Friedman Benda in New York is currently presenting Formation, the first US gallery exhibition by Italian design studio Formafantasma. Opened to the public on June 6th and running until August 1st, the show signals an entry into the American gallery landscape for Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, whose studio has built a reputation for research-driven work grounded in material and cultural investigations.

Comprising tables, chairs, and lighting made primarily from Cherry wood and brushed aluminum, Formation centers on the idea of the archetype, specifically the typical pieces that make up the language of the home. ‘One of the words that kept on emerging from our conversation with the gallery was the idea of the archetype,’ Farresin explains at the show’s opening in New York. ‘There is an element in this group of works, which is the plank. That’s the most basic archetype where you construct furniture. And that’s where the collection originated.’

installation view courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma | photo by Izzy Leung

formation: friedman benda becomes a living space

The works by Formafantasma are composed within Friedman Benda’s gallery to recall a living space, though it is intentionally reduced in language. The designers note that Formation makes no attempt at theatricality. Instead, there is an attentiveness to proportion and placement. Each element draws from the familiar forms of chairs, shelving, and tables without directly reproducing historical models. ‘We wanted to address the domestic environment.’

The lighting pieces serve as an especially pointed reflection on how archetypes evolve. Made with flat LED panels encased in wood and metal, they mirror the ratio and glow of laptops and mobile devices. ‘Instead of the bulb, the new archetype of lighting is actually the panel,’ Farresin notes, describing our changing archetypes. ‘The iPhone, the laptop. That is the lighting that affects most of our lives.’

installation view courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma | photo by Izzy Leung

Material conversations and cultural inheritance

The choice of Cherry wood is central to Formation. Sourced from a lineage of American cabinetmaking, the material speaks to a larger cultural inheritance. Trimarchi and Farresin reference the Shaker tradition, Frank Lloyd Wright, and George Nakashima, not just for their aesthetics but for the clarity of their values and their dedication to material truth. ‘The decision to work with Cherry wood is also a reference and an homage to a lot of American designers we love,’ he says. ‘The work has been informed by the fact that we are here in the United States, showing our work.’

Against the warmth of the Cherry wood, brushed aluminum appears cool and precise. More than formal, this contrast speaks to Formafantasma’s interest in how older materials might coexist with the language of digital culture. The two materials remain distinct, yet they are in constant dialogue across each object.

installation view courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma | photo by Izzy Leung

textiles in the domestic environment

Subtle textile elements appear throughout the exhibition as acknowledgements of domestic labor and memory. ‘A lot of textile work is often overlooked in the domestic environment,’ the designer continues. ‘I’m thinking about table linen. And white is very subtle. We thought it was beautiful to include that. It made us think about the work of the many women that informed our life.’

The inclusion of these textiles introduces a softer, slower register to the space. They draw attention to touch and surface, but also to the social histories embedded in fabric which have long defined the heritage of furniture-making.

installation view courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma | photo by Izzy Leung

installation view courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma | photo by Izzy Leung

installation view courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma | photo by Izzy Leung

installation view courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma | photo by Izzy Leung

installation view courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma | photo by Izzy Leung

project info:

exhibition: Formation

design: Formafantasma | @formafantasma

gallery: Friedman Benda | @friedman_benda

location: 515 W 26th St 1st Floor, New York, NY

on view: June 6th — August 1st, 2025

photography: © Izzy Leung, courtesy Friedman Benda and Formafantasma

The post formafantasma reflects on american domestic furniture archetypes at friedman benda NYC appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

On arrival at the Grand Palais in Paris, the contrast is immediate. Beneath the glass canopy of the Salon d’Honneur, a sweeping, pink, textile structure cuts across the historic setting with the ease of something entirely new. This is Fun Palace — an architectural and curatorial experiment designed by Studio Ossidiana and staged by the Centre Pompidou during its five-year closure. Named after Cedric Price’s legendary unbuilt project, the interactive installation rethinks how we gather, how we share space, and how collective life can be shaped by design.

Jean-Max Colard, Head of Programming at the Centre Pompidou, frames the event in both spatial and political terms: ‘We have this idea to explore a new form of assembly. It’s the pleasure of gathering, but also how we speak, how we come together in a space.’ The ten-day program at the Grand Palais, he explains, becomes a living laboratory, where each day is imagined as a room in an evolving architecture of thought, action, and intimacy.

The decision to invoke Cedric Price was not incidental. The original Fun Palace, imagined in the 1960s, proposed an adaptable cultural complex shaped by users, not hierarchies. Though never built, its ideas remain foundational, particularly for institutions like the Centre Pompidou. ‘Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers studied Cedric Price,’ says Colard. ‘This is a way of relaunching that utopian project.’

Studio Ossidiana transforms the Grand Palais into a soft, inhabitable structure | image © Centre Pompidou

soft palace: a textile landscape for collective life

Studio Ossidiana’s contribution for the Centre Pompidou installation, titled The Soft Palace, acts as both landscape and stage. It folds and spills across the floor of the Grand Palais like a garment, offering shelter, invitation, and unpredictability. Made of layered pink felt, the installation encourages barefoot wandering, reclining, and spontaneous use. Its informality is deliberate.

‘It became a sort of encampment,’ say Alessandra Covini and Giovanni Bellotti of Rotterdam-based, Italian practice Studio Ossidiana. ‘The temporary home of the Centre Pompidou while it’s being renovated. Because of time and labor constraints, all the elements are made of rolls. These can extend to accommodate changing programs.’ Visitors drift between talks and performances, often lingering in the folds of the structure itself, part of its spatial choreography.

