Happenings - Zanotta SpA

Happenings
Year 3 no.2
5 March 2008
PRODUCTION
Design
that goes
beyond
the object
New finishes
and colours for six
Zanotta designs
p.2
INTERVIEW
Communication
of lifestyles
Livia Peraldo Matton
of Elle Decor
p.3
FROM DESIGN
TO PRODUCT
Wire
Collection
Technique and
poetry are the key
ingredients of
Arik Levy’s work
p.4
LIFESTYLE
Equipe ’70
The 70s:
events and
revivals between
fashion
and design
p.5
FOCUS
Lifecycle
Design
Reducing
environmental
impact.
Starting with
disassembly
p.6
DEDICATED TO
Piero
Bottoni
Architect, town
planner, designer
and a leading
protagonist of
Rationalism
p.7
NEWS
Exhibitions,
events,
authors
Appointments
not to be missed
within the world
of design
p.8
Zanotta at
the Eurodomus,
Turin, 1968.

PRODUCTION
Design that
goes beyond
the object
New finishes and colours for six Zanotta
designs. These include classic designs and
others from the most popular recent lines
The use of high quality material is carried through into
the finishes, in the varnish of a tempered crystal surface
or the use of aluminium alloy or in the lacquer of turned
hardwood. Only the highest quality raw materials are used
that have been subject to and passed rigorous tests of resistance
to light, heat and use. These are the hidden qualities of the
design and those that make the product stand out, both in new
designs and in the updating of the range with new colours and
finishes. The quest for quality is clearly reproduced in the new
finishes of the six pieces shown below, with their innovative
colour and design combinations. Presented below are two
tables and a console that encapsulate the very best of modern
design and three pieces from the Zanotta Edizioni catalogue, all
signed and highly creative works.
SANMARCO
Gae Aulenti design (1984).
Demountable steel frame
structure. It is now available
also in white lacquer with
tempered crystal surface, 8 mm
thick and also in an extra-light
coloured version.
Happenings
no.2/08 p.2
DESSOUSCHIC
Noé Duchaufour Lawrance design
(2005). An elegant updating of
the console table. Legs and
surface in glossy lacquered wood.
Also available in black (Ral 9005).
Zanotta Edizioni, signed.
RADICE
Roberto Barbieri design
(2001). The 2008 version
has an aluminium alloy
black base that is
coordinated with the 15 mm
crystal surface also in black.
DORIAN
Dominique Mathieu design
(2002). Zanotta Edizioni
signed table with new
white lacquer for the body
and turned legs. Crystal
surface, 12mm thick.
VERYROUND
Louise Campbell design
(2006). The new varnished
gold version of the chair
with steel frame cut by
three-dimensional laser
cutter. In nine different
signed numbered versions,
in different colours.
Zanotta Edizioni.
APPIA
Gae Aulenti design (1984).
Console table with a
demountable steel frame.
It is now available in the
catalogue with a black
varnished tempered crystal
surface, 8 mm thick, to
match the black frame.

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Elle Decor is one of the most well-known
international magazines of design, architecture,
decoration and art. In Italy it is a valued reference
point to pick out trends and lifestyles. The editor
is Hachette-Rusconi. We have met the managing director,
Livia Peraldo Matton, a sensitive and cultured woman who
has been leading the monthly magazine for years.
Q. What is the target audience of your magazine?
A. People who are looking to find out more about the
world of design and furniture. Their interests range from
current affairs to culture and from designer profiles to the
latest trends. These are individuals who are open to
change. Our readership base is also quite international.
Q. What approach do you take to the selection and
communication of contemporary design?
A. Our approach to design is fundamental to our
journalistic style and to the way we view the
contemporary world. It influences our choice of locations,
itineraries and designer profiles. We do not take a single
and exclusive approach. We take a range of approaches to
Pubblicità di C&B per Up di G. Pesce.
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GETTY IMAGES
INTERVIEW
Communication of lifestyles
Editing an international design and furnishing trends magazine is
similar to relating the history of great contemporary transformations.
We interviewed Livia Peraldo Matton, the editor of Elle Decor
design features that include: monographs, designer
profiles in which we follow the entire process from
planning through to production, the use of materials and
industry applications. Alternatively we turn to our stylists
to interpret the latest trends in terms of materials, shapes
and design combinations. The preparation of a set on
location is a very important phase because it lends the
overall feel to the interpretation of objects and
furnishings, it communicates an idea of possible settings
and moods, enabling us to connect the two in an
interplay of relationships and proportions. We see the
same thing when an item of clothing is presented on a
model rather than in a still-life.
