““The idea of Western architecture and art as an infinite repetition of recurring archetypes belongs to Aby Warburg, one of the fathers of contemporary art criticism; a theory according to which symbolic meanings are hidden in the details, and connections, contaminations and kinships can always be traced in the details.
Since childhood we have been attracted to fabrics. When we were asked to design a collection using the jacquard loom technique - designs that are not printed but woven with warp and weft - we complied immediately and happily.
A work that enhances detail and the sensoriality of detail: rich and stimulating surfaces that dress our homes, surfaces that tell a three-dimensional story like the stories told by fantastic architectures, whose softness ignites the tactile and caressing desire.
A game of perception in which each of the three fabrics takes on the role of a fundamental figure of the architecture - stairs, windows, walls, turrets - like the projection of a magic lantern. And as happens in a dream, bringing the fabric closer to the gaze reveals the hidden face through the story told by the details of what seems but is not, of what appears and could be… as in fairy tales and games, as in the dreams of a sleeping baby.
A delicate and gentle game of appearances in which the skilful use of materials, colours and finishes makes the architectural three-dimensionality even more evident."
This is the description of ARCHITRAME, the collection of jacquard fabrics results from the collaboration of l'Opificio with the Lanzavecchia + Wai studio, made by the designers themselves.
A game of perception in which each of the three patterns in the collection, Stairs, Towers and Facades assumes the role of a fundamental figure of architecture.
ARCHITRAME, for the small geometries of Scale and Torri, is a damask with a rich and precious hand thanks to the skilful silk effect finishing.
ARCHITRAME Facades, on the other hand, is a lampas with two textures, with a large-scale design that takes its cue from the contemporary architecture of skyscrapers, enhancing their vertical development and graphic modularity.
10 colour variants proposed for Scale, 7 for Torri and 3 for Facades: from aquamarine to pearl, gold, copper, turquoise to fire and black to which are added three further variants Papavero, Tuareg blue and Bruno.
Who are Lanzavecchia + Wai?
LANZAVECCHIA + WAI is a creative collaboration between Francesca Lanzavecchia and Hunn Wai.
To them, being designers means being researchers, engineers, craftsmen and story-tellers all at thesame time.
Wai hails from the south-east Asian island state of Singapore, educated as an industrial designer at theNational University while Lanzavecchia received her BA in Product Design from Politecnico diMilano, Italy.
They began their cooperation at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, where both graduated with Masters in Design under the direction of Gijs Bakker, co-founder of DroogDesign.
Lanzavecchia’s main interest lies in the relationships objects have and can have with the human body and soul as well as having a fervent eye for future trends. Wai is fascinated by the collisions and fusions of materials, meanings and forms. Their cooperation is based on those focuses and having hailed from two very different countries and cultures, they attempt to feed off each other’s backgrounds, knowledge and skill-sets to fuel lateral thinking and agile tangible application.
Design projects to them are research journeys characterized by the pursuit and selective employment of different design disciplines and professional competences, to be curated, cross-bred and nurtured into concepts and products that propose possibilities and inspire new perspectives. Lanzavecchia + Wai have collectively garnered attention and accolades in major design platforms such as the SaloneSatellite ,Fuori Salone and the Triennale Design Museum in Milan (IT), MAXXI – the National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Rome (IT), DepotBasel (CH), Interieur Kortrijk (BE), IMM in Cologne (DE), Tokyo Design Week (JP) and Beijing Design Week (CN).
Their work have also been represented and promoted in internationally renowned periodicals like *Wallpaper, Newsweek, FRAME, Flash Art, Form, Metropolis, ICON, DAMn, Items etc… Their work spans from limited editions for galleries and museums, to mass products for major companies, to special commissions for brands like Alcantara, Samsonite and Mercedes Benz. Lanzavecchia + Wai was officially established at the end of 2009, during a 3-month residency, as part of the Time to Design – New Talent award, at the Danish Art Workshops to realize their inaugural collection “Spaziale Series: New Expressions of Skin and Structure”. Their recent accomplishments include being featured by Newsweek as one of the “Designers of the Future”, in June 2012, and shortlisted for”. Wallpaper* Design Awards 2013 – “Life-enhancer of the Year” for their MonoLight table lamp.
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