The soft materiality is central. ‘We imagined a place where you could play, listen, discuss, or find a moment of privacy a few steps from a crowd,’ the studio adds. ‘We hope every visitor becomes both actor and spectator in the choreography of its daily life.’

The Soft Palace invites barefoot exploration where visitors can recline and gather | image © Centre Pompidou

virtually explore the grand palais with ‘nightcrawlers’ game

Elsewhere in the Grand Palais, another form of architecture unfolds — this time virtual. Nightcrawlers, a video game by artist Alice Bucknell, maps the building through the sensory logics of bats and flowers. ‘It’s a pollination simulator,’ Bucknell explains. ‘You’re either the bat or the flower, navigating underground root networks or flying through the halls. You collect charms using echolocation or electric pulses. Each one makes a sound. You and your partner play them back to each other like a musical score.’

The game is multiplayer and cooperative by design. ‘You can’t play alone,’ Bucknell says. ‘It’s about becoming attuned to someone else, without words. Pollination becomes a kind of duet.’ As players succeed in these musical exchanges, the architecture changes. French formal gardens slowly give way to wild, overgrown ecologies. ‘The more you cooperate, the more the palace transforms.‘

Formafantasma and Fernando Laposse contribute works that reframe relationships between material and society | image © Centre Pompidou

Amid these interactive works is a more meditative zone: a small, focused presentation of design pieces from the Centre Pompidou’s collection, curated by Olivier Zeitoun. These recent acquisitions underscore design’s capacity to assemble both materials and people. ‘We called it The Assembly of Objects,’ Zeitoun notes. ‘Each project here is the result of a collective process, either in how it was made or what it represents.’

Among them is FormaFantasma’s Cambio, which interrogates the timber industry through material storytelling, Fernando Laposse’s Corn Kumiko Cabinet, and Mash.T Deign Studio‘s Hlabisa Bench, a tribute to Zulu craftsmanship. Also on view are works by ibiyanε, whose poetic forms draw on diasporic memory and shared experience. ‘These objects are sensitive to ecology, memory, and postcolonial narratives,’ says Zeitoun. ‘Design becomes a tool for connection, for transmission.’

While the project is inspired by Cedric Price’s Fun Palace, this version is more tactile, more embodied. You sit in it. You nap in it. You echolocate in it. You play. Its strength lies in what it offers without prescription, It is an open architecture shaped by those who use it. ‘Cities aren’t born in beautiful solitude,’ says Alessandra Covini. ‘They emerge from conflict, negotiation, the mess of being together.’

Olivier Zeitoun curates a design assembly that functions as a tool of connection and knowledge transmission | image © designboom

Jean-Max Colard sees Fun Palace as an experiment in how we share space | image © designboom

with the two-player game, players explore a virtual Grand Palais | image © Centre Pompidou

Fun Palace builds on Cedric Price’s legendary unrealized vision | image © designboom

Studio Ossidiana | image © designboom

project info:

exhibition title: Fun Palace

location: Grand Palais | @le_grand_palais

on view: June 6th — 15th, 2025

host: Centre Pompidou | @centrepompidou

installation design: Studio Ossidiana | @studio_ossidiana

video game designer: Alice Bucknell | @alicebucknell

curators: Jean-Max Colard, Joséphine Huppert, Alice Pialoux, assisted by Daphné Carreras,
curators of The Assembly of Objects: Olivier Zeitoun, in collaboration with Iris Carton Eldin
head of design and industrial prospective: Marie-Ange Brayer
collection attachée, design department: Mathilde Vallée
production manager: Barbara Kugler
sceneographer: Celine Coffin
space manager: Charlotte Cochelin
artworks manager: Nina Genonceau
audiovisual management: Alexandre Lebugle,
stage management: François Pegalajar, Robin Vieville, Fabrice Pleynet
producer of The Soft Palace: Arguzia
interpreters: Marguerite Capelle, Caroline Ferrard, Adèle Hattemer, Yves Tixier
partnership coordination: Anaïs Izard, Camille Gorret

The post centre pompidou installs interactive pink ‘fun palace’ pop-up in paris appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

During the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, Formafantasma occupies Negozio Olivetti in Piazza San Marco with The Shape of Things to Come, an exhibition curated by the art critic Bartolomeo Pietromarchi. On view from May 8 to September 28, the show reopens and expands Ore Streams, the designer duo’s 2017 research into electronic waste, to confront the tech industry’s role in climate breakdown. Set inside Carlo Scarpa’s landmark modernist showroom for Olivetti, the exhibition builds a sharp conversation between design meant to last and systems designed to fail.

Negozio Olivetti, via Formafantasma

The Shape of Things to Come exhibition honors lasting design

Formafantasma’s original Ore Streams project dissected global waste flows and exposed the fragile recycling networks that trail behind our devices. Now, the research-based design studio turns its focus to planned obsolescence, the deliberate limiting of a product’s lifespan to drive consumption. Through a combination of design objects, 3D animations, and documentary films, The Shape of Things to Come lays out how the tech industry hides its environmental impact behind polished surfaces and invisible clouds. 

The exhibition borrows its title from H.G. Wells’ sci-fi novel, not to speculate, but to insist that the future is shaped by what we design now. If the tech industry continues to operate as if materials are infinite and waste is invisible, the consequences will be real, and already are.

