from the outside to the inside, and vice versa. The visitor becomes an active part of the installation, immersed in an abstract, evocative and constantly changing environment.
PEDRALI
An installation based on geometry, structured in a three-dimensional reticular space inhabited by archetypal solids. Each volume contains a small stage to present one this year’s new Pedrali creations. The understated sets suggest the field of deployment of each product, also through extensive use of colour as a medium of expression.
PIANCA
Sober, contemporary elegance in an installation where the new creations of young talents of the world of design establish a dialogue with comfortable, functional domestic settings that stand out for their wide range of forms, colours and materials. The presentation – the result of painstaking research and attention to detail – aptly interprets the culture of this historic Veneto-based company in a balanced combination of tradition and innovation.
ZANOTTA
Upon entry, a striking work of architecture reveals domestic scenarios populated by figures in motion. The visitor proceeds along a path that opens onto various spaces, each containing the iconic furnishings of Zanotta in a careful arrangement of colours, forms and functions. Evocative and familiar places, with different atmospheres and characters, each containing an actor who performs a simple action that becomes poetic in its interaction with the furniture. The essential structure is punctuated by openings on the outside, which like windows display scenes of everyday life, with video projections inspired by the art of Bill Viola and Bob Wilson.
