ITALIAN JOURNEY- PROGRAMME 1

MILANO- AT THE HEART OF DESIGN

Milan is a Northern Italian city, and it’s Italy’s second largest.

Milan is the capital of Lombardy, and it’s at the heart of Italy’ s industrial, commercial and financial activities.

But it’s not just a very busy city, it’s also a world centre for avant-garde design. Young designers come here to find new ideas, to train, and to develop their own artistic outlooks.

James meets two of Italy’s most promising designers, Michele Pizzinato and Giovanni Grugman, and takes a special interest in their furniture and light fixings.

James: What’s your original concept for these objects?

Michele Pizzinato: Well, it’s a very simple one. You could almost do it yourself, create it on your own. In fact this object was made using a very sophisticated machine, the whole of this shape was cut from a single very large sheet of birch. The sheet measures 1,5 meters by 1,5 meters- we cut all these bits out of the same sheet and then assemble them together to make this chaise longue.

James:  These are really beautiful objects, but what is it about them that makes you different from other designers?

Michele Pizzinato: Well, we’re different because we’ve tried to adapt to the way in which people live today: interiors need to be more flexible, so we’ve come up with adaptable designs, like for instance these bookshelves here. A bookshelf is usually conceived of as a fixed, heavy object, full of books and stuck in the corner of a room. We’ve tried to think of it as an object which can be used to break up space- you can open it up, and make it larger if you like.

James: That’s incredible!

Michele Pizzinato: Now we’ve made it very big. So you see, you can prepare…

James: That’s perfect for a small flat and…

Michele Pizzinato: Yes, you can use it as a screen to divide your living from sleeping areas, and you can also fold it up and store it in a small space. You can do whatever you like with it, there are no rules, I mean the point is that it’s not in the way, you can use it in whatever way you like.

James: Yes, I see, I see.

Michele Pizzinato: When it’s closed all the shelves are on the same side.

James: It’s more or less like a screen, isn’t it?

Michele Pizzinato: OK, let’s have a look at this object. This is much smaller.

James: Oh, what is it?

Giovanni Drugman: Guess.

James: I don’t know. I really haven’t got a clue.

Giovanni Drugman: Look: you hang it on a wall like that. And then you slot your dishes into these holes.

James:  Are these two not the same?

Giovanni Drugman: No, they’re not. What do you think the difference is? Can you see?

James: I can’t tell!

Giovanni drugman: We’ve used two different types of varnishes. This one is synthetic and this one is  natural: it’s made with linseed oil. This varnish isn’t harmful either to the person who makes it or to the person who applies it. It can also be replaced easily: if it gets damaged you can reapply it easily. The synthetic varnish on the other hand is often used for mass produced objects because it has the advantage of drying very quickly. 

James: So it’s better as far as the customer is concerned. Is it easy to assemble?

Michele Pizzinato: Yes, it is. Some of our objects are pre-assembled because they don’t take up that much space. Larger objects come in parts and are easy to assemble. Here, for example, are some of the parts we use to make up a lamp. All you have to do is fold these sheets and slot them in together. This is a part of a lampshade. If you put all these bits together you get a lamp stand which you can then fix onto this solid base. It’s very light and when you switch it on it glows red.

Another rising star of Italian design is Paolo Ulian. His works are based on strong ecological beliefs. 

Paolo Ulian: Well, you could say I used recycled objects as a starting point for my work. For example I used ordinary household rubbish, like plastic bottles, to make things like this coat rack. I stuck the bottles onto a plank. 

James: Excellent! And it’s obvious you’ve used plastic bottles.

Paolo Ulian: You can tell what the objects were originally, but they’ve been transformed to become a whole new and almost unrecognisable object.

James: Well I must say, it’s beautiful.

Paolo Ulian: Yes, it is very special.

James: Has your work evolved recently?

Paolo Ulian: Well it’s slightly more refined, more focused, but it’s still ecological…

James: For example?

Paolo Ulian: Well my work is ecological, but it’s now also possible to have it mass produced. This lamp, for example, is made up of three different pieces. When you want to get rid of the lamp you can take it apart and throw all the bits away separately, and then recycle them. This is how it works: you assemble it like that. This is an ordinary bathing hat. There.

James: Excellent!

Paolo Ulian: And it’s used as a lampshade: you put it on the lamp like that. There, around this bit. Then you insert the lightbulb through the bottom.

James:  But doesn’t it get too hot?

Paolo Ulian: No it’s never too hot because it’s silicone, and silicone can resist temperatures of up to 160 degrees. So the shade is both durable and heat resistant.

James: And is this one more or less the same?

Paolo Ulian: It’s similar. It’s the same principle. This one also has a string, which acts as an internal decorative feature. People can design their own internal features. Look at these slippers.

James: What’s special about those slippers?

Paolo Ulian: They are perfectly ordinary slippers, except I’ve inscribed a text onto their soles. You can read it when you walk on a sandy beach: the slippers leave messages. The message is ‘whoever loves me, follows me’.

James: What a wonderful idea! All your objects are wonderful. Thank you so very much.

Paolo Ulian: No, thank you, thanks for coming. Ciao!

James: Bye!