Saloni 2013 |  A full interview with Daniele Lago

The designer talked with SID students at the fair in Rho

MILANO.  We meet Daniele Lago in the stand of his company. Lots of people around him – design lover Marco Columbro among them.

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Daniele, what have you done this year at Salone?

We’ve made a lot of things: Lago was subdivided into 3 locations, the first one is the stand where we present the new products and the partnerships related to our interior projects.

What kind of new products?

Not just furniture: for example, we also designed upholstery. We developed a wall paper that seems illuminated by light, but actually it simulates the entry of light.
We also presents a range of objects made together with a network of Italian craftsmen.

Where are the other locations?

It’s our apartment in zona Brera: we’ve organized 2 workshops there, making it a sort of lab: on one side craftsmen and makers build every day the range of objects, on the other side we launch a community of architects at an international level.

Do you have an idea you want to give to young designers and students?

To me, design means to have an idea of the World, so first of all young people must understand what kind of world they want. Once they did it, they can think at new processes, products and services.

A lot of culture and a global idea of how the world works?

I always suggest to dig into you and to understand what you want to do once adults. In this period of historical crisis I think it’s fundamental being able to re-think the whole world. The rest is just details.

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20 years 20 questions |  Federica Fulici

“Irony and neatness in my research of self-produced golden jewels”

VENEZIA.  Federica Fulici is one of SID graduates of the first Master in Industrial Design, held by Scuola Italiana Design in 1991/1992. She told us what she’s doing today, in particular about her project “Abbassa la Cresta”, developed in 2008.

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1. Name and Last name?
Federica Fulici.

2. Name of the project?
Golden ring “Abbassa la Cresta”.

3. Your best own strenght?
Curiosity.

4. Your “best” own weakness?
A latent anxiety.

5. Favorite movie/book/software/genre?
 “The Lives of Others” is the movie. The book is “The Wall” by J.P. Sartre. Software: Rhinoceros.

6. Journey still to make?
It’s called Far Oceania and it includes Micronesia.

7. Where do you live and work now?
My main office is in Venice.

8. When did you graduate at SID?
It was the year of foundation of the school, so it was full of that enthusiasm of new adventures and experimentations.

9. Is there a story at SID you remember with pleasure?
Many years have passed, but I can tell that a friendship born during the Course led me to win the 1992 Young&Design. A classmate of mine gave me a project for a new CD holder, in order to renew the products range of his furniture company.

10. Scuola Italiana Design for you... in three words!
The beginning of an adventurous path. I came from a degree in architecture. The School let me pass “from the city to the spoon”; in that period I used to deal with urban systems at the University.

11. A word of advice to those who are experiencing the school now?
Never leave research and study, Design is not a performance which end in itself.

12. A provocative question: why is your project more beautiful that others?
Because it’s the final result of a personal research on the general concept of “jewel” and because the simplicity of the product refers to an idea of “preciousness” given by the quality of the project and by the thought which produced it.

13. What is it? Tell us like we don’t know anything at all.
It’s not a technologically complex object, but it’s a “ring”, a decorative element for your body, so it’s easy to understand it. It’s an unique ring which can deform and make the decoration and the support formally continuous.

14. And now, describe it again trying to convince us to buy in up to ten words.
It’s an easily portable object (the relationship with the hand has been verified by the project), and it’s made with gold: as we know, it’s always a safe investment!

15. How did you get the idea to develop this project?
“Abbassa la cresta” is part of a jewels range born from a line of research I did a few years ago. I was interested in the exploration of the world of jewelry design by discovering the features which distinguish it from the Art Jewel. The final result was a range of products characterized by a certain simplicity of the shape, but also by a kind of ironic message, which I think belongs to my personality.