Olivetti, once known for its innovation, durability, and commitment to socially minded design, offers a clear contrast to today’s throwaway culture of electronics. The company built machines that were made to last, both functional and thoughtfully designed, which reflects a deeper set of values. Showing the work in a space designed by Carlo Scarpa highlights this idea further. His interiors weren’t just decorative, they were built around a philosophy of design as a meaningful system. The Shape of Things to Come is also a rare chance to see contemporary work engage directly with one of the Italian architect and designer’s most iconic settings.

Formafantasma unveils The Shape of Things to Come exhibition

on view from May 8 to September 28, the show reopens Ore Streams | image by Luca Carli © FAI, via @negozioolivetti

the exhibition builds a sharp conversation between design meant to last and systems designed to fail | image © FAI

Carlo Scarpa’s interiors were built around a philosophy of design | image © FAI

laying out how the tech industry hides its environmental impact | Negozio Olivetti, via Formafantasma

project info:

name: The Shape of Things to Come

artist: Formafantasma | @formafantasma
location: FAI Negozio Olivetti | @negozioolivetti, Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy

curator: Bartolomeo Pietromarchi

dates: May 8th to September 28th, 2025

The post formafantasma takes over carlo scarpa’s negozio olivetti during venice architecture biennale appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

During Milan Design Week 2025, Formafantasma presented the fourth edition of the Prada Frames symposium, bringing together voices from across disciplines to explore the intersection of mobility, design, and the environment under the title In Transit. Reflecting the theme in content and context, the Milan-based design duo chose an unconventional stage for part of the talks: the Arlecchino Train — a mid-century electric train originally conceived by Gio Ponti and Giulio Minoletti in the 1950s.

With an exterior shaped by naval aerodynamics and interiors adorned with glass partitions, reclining armchairs, and panoramic lounges, the ‘Harlequin’ train has been meticulously restored by Fondazione FS Italiane. The Arlecchino has been reintroduced not only as a venue for the symposium, but also as an operational part of Italy’s rail network, maintaining its original 1950s design features. Read on to uncover the story behind this colorful icon’s return to the tracks. 

the Arlecchino Train | image courtesy of Fondazione FS Italiane

gio ponti’s vision for rail: a ‘total design’ approach

Architect and multidisciplinary designer Gio Ponti brought his architectural sensibility to every aspect of the Arlecchino. In partnership with Giulio Minoletti, the Italian visionary conceived the train as a form of mobile interior architecture, designing its carriages with the same intent and precision as a domestic or exhibition space. At the heart of this vision were the panoramic lounges at either end, encased in wraparound glass, transforming the journey into a cinematic experience. Above them, the elevated and recessed driver’s cab preserved the view and reinforced the train’s sculptural profile. Inside, Ponti’s approach balanced spatial clarity with expressive detail. Reclining seats in vivid velvet, translucent glass partitions, and a refined bar area reflected a postwar optimism. The train’s name, Arlecchino, was a direct nod to its vibrant color palette and theatrical presence.

the exterior is shaped by naval aerodynamics | image courtesy of Fondazione FS Italiane

from settebello to arlecchino

The ETR.250 Arlecchino was a streamlined evolution of the ETR.300 Settebello, also designed by Ponti and Minoletti. Built in 1960 by engineer Ernesto Breda, the Arlecchino maintained the same language of aerodynamic curves and refined interiors but condensed the format to four carriages rather than seven, making it more agile and economical to operate. Its inaugural journey—during the Rome Olympics—was from Bologna to Venice, reaching speeds of 187 km/h, a remarkable feat at the time. Ponti’s aesthetic innovations did not compromise performance; the design was as technically ambitious as it was visually striking.

the Arlecchino at Milan’s Central Station | image © designboom

preservation and restoration by fondazione fs italiane

After their introduction in the 1960s, four Arlecchino units were in transit. By the late 1990s, all but one of them had been dismantled. In 2013, Fondazione FS Italiane recovered the last surviving example, ETR.252, and began a decade-long restoration. The work was not just mechanical but deeply design-sensitive, aiming to preserve Ponti’s original vision while integrating modern safety systems. The interiors were rebuilt, with the original seating layout and upholstery patterns replicated using updated materials. The panoramic lounges, bar carriage, and color schemes were all restored with fidelity to the 1960 design, while hidden upgrades such as air conditioning, new lighting, and the Train Control System (SCMT) brought the train up to contemporary operational standards.

Even the structural restoration involved lifting the carriages, rewiring electrical systems, and restoring the supporting frame before reassembling the train with its original spatial logic.

the train was originally conceived by Gio Ponti and Giulio Minoletti in the 1950s | image © designboom

a design object in motion, and architecture in transit

Though no longer classified as a high-speed train, the Arlecchino continues to move—both literally and culturally. Its return to Italy’s rail network marks a rare case where a mid-century design object is not confined to the archive or museum, but reintroduced into public circulation.

