Archinect - FIDI NEWS

Conda Urban Bench System

2023-08-24T08:38:02-04:00

FLORENCE, ITALY - A Florence master graduate created an innovative piece of urban furniture as an entry to the 2022 Ro Plastic Competition curated by Milan’s Galleria Rossana Orlandi. The creator of the vigorous bench system is Egyptian designer Mohamed Hassan, a recent graduate of the Master of Furniture Design held by FIDI in Florence.

Hassan’s creation, aptly entitled ‘Conda’, was given honorable mention in the Urban and Public Design category which was open to both students and industry professionals. Made up of straight and curved segments that interlock, the system formulates a robust urban furniture made fully from recycled plastic. Coming from a traditional family of furniture fabricators in Egypt, Hassan also found himself compelled to address sustainable goals of the production process. The concept seeks to simplify assembly by reducing the design to a single cast element of one material.

The bench system alleviates the need for reinforcement or secondary fastener componen...

Molletta Chair

2017-09-13T07:47:17-04:00

FLORENCE, ITALY - When one thinks of a clothespin they associate it with doing laundry, not with an interesting and modern piece of furniture, until now. The latest design out of the Florence Institute of Design to be realized is the Molletta Chair by Hagar Bar-Gil. The chair was inspired by the clothespin or ‘molletta’ in Italian. Before sitting down in the chair there is a pause as one deliberates the stability of the chair. This is an affect achieved with the sharply angled and tapered legs of the chair which, according to Bar-Gil, are intended to make one "question the stability of the chair”.

Another major element that the designer wanted to highlight is the back of the chair’s backrest. The reasoning for creating a focal point at the rear of the chair is because dining room chairs are pushed against a table so the most visible part of the chair is the back. “The paradoxical assembly implied in the design was influenced by the irony of the "Anti design" movement originating in...

La Cupola (S)Gonfiabile a San Gimignano

2017-06-28T04:44:18-04:00

The Inflatable Dome, designed by arch. Lapo Binazzi, was featured at the ‘San Gimignano VI Culture Festival’ on Saturday June 24th . The dome, standing at 10 meters high, was displayed in the main square, Piazza delle Erbe adjacent to the city’s cathedra. ‘La Cupola (S)Gonfiabile’ was originally designed by the group UFO with Titti Maschietto and Patrizia Cammeo in the 1960’s but only brought to life in 2015 in collaboration with The Florence Institute of Design International (FIDI). The San Gimignano exhibit was the third installation of Binazzi’s Cupola, with previous locations being Villa La Sfacciata of Florence and in the town of San Giovanni Valdarno.

The dome using inflatable nylon materials in prominent bold colours is a 1:5 scale reinterpretation of Brunelleschi’s dome. Each installation creates a new display in the way the dome unfolds itself during the inflation process. The overwhelming size of the structure creates a new dialogue with the surrounding public space an...

TUSCAN ART REEMERGES FROM THE PAST

2015-12-16T11:19:31-05:00

Arezzo-One gray morning, a small sleepy town woke up to find the town square lively and invaded by color and movement. This is what happened to the citizens of San Giovanni Valdarno one moody, overcast winter day in Piazza Cavour when Architect Binazzi’s latest work, the 'Inflatable Dome', was exposed for the very first time to the general public.

Its idealization is not entirely ‘of today’, rather, it dates back to 1968 when the UFO’s, leading members of the Italian Radical Design Movement, began to idealize the construction of a replica of Brunelleschi’s Cathedral dome - the principal symbol of the Florentine Renaissance. This project’s ultimate goal was to continue and enhance the history of architecture. The tone was meant to be ironic and sometimes irreverent with regards to Florence’s historical and artistic apparatus but the project was revealed to be too ambitious for its time and ended in a standstill.

Similarly, in that year, another important project waned was lost in time...

PIXELATED COLOUR

2015-09-29T11:31:25-04:00

FLORENCE, ITALY—Radical design meets Minimalism in this wall unit system named ‘Pixel’. The unit gives the freedom of creativity; with a variety of colours the modular design provides an expression of emotions and endless combination of parts. The simple minimal design with aluminum tracks and wooden shelves has been executed with precision, combining design styles to create a unique shelving system, easily changeable to suit various needs and tastes.

The minimalist-cum-radical shelving unit was conceived by Annaisa Petri, a young Brazilian, who worked as an architect in Brazil before enrolling at The Florence Institute of Design International (FIDI). During her time in the intensive, year-long Master of Furniture Design programme, her artistry was guided by many talented architects and designers, including the distinguished professor Arch. Lapo Binazzi - noted for his commitment to the Italian Radicals.

The young designer wanted to unite two different design styles to create somethin...