16. Have you dedicated it to someone?
No one in particular, but its name lends itself to some ironic reference.

17. How do you feel to be in the top 40 SID designers 1991-2011?
To be the top is always a pleasure, of course!

18. Your next project?
I am working on radiant equipments. It’s a new field, with interesting design developments.

19. Almost at the end: where are you going at the end of this interview?
In Micronesia, of course!

20. A quote to close in effect?
Put your certainties in danger.

• Read the previous interview: Luca Centofante

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Where there were trains... today the ideas flow

The history of High Line told by Antonio Padovan

NEW YORK, USA.  Manhattan west side is historically characterized by an industrial development despite the rest of the island is busy of offices and flats. Here there were the great factories of New York City, the heart of a city which was growing at a frantic pace at the beginning of the last century.

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1. The origins: Penn Station

Today, most of those factories and stores have become lofts, luxury flats, and the great spaces free from the assembly lines have hosted the most important art galleries of the USA.
Once in this area was the glorious Penn Station, one of the two railway stations which connect the Island to the rest of the American continent - once was the Beaux Art palace, today is still in full swing, but entirely buried under the Madison Square Garden.
In the 20s this station was the beginning of the High Line, a railroad suspended 10 meters abouve the 9th Avenue, where trains loaded with food and goods ran.

Before High Line, freight trains ran on rails at street level. The number of accidents caused by the coexistence of cars, pedestrians and trains was so high that the stretch of 9th Avenue was renamed “mile of death”. Before building the High Line, the city even tried to hire men on horseback to warn pedestrian of the passage of the trains (the 9th Avenue Cowboys).

The new and expensive high railway connected the station with the major factories of the West Side (most of them had tracks crossing their second floor, where the private platforms for loading and unloading were), the meat market (today it’s the Apple Store) and to SoHo stores (today a great shopping centre).
The massive infrastructure would become the urban masterpiece of a limitless city.

2. The end of an era

However, a few years laters, train was replaced by trucks for commercial transports.
After 30 years, 75% of the goods in the USA traveled on the road and the High Line, gradually less used, was closed and partially demolished. The remaining part for years was lying along the two kilometers, south of Penn Station, inside and outside the various building, as a huge dead snake. Rusty.

Over the years, the nature regained its space, and the seeds carried by the wind gradually gave rise to an unbelievable vegetation, which prospered wild over the old rails, just a few meters over the heads of unsuspecting New Yorkers.
Towards the end of the 90s, the city collected sufficient funds to complete the demolition, began more than 50 years before.

Two friends, living in this area and fans of the old railway, had the idea to turn the High Line in the first elevated park of the world… that was what nature has done for years without any incentive!
In 2011, after long legal battles against the city and billions of dollars spent in donations for the work, two thirds of the new park were opened to the public. The whole work should be completed by 2015, for a 2 km total, from 14th Street to 34th Street.

3. The rebirth: High Line Park

The new design (as for every public New Yorkers work it won an online completion voted by citizens), highlights the history of the park by keeping the details of the old rails, and follows the ideas Mother Nature had: the rich flora changes through the season, always turning  the most beautiful promenade in New York City for many.

Meanwhile, West Side has become the favorite destination of the great IT companies, and also of the best restaurants and art galleries. The largest building in New York, few steps away from the High Line, hosts Google East Coast headquarters, and a few weeks ago the company “gave” free WiFi to the whole district. eBay, Amazon and many other small and big IT companies moved near the High Line, transforming the area in one of the trendiest districts in New York.

Where once were the trains laden with goods, today it’s a wonderful green park where ideas flow.


Antonio Padovan


Know more:

• High Line official website
  
• An interview with Antonio Padovan
  

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Valentine... e le altre, Olivetti's typewriters of 50s-70s

A presentation video of the products on display in Padua

PADOVA.  Massimo Malaguti, curatore of the exhibit Valentine... e le altre, presented the products on display at the Cultural Center San Gaetano for Scuola Italiana Design. It was a journey among the typewriters and calculators that represent some of the masterpieces of Italian design.

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Know more:

• Presentation of the exhibit
  

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The philosophy of Sebastian Bergne's products

In this video he shows what “design with heart” means to him

SAINT-ÉTIENNE, FRANCE.  In Saint-Étienne, France, Biennale Design 2013 proposes “Design with heart”, an exhibit curated by the industrial designer Sebastian Bergne. On that occasion, Bergne recorded a video where he explains what design with heart means to him.

