newsletter 4-10 ingl_newsletter2 - Zanotta SpA

Happenings
Year 5 no.4
25 November 2010
ARTFUL
COMMUNICATIONS
The ultimate
website
Zanotta.it
is now online
Easily learn the latest
about Zanotta’s world
and products on the
web
p.2
FROM DESIGN TO
PRODUCT
Free
compositions
Jono, a set of
practical modern
furniture items for
free assembly
p.3
ON STAGE
Social and
environmental
responsibility
Consistency, quality
and transparency -
Zanotta’s
commitment to
both the environment
and people
p.4
WORLD
The value
of a utopian
attitude
Sustainable visions
and low-cost
technology:
the latest projects
by Bjarke Ingels
p.5
FOCUS
At the
project’s
service
The rapid evolution
of functional models
for industrial
design items
p.6
EXHIBITION
Mollino, an
extravagant
genius
An exhibition in
Cologne celebrates
the architect who has
left a remarkable
critical inheritance
of the present
p.7
NEWS
Exhibits,
events,
authors
Must see events in
the world of design
p.8
Jono, storage units
designed by Mika
Tolvanen for Zanotta
(2010). Steel painted
white, red or green.
A maximum number
of two elements at
most can be stacked
and locked with the
supplied magnets.

ARTFUL
COMMUNICATIONS
Happenings
no.4/10 p.2
The ultimate website
Zanotta.it is now online
An invitation for a highly dynamic, easy to grasp
discovery of Zanotta’s design world on the web.
The website Zanotta.it has been entirely revisited
and turned into a state-of-the-art user friendly
search tool. With its outstanding quality of
information and images, Zanotta.it accompanies
web surfers on a fascinating virtual tour
enhanced by refined, basic and easy to use web graphics and
communication. This has been achieved through a userfriendly
web browsing interface. Zanotta’s entire collection,
new products, protagonists of design, events, awards, exhibitions
and distribution network are interwoven to present
the company in an exhaustive and trendy manner.
www.zanotta.it has been designed as a concrete and exhaustive
working tool for easy consultation by those who seek
detailed insights into Zanotta’s world. It is a development
that, true to corporate philosophy, is keen on moving with
the times, ever innovative and aligned with the demands of
its interlocutors. The new website has been created to ensure
continuity of the idea of using the Internet not only as a
communication and image broadcasting tool, but also and
especially as a means of providing services and facilitating
relations with leading company’s publics, namely with consumers,
design enthusiasts, retailers, journalists, architects,
university researchers, etc.
The website is organized in sections, whose contents/information
can be accessed selectively by the various visitor categories.
Following registration, Zanotta retailers, journalists,
architects and other trade professionals will find dedicated
contents and services that are differentiated to meet
their diverse professional requirements. Very rich is the
download area for downloading hardcopy catalogues of the
Zanotta collection, the price list, technical fact sheets on finishes
and covers (fabrics, leather, cowhide, etc.), 2D/3D
drawings and high resolution photographs of all products in
the collection, the newsletter and press-releases.
Three of the new pages
inviting web surfers to
explore the Zanotta website.
Many “windows” packed
with new releases in the
collection, events, places
and protagonists of design.

FROM DESIGN
TO PRODUCT
Happenings
no.4/10 p.3
FREE COMPOSITIONS
Jono designed by the Finnish Mika Tolvanen, is a set of
practical and modern furniture items for free assembly.
Itry to create objects with basic lines that best perform
their function in home interiors, items that I would
personally use at home for a more functional and
pleasant decor effect. In the case of Zanotta’s Jono
series, instead of creating a single large storage unit,
I designed several of them, ensuring simplicity and versatile
features. The Jono kit can be assembled by joining a series of
separate elements. This makes the most of the space where
they are placed. What I like most about Jono is that it can
perform several functions without overcrowding the room with
its presence. I could define the series as a collection of metal
boxes that possess a character of their own!». The young
Finnish designer, who had the opportunity of expressing his
talent with Zanotta, has designed this range of seven metal
coloured storage units that can form either aligned, or freely
placed or “island forming” compositions, depending on the
space available. Jono elements can also be stacked (maximum
Photos and
sketches of the Jono
furniture series
designed by Mika
Tolvanen for Zanotta.