TEST OF LIMITS

2015-06-11T03:22:00-04:00

A compact table named ‘Limits’ is a geometric play on folding materials and space. “Limits is a table that pushes our perception of physical and philosophical boundaries,” states designer Kim Koh. Formed entirely from flat triangles, the angles converge into slender joints making the parts appear weightless. Tapered joints and contrasting wood tones let the triangular planes appear independent from each other. The absence of any vertical edge distorts the sense of perspective, thus distorting the ‘spatial limits’ surrounding the table.

There are functional tensions created went the table is put into use. The symmetrical geometry of the table with cantilevered top creates a sense of ‘unbalance’ as if the center of gravity could shift when placing objects on top. This geometric unbalance is then resolved with the weight of the user’s belongings stowed within the lower compartments of variable sizes. The center compartment can be removed to give users more options and control over what...

ASSEMBLING SELF-REFLECTION Chair Provides Space For Introspection

2014-11-26T12:20:40-05:00

FLORENCE, ITALY— Daydreaming, reading or relaxing in a cozy chair is a traditional part of life. The latest chair design, developed at the Florence Institute of Design International (FIDI), encourages its owners to indulge in this personal time. The chair’s smooth, rounded corners give the chair a comfortable feel while the two-toned wood adds warmth, thus welcoming the transcendence that one might experience when reflecting in its seat. Yet, the heavy proportions convey a sense of purpose and identity, grounding the individual in the material present.

“It is a chair for spending time with yourself, disconnecting and reconnecting” says designer, Juan Ochoa. The design’s name, IO Chair, draws upon the word “Io” which means “I” in Italian and underlines the intended individual experience to be found in the piece.

Each owner is meant to have the opportunity to develop a creative connection with the IO Chair. In the six-step assembly of the chair, one sees and feels its creation. Made ...

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE IN FLORENCE, International Italian design school continues to grow with new degree

2013-07-06T14:29:16-04:00

FLORENCE, ITALY - Design students will now have the opportunity to complete a Bachelor degree in Design at one of Italy’s leading international design schools. For the first time Florence Institute of Design International will be offering a three-year Bachelor of Arts in Design entirely in the English language, right in the heart of historical Florence.

The design degree has received validation by the University of Chester in the United Kingdom to offer the BA(Hons). Enrolment for the degree opens June 20th 2013, and students can specialise in either Graphic or Interior Design. Announcing the new degree, FIDI Director Marc DiDomenico said, “The addition of the Bachelor of Arts to FIDI makes it one of the only design schools in Italy offering a European Bachelor degree in English” ‘The philosophy of FIDI is to provide a first-class facility offering the highest level of education and resources to design students around the world,’ Arch DiDomenico said. ‘The key is the diversity ...

ALTERNATINING COLOR CONCEPT

2013-01-31T10:57:25-05:00

ALTERNATINING COLOR CONCEPT
EOS armchair retouched with an intrinsic new color pattern

Florence, Italy- A new version of the EOS chair designed by arch. Leonardo Rossano, has been proposed with an intrinsic new color scheme. The chair produced by True Design of Padova, is named 'EOS' derived from the Greek goddess 'dawn' or morning twilight. The chair is designed for boardrooms, lounges and refined home settings. The EOS chair has been now retailored by young designer, Sara Arias, with a pallet of colors that express the chair's underlying structure. The new alternate version uses a multicolored fabric selection and was inspired by the chair's modular system. The chair was originally available only in solid color tones. This unique version was fabricated custom for the Florence Institute after a visit to the chair's factory.

The original EOS design has been available since last year in many bright colors, characteristic of the product selection of True Design. Until now...

RADICAL IDEAS TRANSCENDENT; A NEW GENERATION COLLABORATION BETWEEN 60’S ITALIAN RADICALIST AND UNDERSTUDY BECOMES REALITY

2012-07-13T04:21:06-04:00

FLORENCE, ITALY - The Jacobsen-Binazzi Shelving Unit is a bookshelf that originated as a class project between Prof. Arch. Lapo Binazzi and his Master Student, Bethany Jacobsen, but has since transformed into a tangible, colorful design of rectangular units that can be reconfigured by the user. The project, titled Conoscenti, was selected for production by the company Genesis International of Siena who was interested in discovering young emerging designers. Made of brightly painted MDF panels, the juxtaposing primary colors accentuate the innovative qualities of this adaptable object. “The piece became independently architectural, released from any dependency on a wall - meant instead to create or define space on its own. Open-ended cubes are suspended within the frame in a variety of volumes, which can be choreographed in a number of ways. The depths of each cube are varied to create a sculptural, multi-dimensional quality,” comments Jacobsen. The design was first displayed as a ...