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Within the exhibit you can find new design products which have in common transcend issues of style or aesthetics: some are distinguished by a spirit of “generosity”; others are products with the power to create a sense of community; still more stand out because of their innovation or their sheer beauty.

However, we want to focus on Bergne’s video, in which he tells his design philosophy by showing some of the products he has designed over the years.

It’s a roundup of objects which can be inspirational, sometimes because of their poetics, as for the special crib Colour Nativity, otherwise because of their functionality, for example Corked, a wine container that doesn’t need a funnels for refilling.

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Know more:

• Sebastian Bergne’s official website
  
• “Design with heart” at Biennale Design 2013 in Saint-Étienne
  

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Universe design: the house on the moon comes true

Foster + Partners won the contest by the European Space Agency

LONDON, UK.  The European Space Agency launched a design competition of a lunar base. The winning architects studio is Foster+Partners. Here’s what they designed.

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The dome has a simple structure to be built, based on the 3D printing and using the lunar dust as a material. The main feature of this material is to endure the fall of meteorites and gamma rays.
«We are used to designing for extreme climates on Earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials. Our lunar habitation follows a similar logic» Xavier De Kestelier (Foster+Partners) announced.

The prototype is ready. It’s made of basalt dust from Italy, that is 99,8% similar to lunar sands. The work was made by the 3D printers, whose application has grown during last years. «3D printing offers a reduced logistics from Earth» Scott Hovland (ESA) confirmed. Enrico Dini, founder of the company which produces the printers, Monolite, adds the time advantages: «We’re working on printers which should attain 3.5 m per hour, completing an entire building in a week.»

The lunar house is simple to build, and this is the main reason for which it won the price.

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Material of the Month |  Modern Paintings? With milk and eggs!

The 100% natural paintings are healthy, breathable and eco

PADOVA.  Paintings are often toxic because of their artificial substances. Anyway, there are some alternatives which derive from milk, egg, natural oils: this month Matech show us the 100% natural painting.

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ID

Name: 100% natural painting

Family: Pigments/Additives, Surface Treatments, Naturals

Technical-functional Properties:

• Breathable
• UV Resistant
• Biodegradable
• Antibacterial
• Energy Saving
• Bio-Based
• Low Emission

These natural paints replace the traditional petrol-based raw materials with natural components for essential  elements such as binders, fillers, pigments, processing aids and solvents.

Compared to standard paints, obtained from chemical synthesis, these products guarantee higher healthy level for people living in painted rooms and for industrial operators. The natural materials used in these paints are milk, beeswax, egg white and yolk of egg, starch, greases and oils, extracted from citrus fruits and medicinal plants, all elements of ancient painting techniques.

In order to increase their preservation time, these products are stabilized in pH level (from 3.5 to 6) and in the bacterial load through the introduction of vinegars, essential oils, citric acid lime and propolis. This preservation system is patented in Europe and US.

Pigments, that are responsible of colours in paints, come from soils found in Italy, Provence or Cyprus; in this way, it’s possible to get new colours, unknown by tintometers, overcoming the possibilities offered by acrylic based pigments. The final product, with specific weight of 1.200 kg/l, offers greater breathability than standard ones, allowing the wall to resist moisture and mildew.

All raw materials come from surplus agricultural materials or scraps (as expired milk), contributing to the recycling of waste. The main field of application is building for painting of indoor or outdoor walls, but also furniture renovation.

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Edited by Matech

• Read the last material of the month: Ideas for Xmas? The luminous textiles!

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Innovation in gadgets: product ideas for work breaks

The cigarettes holder cup and the smartphone holder dish

NEW YORK, TOKYO.  Design in everyday life: let’s see a couple of funny products which should (conditional is a must) become useful in hectic work routine.