By staging part of the Prada Frames symposium aboard the train, Formafantasma emphasized a broader idea: that mobility itself can be architectural. As much as the Arlecchino is a product of 20th-century innovation, its enduring relevance lies in how it frames landscape, movement, and design as a unified experience. From its vibrant upholstery to its aircraft-like silhouette, it remains one of Gio Ponti’s most dynamic built environments—one that still delivers, quite literally, on the promise of design in motion.

the train’s name, Arlecchino, was a direct nod to its vibrant color palette | image © designboom

the train features panoramic lounges at either end, encased in wraparound glass | image © designboom

the lounges transform the journey into a cinematic experience | image courtesy of Fondazione FS Italiane

reclining seats in vivid velvet complete the interior | image © designboom

vibrant color can be found both inside and outside the train | image courtesy of Fondazione FS Italiane

translucent glass partitions divide the spaces within the train | image courtesy of Fondazione FS Italiane

archival image of the interior of the Arlecchino | image courtesy of Fondazione FS Italiane

the train was designed in the 1950s and built in the 1960s | image courtesy of Fondazione FS Italiane

project info: 

name: ETR.250 Arlecchino
original design: Gio Ponti and Giulio Minoletti
restoration: Fondazione FS Italiane | @fondazionefsitaliane

event: Prada Frames 2025 – In Transit
curated by: Formafantasma | @formafantasma
dates: 6-8 April 2025

The post the history of gio ponti’s arlecchino train, home of prada frames at milan design week appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

From February 15 to July 13, 2025, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam is hosting Oltre Terra by Italian design studio Formafantasma. The exhibition is based on an ongoing research project delving into the history, ecology, and global dynamics of wool extraction and production, exploring its connection to the biological evolution of sheep. Oltre Terra, curated by Amanda Pinatih, showcases materials, objects, and technologies in a multidisciplinary exhibition design, enhancing the viewer’s experience.

The Italian exhibition title, Oltre Terra, draws from the etymology of ‘transhumance,’ combining the Latin trans (across, ‘oltre’ in Italian) and humus (ground, ‘terra’ in Italian). Transhumance describes the seasonal movement of livestock between grazing areas. Similarly, the idea of ‘crossing grounds’ reflects the exhibition’s transdisciplinary approach, developed through collaborations with designers, artists, anthropologists, evolutionists, legal experts, curators, shepherds, and farmers. While domestication has contributed to sheep’s evolution, these animals have, in turn, played a crucial role in human history through the production of wool—blurring the line between tamer and tamed. The exhibition explores the layered connections between humans and sheep, addressing the economic and ethical implications of extracting materials from living creatures.

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis – all images courtesy of Formafantasma and Stedelijk Museum

Oltre Terra reinterprets natural history museums’ settings

For the setting of Oltre Terra, research-based design studio Formafantasma reinterprets the traditional diorama, commonly used in natural history museums to depict static scenes from nature. Expanding on this concept, the exhibition features seven life-size reproductions of various sheep breeds, including the Dutch Drents Heideschaap, alongside documents, films, byproducts from production processes, and various types of organic matter. By integrating materials, techniques, and representations of living beings, the exhibition challenges conventional boundaries between humans and animals, as well as between products and biological matter. Extensive captions by philosopher Emanuele Coccia provide context, interpreting the interconnectedness of these elements.

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

transdisciplinary works by artists, evolutionists, shepherds

A central element of the exhibition is ‘Tactile Afferents,’ a video created by artist Joanna Piotrowska and Formafantasma, co-produced by Nasjonalmuseet and Fondazione In Between Art Film. The film explores co-domestication through the sense of touch, presenting it as both a tender expression of interspecies connection and a form of control.

Oltre Terra by Formafantasma also includes a woolen carpet by cc-tapis, woven from four different wool fibers sourced from twelve Italian ‘rustic’ sheep breeds. These coarser fibers, often discarded as low-grade material, are repurposed for applications beyond direct skin contact. Additionally, recycled wool bales by Manteco are integrated into the exhibition’s design. A catalog published by Walther König and designed by Studio Joost Grootens accompanies the exhibition.

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Joanna Piotrowska and Formafantasma, Tactile Afferents, 2022, Video still – Commissioned and co-produced by Nasjonalmuseet, co-produced by Fondazione In Between Art Film, creative producer Alessandro Rabottini © Joanna Piotrowska, Fondazione In Between Art Film, Formafantasma

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

William Henry Davis, Mr Healey’s Sheep, 1838 – Collection Lincolnshire County Council: Museum of Lincolnshire Life

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Formafantasma, seasonal transhumance from Austria to Italy, 2022, Val Senales, South Tyrol, Italy © Formafantasma | image by Alessandro Celli

Formafantasma, seasonal transhumance, 2022, Alagna Valsesia, Piedmont, Italy © Formafantasma | image by Gregorio Gonella

Formafantasma, manual selection of woolen rags at Francioni, 2022, Prato, Italy © Formafantasma | image by Alessandro Celli

Iron sheep bell with leather collar – Collection Dutch Open Air Museum

Steel sheep scissors – Collection Dutch Open Air Museum

project info: 

name: Oltre Terra

artist: Formafantasma | @formafantasma

concept, design: Andrea Trimarchi, Simone Farresin

Formafantasma team: Sara Barilli, Alessandro Celli, Gregorio Gonella, Hannah Segerkrantz
exhibition curator: Hanne Eide
carpet production: cc-tapis
wool bales production: Manteco
extensive captions: Emanuele Coccia
video ‘A Fala Das Cabras E Dos Pastores’: Alexandre Delmar

host: Stedelijk Museum | @stedelijkmuseum

dates: February 15, 2025  –  July 13, 2025

tactile afferents credits:
video production: Fondazione In Between Art Film (creative producer: Alessandro Rabottini), Nasjonalmuseet
authors: Joanna Piotrowska, Formafantasma

