Ferruccio Laviani is an architect, designer and curator with extensive experience in product design, as well as interior design, art direction and graphics. Born in Cremona and then moved to Milan, he graduated from the Milan Polytechnic in 1986 after attending Achille Castiglioni and Marco Zanuso’s courses. He immediately started working at Studio De Lucchi, of which he became a partner in 1986 and left in 1991 to open his own studio in Milan.
But what are the latest novelties seen during the recently concluded Milan Design Week?
Here is a brief overview of all the collections and displays curated by Ferruccio Laviani.
PRODUCTS
Mara
ELLE Bookcase
Ferruccio Laviani designs the ELLE bookcase for Mara, which is characterised by a metal structure composed of three self-supporting vertical elements that can be placed linearly side by side. The product takes its name from the ‘L’ shape of its shelves, thanks to which the bookcase can take on infinite customisation possibilities: the shelves can in fact be arranged in a regular manner or rotated ‘upside down’ to create double-height spaces, thus adapting to different needs. ELLE is designed to be a system in constant growth and variation: it can be enriched over time with the addition of new elements and change its layout as desired and according to need. In this way, from a bookcase, ELLE becomes a true furnishing element that adapts to different environments (from the office to the living or dining area) and various uses (storage, shelving or partition). Available in different colours, from monochrome to customised combinations, ELLE adapts easily to any furnishing style. Transversality is the distinctive feature of this project, which fits perfectly into the philosophy of the products in the MARA catalogue, designed to offer versatile solutions suitable for multiple uses.
Kartell
Luce Lamp
Luce is a floor lamp that was born from a sign or, better, from that gesture we used to make when we were kids by stretching the top of a piece of plasticine with our fingers. Luce comes in two different versions to adapt to different environments (from home to office) and tastes: the first has a spherical diffuser, ideal for those seeking an intimate and tranquil atmosphere, but without giving up a decorative touch. The second, with a more technical and contemporary diffuser design, is perfect for those who prefer a more modern and minimalist style. The name ‘Luce’ evokes the essentiality of its design, simple yet archaic, reflecting the timeless nature of this lamp.
Teresa lamp
Teresa is a memory that becomes an object, as Ferruccio Laviani recounts: “The photograph of a sea anemone, depicted in one of the many books at my parents’ house, has remained so impressed on me because of its shape and colour (or perhaps just because the image was so saturated as to become almost hypnotic) that it often comes back to my mind and somehow becomes the beginning of a project”. This table lamp presents a simple appearance in its linearity defined by a base cylinder surmounted by a toroidal reflector, where cuts of light mark its circumference, becoming either completely neutral in the totally opal model, or very lively in the coloured versions.
Bellissima lamp
The Bellissima lamp, born from the collaboration between the designer and the company on the occasion of the Salone del Mobile 2024, gets a makeover, transforming its shade into a height-adjustable floor lamp, which makes it versatile and capable of fitting into any corner of the home. This novelty has the ability to retain the simplicity and functionality of the original lamp, while adding a unique character of great versatility thanks to the lampshade’s wide range of finishes.
llulian
Symi Carpet
Symi represents a painterly gesture that transforms the sign from manual to digital, replacing the canvas with the iPad to become, in turn, a tactile surface made of warp and weft.
Tatam carpet
Tatam is inspired by the simplicity of the Berber carpet revisited in contemporary decoration. The stroke, with its childlike mark, describes its shape and design, defining and delimiting its surface almost in a dreamlike way.
EXHIBITION PROJECTS
KARTELL \ Stand Design “Urban Horizons Crafting Spaces for Living”
Ferruccio Laviani designed the stand for Kartell at the recently concluded Salone del Mobile 2024. The project showcases the set of iconic monuments and buildings of the Lombard metropolis, rendered by a succession of large graphic surfaces that together create a new futuristic city skyline. The stand, therefore, creates an original blend of modern design and historical references that offer a unique experience to the visitor, where the graphics enhance not only the products but also the concept of colour, which has always been one of the distinctive elements of the Kartell catalogue.
MARA \ Stand_Transcendence: the Fusion of Living and Working Spaces
In designing Mara’s stand at the Salone del Mobile, Ferruccio Laviani says: “To interpret Mara’s philosophy, I thought about the best context in which to display the various collections, whether already in the catalogue or newly created, emphasising the transcendence that makes each project versatile and transversal. The result is an exhibition space that draws inspiration from contemporary architecture where the elements that compose it, in particular the interior partitions, use materials such as wood and pressed cardboard that, in addition to being natural and eco-friendly, become the chromatic language through their neutral and warm tones. An ‘inside/outside’ created by the structure itself, which describes its volume without making it a closed solid, instead characterising its façade and lightening its visual impact. The stand is well delineated but is at the same time an open space according to a constructive choice that leaves the visitor free to follow the internal path along which the various projects are presented, without ever having the sensation of feeling ‘enclosed’ within the space.
Foscarini \ Installation Spazio Foscarini Monforte
The Spazio Foscarini in Corso Monforte in Milan, on the occasion of the Milan Design Week, is rethought in four distinct “episodes” according to Ferruccio Laviani’s layout. The first one involves the street level and then extends to the lower floor representing the HABITUS research, in collaboration with the artist and designer Andrea Anastasio, where different directions in the world of light are explored by creating an uncontaminated space, a white cube, where the only protagonists are the projects on display and the videos made to narrate the design and production steps of the works. This is followed, again on the lower floor, by a video installation by Francesco Meneghini who, with images, narrates the technological evolution of the Spokes lamp by Garcia/Cumini, introducing the version with dual ignition. Finally, there is a review of the latest lamps in the Foscarini catalogue next to the wall dedicated to the new volume celebrating the company’s 40th anniversary entitled ‘For some it may simply be making light: Foscarini 1983/2023’.
