The project investigates the potential of matter and surfaces based on the concept of double
On the occasion of the Milan Design Week 2024, FENIX® – together with the Broadview Holding brands: Arpa®, Formica® and Homapal® – presents the Design Duo Double Feature project, curated by Federica Sala and hosted within the spaces of FENIX Scenario, in Foro Buonaparte 66.
Design Duo Double Feature is a work of exploration that investigates the multiple potentialities of materials and surfaces starting from the concept of double: six pairs of designers have been invited to design furniture elements with a double use, created by combining FENIX® materials with the other brands of the group. The products will also be presented in the ‘scenario’ of a double installation – indoor and outdoor – created by the design duo Studioboom.
“It has always fascinated me how, in architecture and design to a greater extent than in other disciplines, several creative couples are active. A creative couple, whether only in their professional life or also in their private life matters little, must necessarily exercise the difficult art of dialogue and mediation in order to be able to synthesise the input of two different heads into a design solution. To illustrate the extreme versatility of FENIX®, on its own or combined with other materials, we have therefore decided to multiply the heads involved in the project in order to stimulate lateral thinking and, consequently, double projects: in form, function, transformation…”
Federica Sala
Selected by curator Federica Sala, CARA \ DAVIDE, DWA Design Studio, Martinelli Venezia, Næssi Studio, mist-o and Zanellato/Bortotto will create objects that explore new multifaceted functions by playing on transformability, mobility, sustainability and versatility.
As a preview of the project, FENIX presents the Match table designed by Martinelli Venezia, which interprets the concept of doubles through colour, function and irony.
The round shape and cylindrical base recall the classic dining table, while the central folding of the top transforms the object into a ping-pong table, suggesting the idea that at the end of the meal diners can challenge each other to a match.
“When we were involved in the project, the aim was to offer a new vision of this material with its multiple properties, and the theme of the curve seemed an interesting point of view. The alternation of the two colours used accentuates the concept of duality present in the object in a play of dynamic contrasts: function/disfunction, conviviality/rivalry and formal/informal.”
Carolina Martinelli and Vittorio Venezia
Match thus refers both to the idea of play and challenge and to the combination of colours and materials. The table top, as well as the base and rackets, alternate between two different colours of FENIX® – Malé White and Namib Red – while the construction process of the object suggests different possibilities of combining FENIX® with materials such as wood and metal. In fact, the table-tennis ‘net’ was created by exploiting the characteristics of a multifaceted material like FENIX®, which can be curved to create soft shapes.
For FENIX®, the project became an opportunity to explore, together with Italian and international designers, the field of furniture design, proposing unexpected uses of surfaces and novel solutions.
From 15 to 21 April at FENIX Scenario in Foro Buonaparte 66, Milan