photography: Peter Tijhuis, Alessandro Celli, Gregorio Gonella, Ina Wesenberg

oltre terra collaborators: Annamaria Ajmone, Donatella Basla, Badger Bates, Luca Battaglini, Cristina Benaglia, Letizia Bindi, cc-tapis, Hamish Chandler, Elena Ciani, CNR Biella, CNR Lodi, Emanuele Coccia, Alexandre Delmar, Vinciane Despret, Claudia Gonzalez Viejo Duran, Ecomuseo della Pastorizia, Silvana Fiorese, Fondazione Zegna, Margarita Gleba, Tim Ingold, Anna Kauber, Lottozero, Manteco, Stefano Martini, Antonio Mauro, Ewan McEoin, Michel Meuret, Jenny Morton, MUSE Trento, Marco Paganoni, Joanna Piotrowska, Bruno Plati, Alessandro Rabottini, Lucio Rossi, Miriam Rubeis, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra, Nicolo Terraneo, Cinzia Tonetti, Federica Turri, Kari Weil, Tim White

catalogue design: Studio Joost Grootens
catalogue publisher: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König

The post formafantasma examines sheep’s layered influence on human history at stedelijk museum appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

At Milan Design Week 2024, Prada unveiled the latest edition of Prada Frames, an annual multidisciplinary symposium crafted to delve into the intricate interplay between the natural world and design. Curated by design and research studio Formafantasma, the event, housed at the historic Museo Bagatti Valsecchi, served as a platform for scholars and professionals across various fields to convene and engage in dialogue. The focal point of discussion centered around the theme of Being Home, exploring the nuanced perception of living spaces and private environments amidst the contemporary challenges of our time.

‘The first objective (of Prada Frames) is doing something that we feel is relevant and interesting. The second is to relate to the context that we are in — I don’t mean only the building, but the specific moment. This year, we thought it was relevant to address the house and the home, not just as a set of objects, but as a feeling of belonging and all the complex subjects that surround it,’ Formafantasma tells designboom. 

all images courtesy of Prada Frames

Room-by-Room Conversations curated by formafantasma

This year, Prada Frames (find more here) orchestrated a rich discourse with the collaboration of architects, designers, artists, scientists, and more. Delving into pressing global issues, discussions pivoted around housing affordability, displacement, gender dynamics, and the urgency of the climatic crisis. Yet, the symposium went beyond mere architectural considerations, viewing home as a nexus of relationships and politics. ‘It is our way to say that whatever we design is never only about the object but is also about how objects and things shape the world,’ Formafantasma explains. 

The whole symposium and its sessions were structured around the rooms of the Museo, with each respective discussion matching its surroundings. Design critic and author Alice Rawsthorn initiated each conversation by offering a historical context about each room, and then different professionals from unique backgrounds took the floor, to reflect on the setting in their own way.

‘All the rooms allow you to talk about very interesting subjects. The bathroom is about privacy but also bodily functions. Somehow, we think of this to address the infrastructure of delivering resources such as water. In the living room, we went beyond just understanding the home as architecture. We looked at planet Earth as a home for all of us and talked about how, in this moment, we are struggling because of the climate crisis. We try to address subjects that make sense for the different typologies of spaces,’ Fromafantasma shares. 

the event was housed at the historic Museo Bagatti Valsecchi

Past and Present: The Significance of Museo Bagatti Valsecchi

Formafantasma (find more here) deliberately selected the 18th-century Museo Bagatti Valsecchi as the venue for the talks due to its historical significance and expansive scale. Notably, it was among the first residences in Milan to boast electricity and a shower, marking a pivotal moment in history. This juxtaposition between past and present serves to contextualize contemporary challenges within a historical framework, stimulating deeper reflection. ‘Since we are talking about the challenges of today, we thought it was interesting to relate it to the past and its challenges,’ the Milanese practice says. ‘It is a contradictory choice. But sometimes that contrast can stimulate thinking.’ As Formafantasma tells us, the main aim of the talks is to enrich design culture by emphasizing its role beyond aesthetics. The event seeks to underscore design’s capacity to shape our reality and highlight the responsibilities it entails.

For those who were unable to attend in person, Prada Frames talks will be released as a podcast series, ensuring accessibility to a wider audience and furthering the discourse on these crucial topics.

Prada Frames is curated by Formafantasma

the focal point of discussion centered around the theme of Being Home

design critic and author Alice Rawsthorn initiated each conversation

Formafantasma selected the 18th-century Museo Bagatti Valsecchi due to its historical significance

different professionals from unique backgrounds took the floor, to reflect on the topic in their own way

reflecting on the venue of the talks, Formafantasma says ‘it is a contradictory choice. but sometimes that contrast can stimulate thinking’

some of the sessions featured pre-recorded interviews from renowned creatives

‘all the rooms allow you to talk about very interesting subjects,’ says Formafantasma

the symposium explored the perception of living spaces amidst the contemporary challenges of our time

project info: 

name: Prada Frames
curated by: Formafantasma
location: Museo Bagatti Valsecchi
dates: 14- 16 April 2024