Q. Do you focus on certain trendsetters as a point of
reference?
A. Without appearing to be immodest, I must say that we
are really the trendsetters. We have an editorial staff that
includes a vast number of collaborators, journalists,
stylists and experts from various sectors. Each is
responsible for his/her own sphere of personal and
professional research. They keep up on all the latest and
then convey this to their work.
Q. Do you think that the so called “luxury-end” in the
home decorations market will expand? How would you
define it?
A. Rather than luxury I’d speak of a high-quality end, the
choice of all these producers to market to a selective and
demanding market, also from a socio-economic point of
view. It is within this high quality context that we find those
consumers who are closely attached to home decorating -
the purchase of furniture, furnishings and domestic
technology - and to choices that are meant to endure.
Happenings
no.2/08 p.3
Q. Planning and manufacturing of designer products are
two sides of the same coin. How important are
technological innovation, socio-cultural expectations,
decorative influences and keeping up with emerging trends?
A. For Elle Decor’s 15th birthday, we took a journey over the
last 15 years of home decorating. We considered how
lifestyles have influenced home decorating, led to the
creation of new scenarios and how production has adapted
to changing needs. We traced the transformation that home
decorating underwent with the diffusion of home theatre,
how the loft has changed the proportions of furniture, how
seating has progressively become more generous, how the
kitchen and bathroom have evolved and finally examined
the impact of outdoor living. The evolution of materials has
opened up new horizons for innovation in manufacturing.
I see the entire lifecycle of production, from design to
production and then on to promotion, as a circular process
in which many different factors such as socio-cultural
expectations, technological innovation, emerging trends all
have their part to play in the success of a product.
Q. The January-February 2008 edition focused on the
years of social and cultural revolution. What impact did
1968 have in terms of design and home decorating?
R. The impact of events 40 years ago is still with us and
has shaped our present. This is also true in terms of the
way we furnish, live and design our homes. It was a time
of no going back in terms of the domestic scene.
Traditional rules were completely overturned and replaced
by a more open approach with new rituals and functions.
A typical example of this is the Zanotta Sacco armchair,
which is also 40 years old. The chair was the
co-protagonist of an article published in March.

Happenings
no.2/08 p.4
FROM DESIGN TO PRODUCT
Wire
Collection
Technique and poetry are the
key ingredients of Arik Levy’s
work. Experimentation and
the generation of emotions are
the goals. Both of these
elements are clearly featured
in the Zanotta tables
Every new project represents a
challenge for me, the challenge of
using “pure” raw materials and
incorporating the technology that the
manufacturing companies offer to me”.
Arik Levy believes that it is essential that
the relationship between design and
production is sustainable, it must work to
optimise the entire process, create
products that will last and collections that
are realised with minimal effort and energy.
«This is exactly the approach I took with
the Wire, Smallwire and Bigwire tables, in
which an initial design idea generated
three pieces, thus fully exploiting both the
design and production phases. In an
effective fusion of technology and design,
creativity serves innovation but leads to
useful and concrete results. With the
Zanotta tables I developed the “wireframe”
base structure and then chose the ideal
material, the lacquered steel tie-rod.
Designing in 3D today it is much easier to
refine the proportions and lighten the
structure to the limits, whilst maintaining
solidity and strength. Then for the table
top we chose, together with Zanotta
technical division, the tempered crystal
that is strong, light and easily coloured to
match the base. The top is rounded and its
proportions vary according to the base. For
the kitchen the top is larger. The smaller
tables have a top that is nearer in size to
the circumference of the base, while the
Wire top equals the circumference of the
base». For many years Arik Levy has
coherently promoted a design philosophy
that centres on simplicity, sustainability
and innovative experimentation. After
having won the Seiko Epson competition
in the middle of the 1990s, he applied the
design experience gained in Japan to
varied sectors and technologies (from
sofas to glasses, lamps to glass
ornaments). This breadth of experience
has allowed him to venture into many
varied industrial designs, discovering new
opportunities for experimentation. He
explains the evolution of the Wire tables:
«As in a biological process I was able to
achieve this cybernetic shape by
assembling various elements, multiplying
them, changing their arrangement, linking
them to the main structure or one to the
other in an empty space. These objects
convey the illusion of constant movement,
almost as if they could expand and grow in
whatever size and shape». Levy relates that
whilst designing the Wire structure, he
came across an article in the Financial
Times describing the crisis of certain
sectors due to the use of low cost
materials, such as plastic instead of metal
for the structure and tie-rods. Arik Levy
states: «I wanted to create a design that
made use of “noble” materials, such as the
steel used in Wireframe. It is my way of
connecting the past and the future of
design and re-launching production
sectors whilst keeping alive the worthy
traditions of the past».