height two pieces), making the most of practical magnet
blocks that stabilize them in the chosen position. Describing
the birth of the series that is now published in Zanotta’s
catalogue, Mika Tolvanen specifies: «I produced numberless
sketches before reaching the final drawing. Then I removed the
superfluous, choosing only the essential components. Seven
years ago I already designed a metal table with interchangeable
elements; hence the idea of creating several basic geometrical
forms with different sizes and functions that could be freely
positioned without “structural cages”. Concerning research for
material, after running several tests on wide-ranging material
types, the 2/3 mm steel frame seemed the ideal one. It is easy
to both process and customize with colour by painting it.»
Jono is manufactured in steel painted white, red or green.
One element with single drawer can have a filing rack with
10 compartments. Magnets for blocking containers when
they are either stacked or aligned are supplied.
MIKA TOLVANEN
Born in Lieksa (Finland) in 1975, he graduated
at the Royal College of Art in London in 2001,
and opened his own studio in an old café in
Helsinki. He is also a member of Rehtigroup,
a collective Finnish body that was formed to
encourage design-oriented research. Tolvanen
designs consumer items, furnishings and
lighting fixtures for several international
clients. He started cooperating with Zanotta
in 2010 with the Jono series.

Happenings
no.4/10 p.4
ON STAGE
Social and
environmental
responsibility
«The great economic, social and
environmental challenges of the
current world demand deeper
commitment and a new integrated
approach to sustainable
development that must embrace all
corporate decisions and strategies.
We believe that every design,
productive and distributional activity
must be conducted with respect
for the environment, for the health
and dignity of the human race,
to guarantee future generations
the best quality of life».
This document was created to focus Zanotta’s
commitment toward the environment, and it
issues from the intention to “be part of” the
solution but also from the awareness of already
being one step ahead on the path of
sustainability. Zanotta -one of the most qualified
companies in the world of interior design and
project culture- has always manufactured
furniture items and accessories designed by
the best designers on the national and
international scene, in compliance with high
quality production processes and in total
accordance with environmental protection
policies. Convinced that a key requisite of
environment-friendly furnishing products is their
long life, Zanotta has always invested in factors
that ensure long lasting furniture items. Design
ranks first, a genuine added value that can
considerably contribute toward extending
product duration. It is mirrored by rigorous focus
on the basic principles of “good design” which,
to be such, must necessarily also be sustainable,
specifically disassemblability, ergonomics, choice
of recyclable, non toxic, non allergic materials
that do not rapidly become obsolete, and
performance of standardized product resistance,
functionality and duration tests. During the past
twenty years the company has gradually
implemented changes targeted at reducing the
environmental impact of its production systems
and processes. Respect for and development of
human resources, a typical trait of the
company’s cultural and production framework
since its foundation, are central in Zanotta’s
philosophy. Therefore Zanotta deems the
approach to sustainable production as a broad
spectrum commitment that is focused on
workplaces, production processes, products and
persons. Perfecting an environmental policy that
prevalently focuses on achieving the goal of
“zero emissions” into air, water and soil at the
production facility based in Nova Milanese is
pivotal in this framework. To achieve this goal
Zanotta has made considerable investments and
developed procedures that ensure minimal
environmental impact. Today this policy has
obtained the result that emissions produced by
the Zanotta production facility resemble those
produced by a normal home. Conceiving,
designing and experiencing workplaces with the
same care and protective attitude one has at
home summarizes this vision in a nutshell,
convinced that considering sustainable
development an essential factor means, in the
first place, applying this principle to the site of
personal operations and production.

WORLD
Happenings
no.4/10 p.5
Ibelieve in modernity that releases
buildings from energy dependency
once and for all,» says Bjarke
Ingels, the 36-year old Danish designer.
After working for the firm OMA
and creating PLOT Architects, Ingels
formed BIG- Bjarke Ingels Group, an original
combination of advanced territorial
analysis, playful experimentation,
social responsibility and irony. The
Biennial Exhibition in Venice awarded
him the Golden Lion in 2004. Ninety
professionals from 20 countries in the
world, young architects and landscape
designers, engineers, botanists, geologists
and experts in sustainable mobility
cooperate with him. The Danish pavilion
at Expo Shanghai, a small museum
of contemporary art with a dual spiral
and for which Ingels wanted the famous
statue of the Siren of Copenhagen is an
example of creative synergy. «We also
THE VALUE OF A UTOPIAN ATTITUDE
wondered what Denmark and China
have in common: the bicycle. Hence,
one thousand bicycles were sent to
Shanghai, and they are used by visitors
who make their way inside the Expo citadel».
