| alberto meda. interview with the wellknown italian engineer ............................................................................................................................................ | |||
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| alberto meda born in lenno tremezzina (como) in 1945. master in mechanical engineering at politecnico di milano in 1969. from 1973 technical manager of kartell. in 1979 he starts as freelance industrial designer for various companies: such as alias, alessi, cinelli, gaggia, ideal standard, luceplan, mandarina duck, omron japan, philips, vitra. - among his many exhibitions 1990 solo exhibition at the 'design gallery', matzuia ginza in tokyo. 1992 'XVIII' triennale di milano 1993 'mestieri d'autore' siena 1993 'design, miroir du siècle', paris 1995 'mutant materials in contemporary design', moma- new york 1997 center for modern art- prague and groninger museum- groningen, nl 1999 solo exhibition at salon du meuble -paris 2000 'italia e giappone : design come stile di vita' - yokohama, kobe - lectures and workshops: from 1983 to 1987 lecturer at domus academy. from 1995 lecturer at politecnico di milano. from 1995 to 1997 member of board of designlabor bremerhaven. from 1998 lectures in chicago and st.louis workshops in stockolm, miami, san paulo, ulm. he was awarded with compasso d'oro in 1989 and 1994. some of his products are part of the permanent collections of world's modern art and design museums (the moma includes in its design collection 'light light' chair, 'soft light' chair, 'longchair' chaise, and 'on-off' lamp). --- http://www.albertomeda.com --- more info on the design work of alberto meda http://www.aliasdesign.it http://www.arabia.fi http://www.luceplan.com http://ww.kartell.it http://www.vitra.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- we met alberto meda in his milanese studio on february 24, 2003. ---------------------------- what is the best moment of the day? early morning. what kind of music do you listen to at the moment? I like jazz and some classical music. do you listen to the radio? the news in my car. what books do you have on your bedside table? 'post human' by roberto marchesini, a biologist. do you read design magazines? not much. where do you get news from? newspapers? newspapers, fairs, interpersonal relationships and with the various companies which give me a series of stimuli and suggestions. do you notice how women are dressing? do you have any preferences? I observe women rather than just how they dress. what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing? the uniform, the designer's uniform, all black. do you have any pets? no. when you were a child, what did you want to be? I was fascinated by the idea of making things. where do you work on your designs and projects? sometimes I get ideas in the morning when I wake up, and I stay in bed for a while, it is a moment when bulbs light up in my mind and then the job of verifying the coherences, the design, the feasability... takes place in my studio. I see that you don't have any assistants, do you work alone? I don't work with anyone, because the situation I am in now is a vestige of when I had my studio in my home, I used two of the rooms to work in, and it was a very private situation. my alibi was that it was too private to have anyone else around. and I got used to it. so when I moved my studio to here, I maintained the same situation. thanks to my computer, which I use in an integrated way, I do everything: draw, write, organize. I don't have a huge number of clients, I prefer to have a more intense, less superficial relationship with my clients, in a certain sense I reject other comissions, otherwise I could not continue to work alone, not to mention the fact that my job is less scattered then that of an architecture studio, less graphic, no interior design, in some way less complex, last but not least I enjoy working this way. who would you like to design something for? right now I would like to change the scale of my work, I've always designed man-sized things, objects for the home, recently I designed bicycles, motorcycles, and these projects allowed me to learn new things. so I'd really like to work in a completely different scale. once I designed some pillars for high-tension electrical wires, and in a project like that you get a different perception of things. do you discuss your work with architects and designers? yes, often I have worked with others, for example with paolo rizzato. describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it. alberto meda makes simple things, where technology is hidden, ...transparent things. alberto meda engineer, do you mean to stress the fact that you are not an architect? no, I just prefer to call things by their name. my training is substantially a technical background, which I integrated with self-taught personal interests, which went beyond the technical aspects. but this matrix has remained my basis, and I try to look for and create creative, suggestive things in the material and technological world. they are the closest to the world of my training.  quicktime clip 1995 kb. is there any designer and/or architect, you appreciate a lot? I have always been fascinated by the work of jean prouve' and charles eames. and those still active, are there any particular ones you appreciate? I am fascinated by renzo piano and norman foster, and I also like the work of denis santachiara, ron arad, .... there are many. any advice for the young ? I would say that virtuality is very important as long as you don't forget the physicality of things. what are you afraid of regarding the future ? the thing that worries me most is the lack of equality. there are enormous differences among people which create immense problems. I am concerned by this lack of balance.  |
 alberto meda © designboom   'titana' lamp 1989 for luceplan, design alberto meda and paolo rizzato  'lola' lamp 1987 for luceplan, design alberto meda and paolo rizzato  'meda chair', 1996 for vitra  'armframe' detail, frame collection, 1994, for alias |
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| --- the questionaire of marcel proust (1871 - 1922) ....................................................................................................................................................... (in age of fourteen proust was given an english album "confessions : an album to record thoughts, feelings". seven years later marcel proust published this questionaire) in the literary salons in nineteenth century paris, this parlour game was a popular amusement. for designboom alberto meda has answered these 'old fashioned' questions. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
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the main traits of my character. impulsive. a quality I desire in a man. calmness in taking risks. a quality I desire in a woman. feminity. what I appreciate most among my friends. sincerity. my principal defect. hasty, reckless. my favourite occupation. I like to paint watercolors and go to the seaside. my dream of felicity / happiness. to be at peace with myself. what would be the biggest misfortune for me. lack of love. who I would like to be. nobody. where I would like to live. in tuscany. the colour I prefer. blue. the flower I love. gardenias. the bird I prefer. cormorants. my favourite authors. calvino, del giudice. my favourite poets. leopardi. my heroes in fiction. tex willer, diabolik. my heroines in fiction. - my favourite composers. chet baker, philip glass. my favourite artists. duchamp, balla. my heroes in real life. - my heroines in history. madam curie. what I dislike the most. presumption. the historic characters I dislike most. authoritatianism. the military enterprise I like the most. none. the reformation I appreciate the most. galileo who put the world in its place. nature’s gift I would like to have. live long and healthily. how I would like to die. in peace. my soul's present condition. satisfied and worried. the faults I can bear. lies. my motto. less forms, more ideas. |
 'soft light' chair 1989, for alias  'soft light' detail, chair 1989, for alias  'light light', chair 1987, for alias  'water' 2001, for arabia  'partner' detail, bookcase 2000, for kartell design alberto meda and paolo rizzato |
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