Table Bigwire, on the right; above images of the
Wire collection with a designer portrait.
ARIK LEVY
Born in Tel Aviv, and a French citizen,
he graduated in Industrial Design in
Switzerland and participated in Japanese
design exhibitions. From the Paris
headquarters of LDesign (L stands for Lady),
he works with his partner, Pippo Lionni, and
their team to develop industrial, interior
and graphic design projects. A lover of art,
video and surf, he regularly exhibits in
international fairs and his designs are on
permanent display in renowned museums.

Happenings
no.2/08 p.5
LIFESTYLE
Equipe
‘70
The 1970s represent a world that may
seem light years away, but is really alive
in each of us. This is a world that
continues to fascinate and inspire new
ideas, approaches and projects
The site-container that houses the
protagonists of the Equipe ‘70 world.
The Triennale di Milano is currently
staging a large scale exhibition
entitled “Anni Settanta, il decennio
lungo del secolo breve” (The 1970s,
a long decade from a short century). Organised
by Gianni Canova, the exhibition will run to the
30th March and is a journey through Art,
Architecture, Cinema, Design, Publishing,
Graphic Art, Literature, Fashion, Music, Radio,
Theatre and Television. Through the crosscontamination
of varied languages it adventures
through travel, products, conflicts, the human
form, colours, symbols and visions. The spirit
of the 1970s was expressed with creativity and
innovation through the cinema and in literature,
in design and music, in figurative arts and
fashion, and via the media, communications
and technology. The feel of those years, their
geometrical shapes, pop icons, graphic patterns
and colours, is maintained in contemporary
design to generate numerous and surprising
revivals of style and updated versions of bestsellers.
This year Zanotta celebrates the 40th
anniversary of the famous Sacco armchair by
Gatti-Paolini-Teodoro. The catalogue includes
many other stars and unforgettable evergreens
that were ground-breaking at the time and
continue to delight to this very day. These
include: the Quaderna series from Superstudio
(designed in 1970, with orthogonal tables and
consoles covered in Abet Print laminate with its
distinctive square pattern); the Birillo footstool
by Joe Colombo (with its high-tech designed
polyester base reinforced in fibreglass and
supporting leg made of stainless steel) and the
Primate chair by Achille Castiglioni (again from
the 1970s that was released at least twenty
years earlier than other ergonomic kneeling
stools). These are just a few of the most
popular pieces loved by the general public and
professionals alike. A spokesman from the
Equipe ‘70 team stated: «The 1970s was a
creative decade, both in social and
manufacturing terms, fuelled by unique men,
women and young people. It was by no means
a time of compromise or non-committal... We
have captured the essence of its original
materials, reproducing their simplicity and
originality, re-proposing the threads of these
raw but vital images. It’s a sort of ‘future-past’
kit». The Equipe ‘70 event is also a collection
that retraces the habits and customs of the
1970s, introducing them to a new generation
and updating them, with contemporary
presentations of fashions, styles and trends.
The kingpin and heart of the collection is the
ample-sized, sporty, hooded anorak, known as
the Eskimo. It is presented in classic green that
was very much in vogue throughout the 1970s.
Honouring the Eskimo, Zanotta have brought
to Equipe ‘70 a new ‘eskimo-green’ coloured
Sacco in texirè. A Zanotta spokesman stated:
«This was one of the symbols of the 1970s in
which Italy first brought the fascination of Made
in Italy to the world. Then we were committed
to exploring new creative territories, to achieve,
experiment and challenge... in a creative
escalation of explosive desire, exploration and
work ethics that still inspires and teaches us to
this day on both an individual and collective
level». It wasn’t by chance that the Equipe ‘70
team chose the Zanotta Sacco from amongst
the icons of this period. As Stefano Casciani
explains in his beautiful book on Zanotta design
(Arcadia, 1984), “The demystifying application
of manufacturing technology to give new
meaning and uses to objects and architecture”
continues to set trends.

Happenings
no.2/08 p.6
As designers we must bear in
mind that 80% of the environmental
impact of products
and constructions is
determined in the design
phase», states John Thackara. The design is
central to improving the performance of
products across their entire lifecycle.