The ideas of Ingels on architecture,
design and town planning are not revolutionary
but innovative and evolutionary.
«Cities form a landscape that differs
from all others, and they are often in
open contrast with nature. Our vision is
a city turned into landscape, a city that
harmoniously merges into the backdrop».
The BIG philosophy commenced
from graphic novels, from cartoons and
from the world of fantasy. An optimistic
vision that can be winning today. It is no
mere chance that they won the call for
tenders for the new National Library in
Kazakhstan (Zaha Hadid and Norman
Foster had also participated in the competition).
BIG also recorded a victory at
the competition for an extensive residential
complex in Copenhagen that required
a large parking space. «I suggested
a diagonal fusion of the two functions.
In the play of volumes, the parking
area disappears from sight, and the
houses stand out on an inclined plane
as if on the slope of a mountain». Low
technology and green solutions are the
Two projects designed by Bjarke Ingels
(top) with the firm BIG: Tallin Town Hall
and the Danish pavilion at Expo Shanghai.
brand of “8 House”, another building
with green ribbon-like roofs and a spectacular
view of the bay, and also of the
masterplan for the island Zira, off the
coast of Azerbaijan, where BIG has designed
an ecosystem for the “first island
with zero emissions” in the world. The
island will have wind energy-powered
desalinization systems for sea water,
and organically filtered soft water for irrigation
of desert land (www.big.dk).
Sustainable visions,
experimental
projects and
low-cost technology.
The paradigms of
Bjarke Ingels, the rising
star of contemporary
architecture, have
a noble goal, namely
to save the world.

FOCUS
Happenings
no.4/10 p.6
AT
THE
PRO-
JECT’S
SERVI-
CE
The rapid
evolution of
functional models
for industrial
design items.
At times the designer might not
succeed in conveying the exact idea of
what the item to be produced will
become. As Ettore Sottsass already
mentioned in the book: Il modello nel design
[The Model in Design] (Hoepli, ’91) «Models
must be as perfect as possible, made to closely
resemble the object with its tactile and sensory
qualities. And they must convey the idea by
showing what the object will be like».
He referred to real scale prototypes produced in
wood by the great Giovanni Sacchi. They were
essential to those like him who designed items
and to industrialists who wanted objects for
mass production. Today we make use of rapid
prototyping, which has developed through the
use of both digital and laser systems.
Left, legs of the chair Ella made with the SLS method.
Top, picture of the comfort model of the armchair Calla.
Compared to old techniques based on removing
material, these operate through addition to
obtain complex forms. The use of special
powders is increasingly important and produces
results that were once unimaginable.
COMFORT TESTS
«We have produced several models for Zanotta,
both for ergonomic and style tests and for the
construction of die-casting equipment,» says
Eng. Pierantonio Mason from F.lli De Angelis.
«Creating a 1:1 scale polystyrene model of
the object, in this case of the armchair Calla
(designed by Duchaufour Lawrence for Zanotta
in 2010), provides remarkable advantages such
as the opportunity to see the lines and volume
of the item and to test its comfort at a
reasonable price. The client and the designer
can intervene on details to modify forms even
manually. These changes can be implemented
by 3D scans, and then transferred to
the mathematical model in order to have
the correct file for the final prototype.» Hence,
the designer delivers the sketches and drawings
to the company’s technical department, which
generates 3D models on which technicians
create polystyrene prototypes. After the
evaluation phase, a mathematical model is
returned for generation of production moulds.
This consolidated procedure is applied to
several projects, besides Calla, namely to the
armchair Derby and the chair Eva. Eng. Mason
also says that «polystyrene is a fragile material,
whose limit is thickness. Hence, very thin
products are less suitable for this procedure,
unless one only wishes to test the ergonomics
of the item. For armchairs, we mill the seat
and the back from a whole polystyrene block
without processing the outside.»