The post prada frames by formafantasma explores home beyond architecture at milan design week appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Research-based design studio Formafantasma landed in Stockholm’s 2024 Furniture Fair as a Guest of Honor, adorning the entrance hall with a sweeping installation dubbed Reading Room. Expanding into a 61-meter elliptical space, with 350 meters of textile hung as a four-meter-high pink curtain, the project welcomes visitors into a contemplative space furnished by Artek. The bright and light setting encourages one to sit for a moment, read, reflect, and immerse themselves in the ideas that have shaped Forma Fantasma’s work and vision — namely, using design as an agent for social and ecological change. ‘I want a place where people can sit down and expand their thoughts and see things they probably haven’t seen before. It’s a way to bring people out of what they think design is,’ the studio’s co-founder Andrea Trimachi tells designboom. He even highlights that, for once, it is not products that take center stage at a fair but rather transformative knowledge, ideas, and visions for the future.

image courtesy Maharam

spotlighting the ecological impact of design through wood

Since its inception in 2009, Formafantasma has made it its mission to rethink and challenge our current understanding of materiality of how things are produced and reused. But unlike mainstream design thinking, the starting point was never sustainability but ecology. ‘We talk about ecology because it is about the environment. It is about being connected to a specific context. Sustainability implies that you are sustaining something and not actually changing it. It is all too much connected to the economic system in which we live. Ecology is different; it’s science. It implies a complete restructuring of thinking around different actions,’ Andrea shares with us. In light of that, the Reading Room reflects on the studio’s ecological mindset, aiming to encourage an engagement with nature on a systemic level rather than just focusing on products. He emphasizes the importance of people connecting to the design, all while understanding its source materials, possibilities, and problems. 

the Reading Room comprises 350 meters of pink textile hung as a curtain | image courtesy Maharam

Crossing the pink saturated Gemma textile by Sander Lak from Maharam, visitors of the Stockholm Furniture Fair discover wooden seating and tables from the Artek Forest Collection. The furniture is created jointly with Formafantasma to pursue reduced environmental impact by embracing wood’s natural variation including knots, insect trails, and color shifts, thus utilizing more of each tree. On the tables, Reading Room by Formafantasma offers a curated selection of books about sustainability, ecology and ecosystems, especially forests. An LED wall even displays two video works by Formafantasma. from its Project Cambio, highlight ongoing research that includes the extraction, production, and distribution of wood products. Completing the setting are a series of suspending lighting from Flos.

Formafantasma co-founder, Andrea Trimarchi inside the Reading Room | image © designboom

what happens next: circularity at stockholm furniture fair

In line with Formatantasma’s ecological thinking around design, the Reading Room itself is created with as much thought and care put into what will happen to it afterward as to how it has fulfilled its purpose during this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair. Following the week-long event, the books will be donated to design schools, including Stockholm University of the Arts and Beckmans College of Design. The wooden Artek seating and tables, on the other hand, will be resold as signed pieces at Nordiska Galleriet. ‘The exhibition speak about circularity in its own small way,’ concludes Andrea. 

wooden tables and stools by Artek, with books about ecology, forests, and ecosystems | image courtesy Maharam

formafantasma’s work invites contemplation and new ways of thinking | image courtesy Maharam

all objects, including books, will be donated or resold by Formafantasma | image courtesy Maharam

image © designboom

LED wall with two videos playing in loop inside the Reading Room | image © designboom

project info:

name: Reading Room

designer: Formafantasma (here) | @formafantasma

pink curtain textile: Maharam

wooden furniture: Artek 

lighting: Flos

program: Stockholm Furniture Fair 2024 | @sthlmfurnfair

The post formafantasma’s reading room invites reflections on ecology at stockholm design week appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

From May 26 to October 1, 2023, The National Museum of Norway in Oslo is hosting the exhibition ‘Oltre Terra. Why Wool Matters’ curated by Hanne Eide. In this exhibition, the Italian design studio Formafantasma delves into the intricate relationship between the extraction, production, and distribution of wool products and the fascinating biological evolution of sheep. Oltre Terra endeavors to redefine the approach to presenting materials, objects, and technologies in exhibitions by incorporating the indispensable contribution of other-than-human entities involved in their production.

The exhibition takes its name from the etymology of the term ‘transhumance,’ which originates from the Latin words ‘trans’ (meaning ‘across,’ or ‘oltre’ in Italian) and ‘humus’ (meaning ‘grounds’ or ‘terra’). Transhumant practices revolve around the seasonal movement of livestock between grazing grounds, guided by the availability of nutrients and resources.

all images by Nasjonalmuseet / Ina Wesenberg, unless stated otherwise

the co-evolutionary journey of humans and sheep

Approximately 11,000 years ago, a significant shift occurred in human society as hunter-gatherers adopted a more sustainable approach to interacting with sheep. Instead of indiscriminate hunting, they began to manage and selectively cull flocks, unintentionally initiating a fascinating process of co-domestication. This marked the birth of livestock and, over centuries, the evolution of the domestic sheep as we know it today.

‘The effects of this process, however, have never been solely unidirectional – that is, from humans towards animals. Rather, a complex co-evolution has taken place: if mankind transformed sheep biologically, through domestication and selective breeding, sheep have in turn powerfully shaped the course of human history by providing wool, nourishment, and guidance in territorial exploration, thanks to the practice of transhumance,’ shared the team at Formafantasma. 

image by Formafantasma

‘In the context of the exhibition, the idea of “crossing grounds” also reflects the transdisciplinary attitude that defines the show.’ The research for Oltre Terra has been an attempt at extensive dialogue and collaboration among diverse practitioners, including designers, artists, anthropologists, evolutionists, legal experts, curators, shepherds, and farmers.

