From contract to residential, along a pathway of gentle lines, without sudden accelerations, forming an intentionally slow, persistent curve, crossing the territory and also speaking from a feminine standpoint, to represent a role that is never just a case of déjà vu.
When IFDM published the new collections of laCividina, we went so far as to state that Federica Biasi represents a bridge between contract and home applications. Is it true?
Absolutely. In fact, laCividina plots its future in collaboration, between myself and the art director Luca Botto, and the choice of Federica, a woman with a passion, splendid in her ways yet humble in her approach, has met the need to have a woman’s touch, which actually – in the past – has been supplied by Constance Guisset and Nina Mair. Federica Biasi has a soft touch we truly appreciate, an added value, also for the retail side.
How did you start working with Ben van Berkel?
Contrary to what people might think, since Ben and UNStudio are seen as oriented towards large works of architecture, both external and indoors, last year with Ben a project began that connects home and work. The lifestyles triggered by Covid have prompted Ben to rethink domestic spaces as places of work. The result is Node+, a very technical project, but with flexibility of composition that permits a dual vocation: traditional domestic and domestic for work. Of course Node+ has a very recognizable style, which already – on its own – implies a selection of potential customers. A project for those who like to organize spaces in their own homes. And Timo by Federica Biasi can be seen in coordination with Node+, also in the official photos.
How much time do you devote to finding designers, and how do you move in this area?
In the early phase we work on two separate planes. The projects we propose are the result of a brief, of an in-house study to understand what the market wants, and what the company is not offering in that moment. Our briefs are very detailed, and the designers to whom we show them are always impressed by the completeness and depth of our documentation.
In a second phase, we think about the designers who have an approach in tune with laCividina, and also in terms of character can work in harmony with the company, following the thread we have in mind. The two personalities have to grow in empathy, and the designer has to know how laCividina works, also in technical terms. It takes a long time. We never consider proposals for a “catalogue” type of product.
We divide designers into two families: poetic and technical. The poetic designer arrives with a piece of paper and a drawing and says, “try this out, go ahead, then we’ll see,” and at that point our expertise comes into play, our heritage of making prototypes. The technical designer simplifies the development, starting from a very detailed initial phase. The differences between the two families are easy to see.
The form shaped for laCividina by Fulvio Bulfoni is of the type that can change over time, without ever losing track of its origins: nothing from the past is forgotten, and everything that is possible for the future is taken into consideration.
