More than an architecture studio, OFFTAMAT is a living organism: a contemporary cabinet de curiosités where design thinking is revealed, contaminated, and shaped within a fluid, experimental, and collective dimension. It is within this space,—a 3x3x3 metre volume conceived as a blank canvas, immersive device, and ever-changing stage, that BALERA comes to life, the new project by STUDIOTAMAT in collaboration with designer and ceramist Arianna De Luca for the brand Ninefifty.
As the second chapter of the OFFTAMAT format, BALERA is a collection of ceramic claddings and glazed terracotta light fixtures, entirely handmade, weaving light and decoration into a coherent, rhythmic, and finely balanced system. At its core is a 20×20 cm tile, which becomes the matrix for a modular language composed of curves, graphic signs, and bold geometries, interpreted in four chromatic palettes. Each piece, produced by Ninefifty in the tradition of Caltagirone ceramics, is unique—glazed, decorated, and finished by hand, the result of a collective design process.
The collection arises from a multi-voiced dialogue, where STUDIOTAMAT’s formal research meets Arianna De Luca’s Mediterranean universe of bold shapes, saturated colours, and rétro inspirations. The result is a project that unites the authors’ respective expertise in a shared design grammar, merging light, matter, and memory into a coherent vision.
The name BALERA pays homage to the visionary architect Dante Bini and his work Le Cupole in Castel Bolognese, a historic Romagna nightclub that became a symbol of a free and experimental era. Its spirit is revived in the site-specific installation, animated on opening night by a live set from Roman musician Steve Pepe, evoking the theatrical and vibrant atmosphere of Italian balere.
With BALERA, OFFTAMAT reaffirms its identity as both laboratory and stage: a hybrid space where the project unfolds as an open process, a meeting ground for disciplines, visions, and languages. Each intervention becomes a story in progress and a device of meaning, capable of turning ideas into experience.
CREDITS
Project: BALERA
Architects: STUDIOTAMAT
Location: Rome (RM), Italy
Year: 2025
Photographs: Ellerstudio / Luca Santini
