The Difficulties of Freedom of Choice

As planned in the program the days after we went visiting on Friday 16th Chiorino Tannery and Aurora, on Saturday 17th Saw and on Monday 19th Webert and Neve Rubinetterie.

On Tuesday we had the very difficult process of connecting the designers to the companies.

Here the list:

Aurora Due Srl (TO): pens, leather goods, paper / Brit Leissler – Germany

Cappellificio Cervo – Barbisio (BI): hat / Henny Van Nistelrooy – Holland

Carcerano Spa (TO): creative engineering / Christian Rodda (Carcerano Creative Engineering) – Italy

Chiorino Tannery con Zani del Frà (BI): leathergoods / Andrea Artusio – Italy

Gabbianelli – Altaeco Spa (BI): ceramics tiles / Natasa Perkovic – Bosnia Erzegovina

Birra Menabrea Spa (BI): beer / open to all designers

Neve Rubinetterie (NO): taps / Federico Piccinini – Italy

PMA Design (TO): creative paper and cardboard industry and enterprise promotion / Laura Fornoni – Italy

Saw Srl – Style Around the World (BI): contract furniture / Alejandro Vasquez Salina – Colombia

Serralunga Srl (BI): vases, lights, furniture / Tomas Alonso – Spain

Webert Srl (NO): taps / Andrea Plebani – Italia

The Last Week

Last week we left some spare time for the designer for meeting the companies once again before going back home.

So, Andrea A. went to Milano to meet Federico Chiorino of Zani del Frà and a couple of time to the Chorino Tannery in Biella. Henny went twice to Cappellificio Cervo. On Thursday Natasa to Gabbianelli and Alejandro to SAW (actually he is coming back in July for developing more directly with them), Brit to Aurora and Tomas to Serralunga on Friday, 23th while Federico and Andrea P. were going to the Tap Companies: Webert and Neve Rubinetterie, both close to Novara.

In this week we also met more experts/designers:
Tuesday, 20th

Angelika Burtscher and Daniele Lupo from Lungomare Gallery, started in 2003 as an experimental platform, Lugomare is a space where different disciplines can work together: from design, architecture, urban planning, art and theory to cultural production and sociopolitical issues. The aim is to question the relation between design and art and its physical, social and political environment.

Wednesday, 21th

Malagigi Edoardo, internationally renowned designer of sustainable furniture and objects – with specific reference to Montessori nursery schools and Professor of Design at Fine Arts Academy in Florence (Italy). Recentely he has been involved in the state-run overhaul of nursery school furniture design in South Korea. Professor Malagigi also manages the international outreach programme of the Fine Arts Academy of Florence, and is Artistic Director of the children in need charity Bambini In Emergenza.

Finally the workshop ended up on Saturday May, 24th with the opening of Art at the Center Turning Point Architecture.

Meeting Ross Lovegrove

May 15, 2008

It has been a honour having an expert like Ross Lovegrove for a session. It was very interesting listening to his energetic talk about the trust in the power of organic design and his inspiration by nature are becoming essential topic for gathering the pragmatic of the beauty together with the functionality of the objects. As well as watching concrete products realized thanks to his ability in blending high tech with the natural world.

Michelangelo Pistoletto himself took part at Ross’ public presentation. In fact Michelangelo already had the possibility to introduce to the designer his view about the power of art in catalyzing the Social Responsible Transformation in the Society, by introducing the Third Paradise concept. This is the way to survive and create a balance between the First Paradise (nature) and the Second Paradise (the artificial world).

All this topics go under the necessity of Turning Point in front of old fashioned ways of approaching the creativity by searching new paths.

That day was very intense: we had more than 3 hours Ross’ talk with the designers of the workshop during the afternoon: from 4.30pm to 7.30 pm. Then we extended the opportunity of meeting Lovegrove to the public, with another speech of 1 hour just before dinner. And we kept talking all together with him during and after dinner in the Cafeteria up to Midnight.

All this could be happening specially thanks to Maria Cristina Didero, responsible for Vitra Museum Italy, who joined us as well. Thanks indeed!

ROSS LOVERGROVE – Bio
Born 1958 in Cardiff, Wales
Lovegrove graduated from Manchester Polytechnic with 1st class BA hons industrial design in 1980.
Master of Design of Royal college of Art, London, 1983.
In the early 80’s he worked as a designer for Frog Design in West Germany on projects such as walkmans for sony, computers for Apple Computers, later moved to Paris as a consultant to Knoll International, becoming author of the highly successful Alessandri office system.

Invited to join the Atelier de Nimes along with Jean Nouvel and Philippe Starck, consulting to amongst others Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Dupont.
Returning to London in 1986 he has completed projects for amongst others Airbus Industries, Kartell, Ceccotti, Cappellini, Idee, Moroso, Luceplan, Driade, Peugeot, Apple Computers, Issey Miyake, Vitra, Olympus Cameras, Yamagiwa Corporation, Tag Heuer, Hackman, Alias, Herman Miller, Japan Airlines and Toyo Ito Architects, Japan.
Winner of numerous international award, his work has been extensively published and exhibited internationally including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum New York, Axis Centre Japan, Pompidou Centre, Paris and the Design Museum London – where in 1993 he curated the first permanent collection.
Lovegrove was awarded the world technology award by Time Magazine and CNN in November 2005.
www.rosslovegrove.com

Too busy

17. May 2008

We are all too busy to have time to write on the blog. Every day we are around to visit companies, to meet experts,…
We always arrive back at Cittadellarte late at night quite tired – so no fresh brain left to start writing about the day just spent. But on some days we will have some time to go on with our impression about the workshop. We are almost at the end of the visits. Yesterday we went to S.A.W. – Style Around the World.

Visiting the Companies

14. May 2008

Today we visited the fourth and fifth Company: Gabbianelli Ceramics and Cappellificio Cervo.