The display presents a thought-provoking reimagining of the traditional diorama display. Typically utilized in natural history museums to depict static scenes from the natural world, this installation deconstructs the diorama concept. It incorporates six life-sized replicas of diverse sheep breeds alongside a collection of documents, films, by-products from production processes, and various organic substances.

By combining materials, techniques, and living organisms, Oltre Terra challenges the current categorizations that artificially separate humans from animals and products from biological matter. Complementing the exhibition, philosopher Emanuele Coccia provides detailed captions that offer an interpretation of these diverse materials and their interconnections.

image © Gregorio Gonella

image © Ina Wesenberg

image © Alessandro Celli

image © Gregorio Gonella

image © Gregorio Gonella

image © Gregorio Gonella

image © Gregorio Gonella

The focal point of the installation is the video named ‘Tactile afferents’, a collaborative work by artist Joanna Piotrowska and Formafantasma. The film is co-produced by Nasjonalmuseet and Fondazione In Between Art Film. The movie offers a distinct perspective on the show’s themes by centering on the sense of touch. It delves into concepts of co-domestication, showcasing both the delicate bond and affection between different species while also shedding light on its potential for aggression and harm.

The installation also hosts a woolen carpet produced by cc-tapis. This carpet is crafted from a combination of four distinct wool fibers sourced from twelve rustic Italian sheep breeds. While coarser wool fibers are typically disregarded as low-grade material, they find purpose in products that do not come into direct contact with the skin.

© Joanna Piotrowska and Formafantasma, Tactile Afferents, 2023, co-produced by Nasjonalmuseet and Fondazione In Between Art Film | still from the movie

Hall & Co., Snowdrop, Grand Champion Ewe of the Sydney Sheep Show, 1937, Sydney, Australia, photograph, mounted, paper

image by Formafantasma, Mammuthones, and Issohodes, 2023, Mamoiada, Sardinia, Italy, film

Seasonal transhumance in Val Sesia, Italy  © Formafantasma, 2023

project info:

name: Oltre Terra

design: Formafantasma | @formafantasma

location: The National Museum of Norway | @nasjonalmuseet, Brynjulf Bulls plass 3, 0250, Oslo, Norway

dates: 26th May 2023 – 1st October 2023

The post formafantasma’s ‘oltre terra. why wool matters’ explores co-evolution of sheep & humanity appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Tacchini has teamed up with Formafantasma once again to present a sustainability-focused project at Milan Design Week 2023, unveiled with an installation titled Tacchini FLOCK. The installation is curated by Formafantasma to showcase a new fabrication process that considers both tradition and contemporary environmental concerns. Four iconic upholstered seating options — including Le Mura, Costela, Five to Nine, and Lina — have been reimagined from the inside out to address sustainability and circularity of materials. This installation showcases the extensive research conducted by Tacchini and Formfantasma to create upholstery production that is more eco-friendly. Located at Milan’s Capsule Plaza, FLOCK will be on view until April 23rd, 2023.

‘We want to offer quintessential Tacchini designs with a new approach to upholstered stuffing, improving the products with a natural solution that supports small producers,’ say Simone Farresin and Andrea Trimarchi of Formafantasma.

image © Andrea Ferrari

traditional methods reinvented with sustainable approach

Unveiling its FLOCK installation, curated by design studio Formafantasma, furniture manufacturer Tacchini notes that ‘not all design revolutions are visible.’ Together, the team leads a new manufacturing process that combines traditional utilitarian practices with a more sustainable approach.

Formafantasma has reworked the upholstery of seating by introducing a sustainable, nature-based approach to produce iconic Tacchini designs. The technique is inspired by antique mattress production and involves using surplus sheep’s wool to replace industrial foam. Softness and stuffing is created with natural latex in combination with non-polluting sheep’s wool, a natural material that is usually considered a waste product.

image © Andrea Ferrari

continuing the heritage of tacchini

This new solution will premiere in seating designs that draw from Tacchini’s entire history, including the radical design classic of the Le Mura sofa by Mario Bellini, the Brazilian naturalism of the Costela armchair by Martin Eisler, the structurally ingenious solidity of the light-framed Lina armchair by Gianfranco Frattini, and the essentialist geometry of the Five-to-Nine daybed by Studiopepe. These designs are known for their lasting aesthetics and environmental considerations, both in terms of their manufacturing impact and longevity. Each design will be available with its traditional stuffing and the new wool and natural latex filling option.

Tacchini presents the project as a significant advancement in the manufacture of upholstered seating and to collaborate with the groundbreaking studio of Formafantasma in innovating new methods.

image © Andrea Ferrari

image © Andrea Ferrari
image © Andrea Ferrari

image courtesy Capsule Plaza

tacchini at salone del mobile

In addition to its FLOCK installation curated by Formafantasma, Tacchini has introduced its new 2023 products at Salone del Mobile. The brand is known for its cutting-edge furniture and continues to expand its catalogue with a new living philosophy focused on conviviality. With organic shapes and strong materiality, the newly unveiled chairs and tables include both historical masterpieces re-edited by architect Tobia Scarpa, such as the Sempronia and Dialogo chairs, as well as the unreleased T-Table, and contemporary designs by Lorenzo Bini.

In addition to these designs, Tacchini is collaborating with new designers such as Umberto Bellardi Ricci, EWE Studio, Salem van der Swaagh, and Brian Thoreen, and expanding their collections like Sesann by Gianfranco Frattini. Lastly, the Le Mura seating, which was launched in honor of Mario Bellini’s design 50th anniversary last year, is now available in a new color palette designed by Formafantasma.