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Solo & Sola (photos 1-3)

The first one concerns two bad habits that usually people who work too much have: coffee and cigarettes. The traditional break has been rethought by Tomorrow Lab, a design studio based in New York City. They designed a coffee cup whose handle has a hollow tube. In this tube you can put the cigarette to be smoked after the coffee. Do it responsibly!

Ramen Bowl (photos 4-5)

The second one can only come from the Far East. Have you ever eaten alone at lunch, just in company with your phone? At last, with this kind of plate you can keep your smartphone standing in front of you, to facilitate use and reading while you are bound to chew.
The concept is by Miso Soup Design, a studio based in Tokyo that has already made several prototypes, without yet communicating neither the cost nor the date of market launch.

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Daniele Lago attended Impresa Docet: the video

Our graduate in Milan at the series of meetings by ADI

MILANO.  Impresa Docet is the initiative by ADI which puts in contact design students, companies and professionals. The third edition has almost reached its conclusion, so we’ve chosen to show you one of the meeting that took place.

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It’s the meeting with the closest company to us, Daniele Lago’s one, graduate of ours in 2001.
The designer/entrepreneur shows us some of the best satisfactions of his innovative company. He makes us sense the straining eye to the future and the search for new paradigms because, as Lago says, “When you’re innovating but your ideas are already clear over the next three years, then you’re too slow”.

The video has been recorded by UltraFragola, the official channel of the initiative.

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20 years 20 questions |  Luca Centofante

What is SID for me? Fundamental, fascinating and enjoyable

BASSANO DEL GRAPPA (VI).  Luca Centofante, born in 1981, is one of the successful designers SID selected for its first 20 years anniversary. His marketed product we show you is the lighting fixture DNA, designed in 2007 for Bertoldini Group.

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1. Name and Last name?
Luca Centofante.

2. Name of the project?
DNA.

3. Your best own strenght?
I’m versatile.

4. Your “best” own weakness?
My friends suggest: sex and bad habits addicted!

5. Favorite movie/book/software/genre?
Let me think about movies: 007, Matchpoint, Ocean’s 11 and sequels, Desperate Housewife, Masterchef and many more that I can’t remember now...
There is no book in particular, and no software: they’re just tools.

6. Journey still to make?
I went back from Paris to Italy. At the moment I stay there, I will see in one year.

7. Where do you live and work now?
I’ve been in Bassano del Grappa for one year, but again: I will see in one year.
Regarding my job, I mainly work in North Italy, adding some foreign clients.

8. When did you graduate at SID?
I can’t remember exactly! I suppose almost certainly in 2005.

9. Is there a story at SID you remember with pleasure?
Sorry, the stories I remember with the greatest pleasure cannot be told in this interview!

10. Scuola Italiana Design for you... in three words!
Fundamental, fascinating and enjoyable.

11. A word of advice to those who are experiencing the school now?
Take care of what you do, and of yourselves.

12. A provocative question: why is your project more beautiful that others?
I rebut: beauty changes over time, good ideas don’t.

13. What is it? Tell us like we don’t know anything at all.
Well, you take a luminous tube and draw a random shape around it. After 100 sheets of papers, pick up one of them and give it a sense in order to make it beautiful and useful to those who’ll pay you.

14. And now, describe it again trying to convince us to buy in up to ten words.
Functional, poetic, efficient, decorative, durable and well made in Italy.

15. How did you get the idea to develop this project?
I was looking for a light able to suggest a strong relationship between technology and poetry.

16. Have you dedicated it to someone?
No, I haven’t.

17. How do you feel to be in the top 40 SID designers 1991-2011?
To tell the truth, I expected it a little. Certainly I thank those who remembered me, hoping to exchange what the school gave me.

18. Your next project?
We’re working on some global patents for safer and more efficient hobs.

19. Almost at the end: where are you going at the end of this interview?
Already finished?! I was having fun! I don’t know where I’m going now... perhaps to the store Calzedonia, because there is a pretty girl working there.

20. A quote to close in effect?
Design is useless if we can’t understand it.

• Read the previous interview: Andrea Maragno

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