SLS TECHNIQUES
Avioprop (Avio Group, highly innovative
aeronautics) is a dynamic framework of
functional models. It is avant-garde in the
production of high-tech components with
“additive manufacturing” and with EBM
(electron beam melting) and SIM (selective
laser melting) techniques for the construction
of high performance thermal and structural
materials such as titanium, titanium-aluminum
and cobalt chrome. «The aerospace,
aeronautics and medical sectors are our strong
points, but design remains a framework of
continuous stimulus for our laboratories»,
says Paolo Gennaro from Avioprop, who
relates about the partnership with Zanotta.
«Considering, for instance, the study for the
leg of the chair Ella, we used a system of
adding layer upon layer of nylon dust, SLS
(selective laser syntherization) to study the
ideal thicknesses and design of the leg». SLS
allows the creation of highly precise prototypes
before reaching the phase of aluminum die
casting and the mould, as in the case of Ella.
The process commences by depositing a fine
layer of dust that is hot fused onto a controlled
platform. CAD data divided into 2D sections
with defined thickness guide the laser beam
that draws the section on the dust, which is
preheated to a temperature below melting
point. The energy applied melts the dust,
solidifying the section into an object. The laser
beam only melts the area concerned, and it
proceeds layer by layer until the area is
completed. At this point it is extracted from
the work chamber and can be painted to
obtain a prototype for targeted testing prior to
creation of the mould. Production processes
and investments are optimized.

EXHIBITION
Mollino,
an extravagant
genius
How much illusion is there
in the construction? And
how much construction
is there in the illusion?
The question could not
be more topical in the era
of virtual reality. To find the traces of an answer,
Mollino and his multicreative talent
have left us some tools, specifically his
works. These are the key toward understanding
a work, an artist, a curator and a design
enthusiast who still fascinates and offers
food for thought». Sandra Gottwald, owner
of the Art Gallery Edith in Cologne, thus summarizes
the essence of the special small
exhibition dedicated by her to the great
Maestro from Turin in her space for quality
design in the heart of the German city. A vision
made of organic, eclectic, fluid forms
and of a sense of space; characteristics that
are well interpreted in the six products designed
by Carlo Mollino and which are still in
Zanotta’s catalogue: the mirror Milo, the tables
Arabesco and Reale, the armchairs Ardea
and Gilda, and the writing desk Cavour. All
items, whose period versions are precious
collectables (in 1995 one of his Reale tables
was sold at Christie’s NY at a record price of
3.8 million dollars). «He was architect, engineer,
designer and photographer. But, in the
first place, Carlo Mollino was an observer. He
always gathered and translated everything
that nature proposed as phenomenon, idea
or solution into a new concept. He has attempted
to overcome established confines
while concomitantly endowing buildings
with new dynamic features. He designed a
high speed sports car, and constructed his
furniture items as if they were a taught bow.
He has confused the senses of observers and
tenants with surreal photo montage and interiors».
The words of the art gallery manager
reveal the key traits of an unusual author
for his time, one who has not only moulded
Italian style since the mid-1990s, but who is
still a source of inspiration today. The exhibition
“Carlo Mollino” is held at Galleria Edith
until 31st January 2011 (www.edithzion.de).
An exhibition
in Cologne
celebrates the
architect who has
designed so many
signs, images and
spaces and left
much as a critical
inheritance of
the present.
Exhibition
poster. Right,
the mirror
Milo.
Happenings
no.4/10 p.7

NEWS
Not to miss
Exhibits, events, authors.
Happenings
no.4/10 p.8
APPOINTMENT
AT THE NOW!
Zanotta is participating in
“Now! Design à Vivre” in
Paris with the ultimate new
releases that are published
in its catalogue, and with
previews of 2011. The
ultimate tables, chairs,
beds, upholstered items
and accessories, along with
original covers and finishes.
The Parisian event, whose
success is rising, will host
the leaders of international
design at the continuously
revisited pavilions in Paris-
Nord Villepinte. The famous
Trade Fair of furnishing
items yearly showcases
leading production trends,
alongside exhibitions
and conferences held by
avant-garde architects and
interior designers (this year
the event is featuring the 10
years of the trade fair).