Equinox and Solstice by Studiopepe | image © Andrea Ferrari

exhibition view at Salone del Mobile | image © Andrea Ferrari

project info:

installation title: Tacchini FLOCK

furniture brand: Tacchini | @tacchini_italia_forniture

curator: Formafantasma | @formafantasma

location: Capsule Plaza, Milan | @spaziomaiocchi

on view: April 18th — April 23rd

photography: © Andrea Ferrari

The post FLOCK: tacchini and formafantasma exhibit innovative use of sheep’s wool in milan appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The exhibition ‘Garden Futures’ at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany underlines the garden as a place of experimentation that enlivens a sequence of symbolism. ‘Gardens reflect identities, dreams, and visions’. They are spaces that awaken feelings, histories, and myths, are deeply connected with religion, fairytales, and romantic scenarios, but also are pioneering spaces that mark social and political developments, ‘where concepts of social justice, biodiversity, and sustainability can be tried and tested’. Designed by the Italian studio Formafantasma, the exhibition opens its doors to the public on 25 March and will run until 3 October 2023. 

‘Garden Futures: Designing with Nature’ seeks to explore the past of these vibrant, green sites and envisions their future with modern interpretations. The display features both historical and contemporary concepts, including artworks of designers, artists, and landscape architects — such as Alvar Aalto, Piet Oudolf, Alexandra Kehayoglou, Stefano Boeri, among others — who believed that the power of gardens could bring radical changes.

Céline Baumann, Parliament of Plants, 2020 © Studio Céline Baumann

‘Gardens are full of hope and promise’

From deckchairs to vertical urban farms, from contemporary community gardens to living buildings, the exhibition at Vitra Design Museum (see more here) uses various examples from design, everyday culture, and landscape to confront the viewer with the following questions: ‘Where do today’s garden ideals come from? Will gardens help us achieve a liveable future for everyone?’

A media installation articulated by works of diverse artists and architects — such as Hans Thoma, Georg Gerster, Athanasius Kircher, Gabriel Guevrekian, Barbara Stauffacher-Solomon, Alvar Aalto, Thomas Church, Vita Sackville-West, and Luis Barragán — welcomes the visitors at the start of the exhibition, designed by Formafantasma (more here). They conceive gardens as an idealized space that permeates our everyday lives and imaginations, a place that is profoundly linked with symbolic, philosophical, or even religious significance. 

The show’s second section highlights the values behind the gardens, affecting colonial history and cultural development. The colonial powers exploited their monopolies over important crops like tea or rubber. However, the invention of the Wardian case, which enabled the plant trade all over the world, played a central role in breaking these social inequalities. The nineteenth century also saw the flourishing of Guerrilla farming, striving to redefine ‘the garden as a place where social justice and public participation are actively negotiated.’

Julien de Cerval, The Gardens of Marqueyssac, France, designed in the 1860s Photo: Romain Laprade, 2020

The third part of the exhibition presents nine innovative garden makers from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, Dutch garden designer and author Piet Oudolf, author and gardener Jamaica Kincaid, artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman, Malaysian landscape architect Ng Sek San, Chinese artist Zheng Guogu and others.

The final section sees the future of gardens. Crossing an era of climate emergency, social injustice and isolation, and decimated biodiversity, the tomorrow gardens are unveiled as a place of healing, interaction, and knowledge. Argentinian artist Alexandra Kehayoglou created the walkable textile ‘meadow’, especially for the exhibition, in an attempt to accentuate the dramatic impact of the climate crises on timeless landscapes. Moreover, ‘Garden Futures’ hosts a six-meter scroll by architect Thomas Rustemeyer, which, alongside contemporary works, also includes traditional and indigenous practices, radiating the message that ‘the entire planet emerges as a garden that we need to cultivate, tend, and use responsibly.’

Piet Oudolf, Oudolf Garten on the Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein, 2020 © Vitra, Photo: Dejan Jovanovic

Julien de Cerval, The Gardens of Marqueyssac, Vézac, France © Laugery – Les Jardins de Marqueyssac, Dordogne, France

Piet Oudolf, Oudolf Garten on the Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein, 2020 © Vitra, Photo: Dejan Jovanovic

Derek Jarman, Prospect Cottage Garden at Dungeness, Kent, UK, from 1986 Photo: Howard Sooley, 1993

Liz Christy in a community garden, New York City, 1970s Photo: Donald Loggins

Stefano Boeri, Bosco Verticale, Milan, 2014 © Stefano Boeri Architetti, Photo: The Blink Fish, 2018

Stefano Boeri Architetti, Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest), Milan, 2007–2014 © Stefano Boeri Architetti, Photo: Dimitar Harizanov, 2020

Zheng Guogu, Liao Garden, Yangjiang, China, 2017, started from 2005 Courtesy of Zheng Guogu and Vitamin Creative Space

project info:

exhibition title: Garden Futures: Designing with Nature

exhibition design: Formafantasma | @formafantasma
dates: 25 March 2023 to 3 October 2023

location: Fire Station, Vitra Campus, Weil am Rhein, Germany

curatorial team:
Vitra Design Museum | @vitradesignmuseum: Viviane Stappmanns, Nina Steinmüller 
Nieuwe Instituut | @nieuweinstituut: Marten Kuijpers, Maria Heinrich

The post formafantasma’s exhibition at VITRA design museum delves into the past & future of gardens appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.