Disposal and recycling is simplified by rationalisation
of the use of materials, optimisation
of manufacturing techniques, simplification
of distribution and methods of use,
maintenance and updating, and minimisation
of energy use. All of this can be defined
in the design phase. As renowned experts
and researchers claim, the greatest challenge
of the 21st century is the translation of
the concept of sustainability into reality. In
designing for the environment a systemic
and innovative approach at the planning
stage is of central importance. This approach
is echoed by Marco Capellini, architect
and founder of Matrec (the first data bank
of recycled products and materials): «With
the design for disassembly strategy it is
possible to provide for and therefore facilitate
the separation of all product components
to optimise their re-use and recycling».
The company and more specifically
the designer are the protagonists in the
development of products and low environmental
impact production processes, the
extension of the lifecycle of the product and
more effective disposal. The manager of the
Zanotta technical division, Daniele Greppi,
explains: «These are aspects that a good
design must always take into account,
above and beyond the contemporary concern
with environmental issues. We still
produce certain pieces of furniture that
were first designed at the end of the 1950s
that are perfect examples of disassembly
and dematerialisation, such as the
Mezzadro stool and the Sella dei Castiglioni
saddle chair (1957). These are real examples
of the recycling of manufacturing components
seen in the use of a metal spring, a
Lifecycle
Design
All sections
of the
Mezzadro
stool.
FOCUS
One of the great challenges facing the 21st century
is the reduction of environmental impact of products.
Starting with disassembly
wooden foot and tractor’s seat in perforated
metal. Castiglioni was already making use
of these forms of design with his ironic
creations in many areas of furnishing, including
lighting (the Toyo floor lamp manufactured
by Flos), at a time when ecology and
eco-design were unheard of».
PRODUCT INNOVATION
The examples quoted by Greppi highlight
a planning process that has been common
to other furnishing items in
Zanotta for ten years. The Sanmarco by
Gae Aulenti and the Marcuso by Marco
Zanuso tables are two perfect examples.
Amongst the chairs there are the Tonietta
by Enzo Mari and the April by Aulenti.
Sustainability in the planning and manufacturing
process is seen in the practicality
of packing and shipping and also the
potential for adaptation to meet client’s
needs and ease of substitution of components.
Greppi continues: «At Zanotta, we
have always applied in the design phases
the principles advanced by the best designers
who create for us, starting with economies
of scale in the use of materials
and components. A good example of this
is the table tops that are separately packaged
and removed from their legs for easier
packaging and shipping. Many of our pieces
are assembled with screws, the use of
a system of removable joints greatly simplifies
assembly and disassembly. In the
planning phase the choice of materials is
also important and can have a positive
effect on the overall environmental impact
of the piece. Mari used an aluminium
structure and a plastic seat for the original
version of the Tonietta. You only have to
unscrew a few components and the seat is
disassembled. The April chair is made
from stainless-steel with a removable
fabric or leather seat. When a material is
natural as well as effortlessly disassembled
it is easier to dispose of at the end of
its lifecycle».

Happenings
no.2/08 p.7
DEDICATED TO
Piero
Bottoni
The Comacina writing
desk as produced
by Zanotta and the Zilli
chair by Roberto Barbieri.
He was an architect, town planner, designer
and a leading protagonist of Rationalism. He
is best remembered as one of the creators of
two plans that had a profound influence on
the Italian urban landscape. These were the
plan for the Val d’Aosta, patronised by
Adriano Olivetti (1936) and the A.R. plan
(Architetti Riuniti, 1944-45). His work is
central to the origins of modern architecture
and design. The pieces of furniture designed
by Bottoni 1920-1930 are classic examples of
the beauty of his work, such as his chairs and
tables which are clearly Bauhaus inspired
(with their use of curved steel tubes). The
most celebrated piece is the Comacina
writing desk, designed in 1930 and produced
by Zanotta in 1989, in keeping with the
company’s tradition of re-launching historical
design pieces. The stainless steel frame
houses on one side a highly contemporary
suspended storage unit. The design was a
favourite with Bottoni and revived in his
collections for the home and office designed
from his studios in Milan, where he was also
town councillor from 1956-64. Zanotta had
already remade the Lira chair in 1968, first
designed by Bottoni in 1920.

NEWS
Not to be missed
Exhibitions, events and authors
Happenings
no.2/08 p.8
ITALIAN “GENIUS”
IN ASIA
If the first was Marco Polo,
the communicators of
Italian ideas have
continued on in their
journey through the East
to the period of Chindia.