Zanotta’s fittings at the
Now! will be placed in
stand E17/F18, Pavilion 8
on 21 - 25 January 2011.
CUCULIA ON YOOX
Exclusively for yoox.com,
Zanotta has created a
limited edition of the
historical set Cuculia,
which was originally
produced in 1985 based
on a design by architect
Alessandro Mendini (it is
to date available on
yoox.com for Internet
retail enthusiasts).
Zanotta has chosen the
YOOX Group portal to
expand online sales of a
selection of its products.
The choice of items has
been widely appreciated
by the international
public, and orders have
been placed for superior
design icon products on
one of the most visited
websites, specifically for
the stool Mezzadro and
seats Allunaggio and Sella
by the Castiglioni
brothers, the coat stand
Sciangai by De Pas-
D’Urbino-Lomazzi, Sacco
by Gatti-Paolini-Teodoro
and several other items in
the collection.
THE SECRET OF
SIMPLICITY
For an autumn visit to
London, the personal
exhibition of John Pawson
at the Design Museum is a
real jewel. “Plain Space”
relates the design-focused
adventure - from the early
’80s to date - of the
architect who invented the
“minimalist” style par
excellence. Design focused
on a rigorous reduction
process that has produced
simplicity, grace and
elegance. After a long stay
in Japan, in 1996 Pawson
published “Minimum” in
which he underscores
concepts that are dear to
him in art, architecture
and design. Priding in a
wealth of multimedia
contributions, the London
homage celebrates key
works by Pawson, ranging
from Sackler Crossing in
Kew Gardens to the Calvin
Klein store in NY. The heart
of the exhibition is a real
scale setting that offers
the visitor an experience
worth remembering.
Until 30th January 2011.
TRANS-FORMA
IN GENEVA
The exhibit of icon items
from the Zanotta collection
reinterpreted by Fabrica’s
designers continues its
world tour. It is now the
turn of Swiss Geneva to
host the extraordinary
items of applied art, each
produced in nine
numbered examples, at the
B-Plan showroom that
displays the entire series of
Trans-Forma. Many are the
fortunate sites of the
exhibition, which took its
first steps at the Zanotta
Shop in Piazza Tricolore
during the design week in
Milan 2009. And after
Venice, Athens, Miami
and Liegi, the event
Trans-Forma continues to
amaze design enthusiasts.
The clothes stand Sciangai,
the chair Sella, the
inflatable armchair Blow
and other unforgettable
items reinterpreted with
flair and now part of
Edizioni Zanotta are
exhibited at B-Plan until
31 January 2011
(www.bplan.ch).
FRIENDS OF
CHILDREN 2010
This year too Zanotta is a
member of the pool of
prestigious fashion and
design companies that
have decided to donate
their products to the
charity initiative organised
by AiBi, with the goal of
guaranteeing abandoned
children the right to have
a family. For the 2010
edition of “Il bello che fa
bene” [Beauty that does
good], the fund collection
event organized by Amici
dei Bambini (which
stands out for
international adoptions
and foster care, besides
sensitization campaigns
and backbone projects)
was inaugurated late in
November with a Gala
Evening and a silent
auction. The initiative,
which has developed over
the years for visibility and
funds collected, continues
with charity auctions on 4
- 19 December in No. 6/A,
via Montenapoleone
(info: www.aibi.it).
MUSEUM OF THE 1900S
The long awaited museum that
displays masterpieces of Italian
art from Futurism to
Transavant-gard and excellent
authors such as Boccioni,
Pellizza da Volpedo, Modigliani
and De Chirico will open in
Milan on 6th December. The
chosen site is Arengario, which
was transformed by Italo Rota
and Fabio Fornasari’s project
to welcome 400 works chosen
from the 4,000 that were
cherished in the Civic Art
Collection of Milan. Besides
the museum, there is a library,
a film library and a restaurant.
The core of the exhibition track
at the historical building of the
1930s, which overlooks the
cathedral, will be a suggestive
spiral with glass windows.
Editorial project Giuliana Zoppis
Graphic design Stefania Giarlotta
Coordination and supervision Zanotta spa
Copyright Zanotta spa
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to Zanotta authorization
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tel. 0362.4981
www.zanotta.it
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