| paolo deganello. he founded the radical archizoom association studio, with andrea branzi, gilberto corretti, massimo morozzi , d. and lucia bartolini.... | |||
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| paolo deganello was born in este (padua, italy) in 1940. in 1966 he received his degree in architecture from the university of florence, and as soon as he graduated, he founded the radical archizoom association studio, with andrea branzi, gilberto corretti, massimo morozzi, and later joined by dario and lucia bartolini. archizoom was polemical in speech and practice in a period of social radicalism . numerous projects and essays reflected the group’s search for a new approach to urban design and product design. he worked with this florentine studio until it closed in 1972. since then he worked independently in milan. he developed industrial design projects, mainly furniture, for italian companies such as cassina, driade, zanotta… deganello has taken part in international exhibitions, including: ‘radical architecture’ (1967), ‘design by circumstances, episodes in italian architecture 1962 - 1980,’ in new york; ‘the triennale's homes’ at the milan triennale (1984); ‘nouvelles tendances’ at paris's centre pompidou (1987); and ‘documenta 9’ in kassel, germany (1987). a one-man show was staged at amsterdam's galerie (1988), at the japan design committee in tokyo (1991) and at cac in cantu (2002) from 1991 he teaches industrial design at isia in florence. --- more info on the design work of paolo deganello http://www.cassina.it http://www.isiadesign.fi.it http://www.poltronova.com http://www.zanotta.it ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- we met paolo deganello in his milanese studio on january 10, 2003. ------------------------------- what is the best moment of the day? the morning, as early as possible. what kind of music do you listen to at the moment? no particular kind. many and always different. do you listen to the radio? everytime I get into my car my daughter forces me to listen to music that has nothing to do with me, but it's ok. what books do you have on your bedside table? usually there are the types of books I read on trains and that I never manage to finish. I don't like reading in bed. do you read design magazines? more or less, but they are more and more illegible. meaning that there's nothing to read in design magazines. where do you get news from? 'il manifesto', 'le monde diplomatique', 'l'unità', and I'm obliged to read 'il corriere della sera'. do you notice how women are dressing? do you have any preferences? I observe them, I am very interested in fashion, I am interested in how consumers behave. I wish fashion was free from the fashion world and could become the consumer's way of expressing his identity through dressing. this doesn't happen, even if various attempts have been made to do this. what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing? I never wear jackets and ties. do you have any pets? I had a dog that died two years ago. this was a very sad experience for me and my son, although it was also enriching. when you were a child, what did you want to be? I wanted to be an artist. where do you work on your designs and projects? anywhere. who would you like to design something for? I would like to design for a public entity to make use of my ability to give the design a social aim. I had the chance to do this at the beginning of my career in the 60s when I worked for the municipality of calenzano. in order to work for public clients you need to understand the power logic of the parties and this power logic is a process which destroys the potential of a design. by rejecting this logic I have cut my self off from these aims which I aspire to. do you discuss your work with architects and designers? very many and I am very interested in comparisons with other designers, whose work is completely different from mine, one of the people I exchange ideas with most often is enzo mari, just looking at our work shows you how different we are. describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it. it is hard for me to answer this question because I find it irritating, style is a term that has no meaning, and besides I don't need to see myself through a friend's eyes, I am my own best friend, so if I have to describe my work I would say it is the continuous attempt to create a social dimension in design apart from consideration of the client's aims. from 'archizoom' to your latest works can you give us an idea of the evolution of your philosophy? Bernard Buerdek asked me to outline my development in an article I wrote for number 187 of the german magazine form. take a look at the article for the answer to your question. --- taken from 'an excess of hope' by paolo deganello --- the radical experiment that began in 1966 in florence never identified itself with the ideology and design of that modern movement that it has always opposed, in the hope of overcoming it. our design arose from this culture that was completely founded on an architecture predominantly legitimized by our political choices. The forms of the products of archizoom were initially all geometric elements, however the needs and the shape of the body that deform them destroy the geometry so as to make those object forms useable and habitable. later I worked on more organic forms. today using a numerical control machine we can all become self manufacturers… I modestly propose notes for debate and experimentation, a collective design employed to provide consensus for a democratic form of merchandise. which of your work has given you the most satisfaction? my latest project whose production is supposed to begin next year. is there any designer and/or architect, you appreciate a lot? borromini and brunelleschi for completely different reasons. brunelleschi fascinates me for his capacity for making use of technological innovation, which I have also striven to do. borromini for his formal freedom, his ability to stay outside all consolidated tastes. and those still active, are there any particular ones you appreciate? let me tell you what objects I show my students most frequently. a bottle for mineral water designed by ross lovegrove, 'up' series by gaetano pesce, the strainer designed by enzo mari for alessi, a restyling of the types of strainers you can buy at the super market, and 'abet print' laminates designed by the sottass studio about 3 years ago, an organic language inside the flatness of laminates. any advice for the young ? to free themselves from this subordinate attitude they have towards the culture of the masters and the divas of the field.  quicktime clip 828 kb. what are you afraid of regarding the future ? accepting fear, the incapacity to react to this climate of fear, a climate of fear which is imposed in order to construct a logic of subordination. fear destroys the capacity to react. a striking example from recent news: in brasil, voting Lula, they were not afraid. quicktime clip 1728 kb. your motto? I like being 'outmarket'  ---  ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? ------- |
 paolo deganello © designboom  'torso' 1982. manufactured by cassina courtesy paolo deganello  'artfici', small tables. 1985. manufactured by cassina. courtesy paolo deganello  'mies' chaise longue, 1969. design archizoom .manufactured by poltronova. courtesy paolo deganello  'AeO', armchair, 1969. design archizoom/paolo deganello. manufactured by cassina. courtesy paolo deganello  installation of the montefibre booth at the 1973 fiera campionaria in milan. design by a. branzi, p. deganello, m. morozzi and a. maurizi. courtesy paolo deganello  'infinite interior' part of no stop city project, 1970. design archizoom. courtesy paolo deganello  'progetto domestico' XVIII milan triennale, 1986. sketch, courtesy paolo deganello  'AeB' lamp. 1986. manufactured by ycami collection, courtesy paolo deganello |
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