Currently staged by the
Luigi Pecci contemporary
art centre of Prato, this
exhibition entitled “Italian
Genius Now” will travel to
the prestigious Korean
Design Centre of Seoul
(3rd - 24th March) and
then the Italian cultural
institute in Tokyo (26th
April - 26th May). Through
visual arts, products and
editorials the exhibition
presents Italy as a great
workshop that over the
last ten years has
produced works of great
beauty. The Mezzadro chair
(1957) and the Quaderna
table manufactured in the
1970s, will represent the
style and range of Zanotta.
DESTINED FOR
THE FUTURE
The Zanotta Sacco is one
of 100 magnificent
designs in a parade of the
very best. Navigators can
vote online for the 10
most beautiful designs
selected from a list of topsellers
(10,000 euros in
prize money). The list was
compiled by: Italo Lupi,
Alessandro Mendini,
Sandro Silvi and Matteo
Vercelloni, who wished to
survey design tastes
amongst Internet users.
The results will be
published in a year. The
pieces voted as the ten
most beautiful will be put
into a time capsule and
buried in a park
surrounded by a designer
garden. These ten pieces
will be sent off into the
future as messengers of
our times, destined to be
a hidden treasure for the
archaeologists of the third
millennium. To take part
visit: www.pulchra.org
THE DESIGNER’S MIND
Organised by Paola
Antonelli, who was also
responsible for the MoMA
event in New York on
Castiglioni, the exhibition
entitled “Design and the
Elastic Mind” will
introduce the Big Apple to
the concept of the function
of the contemporary
designer. The exhibition
highlights the increasing
role of the designer as an
intermediary between
scientific and technological
change and daily life. It
shows how designers have
created objects, interfaces,
environments and
materials that now occupy
a central space in our
lives, simplifying our daily
tasks and shaping our
consciousness. It centres
on the flexibility of the
designer’s mind that
works to integrate the
rapidity of change and our
capacity for adaptation.
The exhibition will run
until 12th May at the
Museum of Modern Art,
New York.
WOMEN AND DESIGN
Neither their designs, nor
the number of female
designers, but the women
themselves are the
protagonists of this
exhibition at Turin World
Design 2008. The exhibition
entitled “Il design delle
donne” (Women’s designs)
is organised by Andy Pansera
and Luisa Bocchietto and
highlights the work, ideas
and dedication of Eleonora
and Francesca Zanotta,
amongst others. These are
women who intelligently and
with a real sense of the
present reflect the work of
those who came before
them. Their creations are
accompanied by those of
Anna Castelli Ferrieri, Cini
Boeri, Maddalena De
Padova, Patrizia Moroso and
Patricia Urquiola. Together
they represent generations of
women with vision that is
ideal for a sector as
important as design. The
exhibition will preview on 8th
March for Women’s Day at
the regional natural science
museum of Turin and will
run until 27th April.
ULTRA-OBJECTS
Ten “ultra” objects will be
displayed by Ultrafragola,
the first web-TV channel
dedicated to architecture,
design and art. In addition
to the virtual exhibition
Ultrafragola will offer a
more concrete and
fascinating one at the villa
Sartirana in Giussano, to
the north of Milan. The
organisers of this event,
Francesca Molteni and
Didi Gnocchi, stated: «We
have tried to give a voice
to the icons of design, be
they objects or people».
The objects and
protagonists are captured
in the priceless Panini
sticker album but also in
the video installation
with talking icons.
Mezzadro and Sacco will
represent Zanotta. To
discover more click on
www.ultrafragola.com or
take a visit to Giussano.
ZANOTTA ON
EXHIBITION, 2008
With a new, structured range
of furnishings, Zanotta will
exhibit at the 47th Salone
Internazionale del Mobile di
Milano, from the 16th to
21st April, at the Fiera di
Rho. The 2008 edition of the
catalogue and the portal
360°.com will document the
entire Zanotta universe that
is to welcome international
clients, journalists,
architects and designers.
The new Zanotta exhibition
will be designed by the
Bertero-Panto-Marzoli
studio. During this
prestigious design week,
Zanotta will start off with the
long-awaited anniversary of
the Sacco, the legendary
chair first produced in 1968.
Editorial project Giuliana Zoppis
Graphic design S+G
Coordination and supervision Zanotta spa
Copyright Zanotta spa
The use of texts and images are subject
to Zanotta authorization
Press office Zanotta
tel. 0362.4981
www.zanotta.it
communication@zanotta.it